Thailand has made the international headlines this year following a series of demonstrations, political upheavals and finally a military coup. But the unrest hasn't just been limited to the political sector. The Thai film industry, too, has faced considerable turmoil, plenty of protests and even a mini-coup all its own.

The year in dispute

The year started in conflict thanks to the ongoing dispute between the Federation of National Film Association of Thailand and studios GTH, Five Star and RS Promotion over the federation's boycott of the Bangkok International Film Festival.

The dispute came to head in February as the studios pulled out of the federation, causing its president, Somsak "Sia Jiang" Techaratanaprasert, to resign.

Without strongman Somsak, the federation lost its power to fight against the movie pirates, with disastrous effects both for the industry - fake copies of "Khan Kluay" were on the market within a day of its release - and for the movie mogul himself.

Somsak was so distressed that he had to be admitted to hospital in July with an aneurism.

Though better now, he still needs assistance when walking and has problems speaking.

Adding to the bad feeling between the studios and the federation was the decision to withdraw Pen-ek Ratanaruang's movie "Invisible Wave" as the Thai entry for the 2006 US Academy Awards in favour of "Ahingsa… Jikko Me Kam" ("Ahingsa").

Five Star, still furious at the federation's behaviour, has decided to skip the Subhanahongsa Award presentations in February.

The year in protest

Seven Thai films sparked protests - both verbal and written - this year, with two of them becoming the cause of diplomatic squabbles.

The Cambodian backlash at "Ghost Game", which depicted the Khmer Rouge Tuol Sleng torture centre, was not as strong as the protest by Laos over "Mak Tae" ("Lucky Loser")", a comedy about the Laotian and Thai football teams.

The film was cancelled at the last minute, costing GTH millions. The studio re-edited the movie and released the new version in October with disappointing results.

The other five films have raised hackles at home.

A Buddhist group was angered by the trailer for GTH's comedy "Koy Ther Yom" ("See How They Run"). They protested at scenes of fighting in the temple and said that a monk running away from ghosts damaged the image of monks.

Horror flick "Ajarn Yai" ("Cadaver") had some doctors up in arms about both the title and the story.

Literally translated as "the principal", Ajarn Yai is the term used by medical students for donated corpses. The protest forced Sahamongkol Films to cut several scenes and change the title to "Sop", another name for corpse.

Meanwhile, "Colic" annoyed mothers who disagreed with using a common cause of incessant crying in infants as the basis for a horror story.

Wisit Sasanatieng's "Pen Choo Kab Phee" ("The Unseeable") also faced obstacles when the owner of the copyright to late artist Hem Wejakorn's illustrations claimed that the director had plagiarised Hem's work for his horror movie.

The case was resolved without action as the complainants had insufficient evidence to support their charge.

And even romantic comedy "Rak Jung" ("The Memory") faced problems when a group protested that the film made fun of hilltribe people.

The director refuted the accusation, saying he had taken care not to portray any hilltribe but to create a completely fictitious group.

But the protests have brought positive results for both moviegoers and the film companies, with the former realising that they should watch the entire film before passing judgement and the latter becoming more sensitive in selecting subject matter.

More issues will be resolved when ratings are introduced, although with the new Film Act yet to be approved, it seems unlikely that changes will be introduced in the near future.

The disputes, conflicts, the coup that removed Sia Jiang from power and the political tensions have all had a profound effect on the box office.

The year on screen

The highlight of the year was the return to the big screen of the first Thai animation since "Sud Sakorn" in 1979.

"Khan Kluay" set this year's record, raking in Bt103 million. And while much influenced by Walt Disney, "Khan Kluay" shows that there is hope for the Thai animation industry.

"Sab Sanit Sit Sai Naa", currently in third place with takings of Bt72 million, proves that comedy is still the most popular genre, with good horror films coming in a close third.

The best horror film of the year was "Dek Hor" ("Dorm"), a boarding-school drama that had viewers shivering. The film marked the solo debut of Songyos Sukmakanan, one of the "Fan Chan" group of six.

Equally good was Wisit Sasanatieng's "Pen Choo Kab Phee" ("The Unseeable"), a tale of love and horror that showcased Wisit's talent for superb set design.

Young director Chookiat Sakveerakul deserved praise for his psychological thriller "13 Game Sayong" ("13 Beloved"), about a man who is led through progressively degrading and dangerous stunts by mysterious callers from an underground reality game show.

The surprise success was the directorial debut of writer Phing Lumphapherng, who brought the story of his marriage to the big screen in "Kort Rak Eng Loei"("Loveaholic").

The film was full of holes as a result of Phing's attempt to turn a simple love story into a complicated plot. But the romance-turned-sour story struck a note with moviegoers and encouraged the rookie director to start on a new project - action flick "Khon Hiew Hua".

So what do we have to look forward to in 2007?

The year looks promising, with the curtain rising on MC Chatrichalerm Yukol's long-awaited epic "The Legend of King Naresuan", which opens nationwide on January 18 to mark Thai Army Day.

 Parinyaporn Pajee

 The Nation