‘peace in the flames of war’ examines the situation in southern thailand

The recent violence in the south of Thailand inspired the searing documentary “Peace in the Flames of War” (“Santipap Nai Plew Pleung”).

It is the only Thai documentary being screened at the second World Film Festival of Bangkok. Produced this year, the 90-minute film is excerpted from a 150-minute television documentary on the aftermath of the April 28 terrorist attacks on police and military installations in three southern provinces. The day ended with more than 100 people dead and the militants barricading themselves inside a mosque in Pattani.

Directed by Pipope Panitchtakdi, the Nation Channel’s news-feature director, the documentary is structured around interviews with villagers living in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. They speak of how the tragedy has affected their lives and point out that their religion does not preach violence. Nation Group editor Thepchai Yong acts as the presenter.

Here are excerpts from an interview with Pipope:

What were the challenges you faced during the production of this film? How long did it take to complete this documentary?

On 28 April, I missed the combat in the morning, but filmed all of the incidents at Krue Se Mosque in the afternoon.

As an eyewitness, I smelled the gunpowder, heard the continuous explosions and saw people examining the damage to the mosque after soldiers cleared the area. The terrified faces of the locals and their panic can be seen in the documentary.

I started the documentary with scenes of chaos, using photo stills to create a sense of vividness. This technique worked very well.

I didn’t play the role of a freelance documentary producer, but more that of a reporter. We kept our coverage balanced, the content of our reporting sensible, and selected photos and a soundtrack that would not mislead audiences. Just the facts -the lives of the locals and the violence – were included.

We tried to focus on one theme: a fight between the ordinary and the non-ordinary. We were very concerned with presenting violent scenes in a way that would provoke either side.

We would like audiences to judge the sequences with Private Pattaya Wonchan. He seems like a hero not because of his uniform but because of his humanism.

What do you think about the future of documentary productions here?

I believe there will be more documentary projects because technology and equipment are now less expensive. Most filmmakers who wish to direct a feature start their careers with documentaries. In my opinion, documentaries should be used to examine the dark side of society and help the weak. They work like a rear view mirror, which we don’t look at all the time, but know is there to help us when necessary. If we don’t have it, an accident may happen.

Tell us about your team.

The team is small – myself, an assistant director, producer and second unit cameraman. My favourite part was the brainstorming meetings and arguments we had. I would like to give Thepchai credit for writing on-the-spot scripts during the shooting. He was a great help.

Is it appropriate for a documentary to be subjective or even biased?

Having a bias is no longer discussed nowadays because we don’t rely on only one source. So, I am not worried much about bias. But what I am worried about is propaganda and fraud, when some source may pretend to be neutral, or present something as axiomatic, which is more awful than being subjective.

“ Peace in the Flames of War” (“Santipap Nai Plew Pleung”) screens at 1.30pm today at EGV Metropolis 4.

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A day in the life of Cuba

One of the competition entries at the second World Film Festival of Bangkok, “Suite Habana” follows 10 Havana residents during a typical day in the Cuban capital.

Directed by Fernando Perez, the documentary is dialogue free, yet it has a rhythm, like a musical composition. One of the central sequences involves the preparation of the midday meal. Beans are cleaned and ingredients chopped. A close-up of a pressure cooker is edited to the beat of the swaying hips of women being ogled on the street.

Beginning at dawn, the opening image is of a lighthouse in the harbour and a freighter ship passing through.

The subjects include a handicapped boy, who is prepared for school by his grandmother. Later on he is visited by his father. A hospital orderly rides his bicycle to work. Along the way, he drops off a pair of high-heeled women’s shoes for a cobbler to fix.

Bicycles are a main form of transport. Another subject cycles to his job on the railroad, where he works all day straightening out track.

There’s also a supervisor at a toothpaste factory, checking the line as tubes are crimped by machines.

At night, the arts become important. A young man, seen working all day at renovating a house, dances in the ballet. The railway worker blows tenor sax at a club. The hospital orderly retrieves his high-heels from the cobbler and performs in drag. A doctor sidelines as a clown.

“Suite Habana” is a slice of Cubano life and makes no comments on the thoughts of the people until the end, when some text explains a bit about each character and their dreams. There is one exception – an elderly peanut vendor. Long a widow, she, the director says, has no dreams.

What’s striking about “Suite Habana” is that it shows Cuba as a country on the move. It’s a country that is developing. People are building houses, getting on with their lives. There are even direct flights from Havana to Miami, Florida.

There is never an image of Fidel Castro to be found, though Che Guevara’s iconic mug is seen. Also, it’s notable that it’s a statue of Beatle John Lennon – not Vladimir Lenin – sitting on a park bench, which is repeatedly seen in the montage of images.

“Suite Habana” screens at 5.40pm Saturday at EGV Metropolis 5.