Let's Make a Movie!

Sixty northern students got a crash course in making short films last month, from scriptwriting and acting to handling the camera.

Organised by the Culture Ministry's Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, the 10-day filmmaking camp in Chiang Rai encouraged the students, ages 16 to 20, to express their views on what's happening culturally in their community.

Each of the 10 teams of six students produced a short film, and some of the participants make it clear that they want to do more with the medium.

Ranida Suemue, 20, from Chiang Rai Vocational College, wants to use the skills she picked up to make a short documentary about her own origins in the Akha hilltribe.

"It will be a film about our khai daeng [red egg] ceremony, which is held on the Akha New Year's Day every April 13," she says.

"The ceremony is performed by the elders, who boil the eggs and dye them red, and then give them to members of the family to ward off bad fortune.

"I want to further my filmmaking studies at university," Ranida adds. "I think I've already learned all the basics needed to be a director."

Bancha Kosaentor, a 17-year-old at Rajaprachanukroh 15 School, also in Chiang Rai, says he learned more at the camp than just moviemaking - he got a lesson in self-sufficiency.

"We didn't have a lot of equipment to make our films, so we were taught to make do with other materials, such as using a metallic tile as a light reflector," he says.

"The instructor said that if I could utilise second-hand things like that, I'd be able to work under any conditions. I think he was absolutely correct!"

By Watchara Saengsrisin/ DAILY XPRESS

Photo by Watchara Saengsrisin/ DAILY XPRESS