Award Winners at the 5th Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival

Award Winners at the 5th Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival

Celebrating ASEAN Cultural Year 2019 and promoting Bangkok as the hub of cinema in ASEAN

The Ministry of Culture gave out three awards to films in ASEAN Competition as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award to a veteran filmmaker

July 8, 2019, Sky Lobby, SF World Cinema, CentralWorld: Minister of Culture Veera Ropjpojanarat presided over the closing ceremony of Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2019 and handed out 3 awards to winners:

Best ASEAN Film (a cash prize of $10,000 and a trophy), goes to the Thai film Manta Ray, directed by Phuttiphong Arunpheng. Jury Prize (a cash prize of $5,000 and a trophy) goes to the Filipino film Balangiga: Howling Wilderness, directed by Khavn de la Cruz. Special Mention (a cash prize of $2,000 and a trophy) goes to the Vietnamese film The Third Wife, directed by Ash Mayfair.

The Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Garin Nugroho, a veteran filmmaker from Indonesia.

The closing ceremony was attended by Permanent Secretary for Culture Kitsayapong Siri, executives of the Ministry of Culture, the National Board of Film and Video, the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations, the festival’s committee, the festival jury members, and representatives from film agencies of 9 ASEAN member nations, as well as Thai and international celebrities.

Mr. Veera said that according to the agreement made at the 8th meeting of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Arts and Culture on October 24, 2018, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the year 2019 was designated as ASEAN Culture Year to promote ASEAN culture under the concept “ASEAN: Oneness to the World”. The Thai Ministry of Culture has been active in promoting the co-operation among film industry professionals in ASEAN as well as expanding Southeast Asian films to the international market. The Ministry is pushing the Thai film and video industry to become the production and distribution center, or Hub of ASEAN, in accordance with the 3 rd phase of the Strategic Development Plan for Film and Video Industry (2017-2021), which focuses on using the cultural dimension to promote international relations, generate new sources of income for the country, and establish Bangkok as a film center of Southeast Asia.

Mr. Veera added that the Thai government, through the Ministry of Culture and in co-operation with the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations and other agencies, hosted the 5th Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2019 from July 3-8 at SF World Cinema, CentralWorld, and Paragon Cineplex, Siam Paragon. The festival screened films selected by embassies or film agencies of the 10 ASEAN member nations, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. This year the program was extended to include titles from China, Korea and Japan. Altogether the program featured 30 films from 13 countries. Another highlight was a program called ROUNDTABLE, a talk and workshop series organized by Purin Pictures Foundation featuring sessions with leading filmmakers from the region, held at Alliance Francaise Bangkok from July 4-7.

The closing ceremony concluded with the announcement of the 3 awards, plus a Lifetime Achievement Award. The 5th edition of Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival has proved to be a strong and valuable cultural event that strengthens the ties among ASEAN  countries and promotes more co-operation among film industry professionals in the region.

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