The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Mumbai, along with Films Division, will organising a Thai Film Festival from March 29 to March 31. Thai films from various genres such as short film, documentary, animation, comedy-drama, action, and horror will be screened at the Films Division Complex on Cumballa Hill.

There will be six feature films, one short film, and one documentary film.

The opening ceremony on March 29, 2018, will showcase Thai food and cultural performances. According to a statement issued by the organisers, the festival will allow the Indian public to experience Thai culture through films, food, and cultural performances.
The opening film will be ‘Nine,’ which is a short animation.

Let’s have a look at the 8 Thai films that will be screened. All films will have English subtitles.

Nine: It is a haunting tale of a Grey Cat, afraid of losing his final life, makes a deal with the devil and gets much more than he bargained for.

The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra: It is a beautifully choreographed action inspired by the martial art of Muay Thai in a fantasy setting. The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra focuses on adventure and journey in the world of human, giant, monkey that lives together. It is a world-class animation created by a team of more than 200 Thai and Hollywood animators. Its making takes over 4 years and more than 100-million-rupee budget.

By The Time It Gets Dark: The film is highly admired by international critiques and honored as Thailand’s entry for Best Foreign Film at Oscar, “By the Time it Gets Dark” examines whether artists can relate to grim events from the past through a film-within-a-film premise. As the film takes place, audiences are asked to question whether people can truly understand the historical trauma of what happened through viewing philosophical passages of action made up of increasingly surreal and beautiful images juxtaposing a peaceful and prosperous present with those brutal events of the past and the ghosts that remain.

Twin Monkeys: The film is inspired by martial arts culture in traditional Chinese and Thai theatre plays, Twin Monkeys excel in its action scenes choreographed by internationally renowned martial art and action choreographer who himself plays the main character. Real action and no stand-in!

Premika: When a new resort is opened in the forest, famous celebrities are invited to the party launch and to spend the night there. Someone happens to plug in the old karaoke machine, and a young girl ghost in Japanese school uniform comes out and starts killing everyone by making them sing! Whoever doesn’t sing to her liking, she kills them! Why is she killing them? What does she want? Sing along and run away as the gore and laughter begin!

Phantom of Illumination: Once upon a time, 35 mm films cinemas were mainstream entertainment in Thailand. As time went by, these old-fashioned cinemas are forgotten and became second-class movie theatre showing double feature or pornography and eventually closed down. Phantom of Illumination is a documentary account of the life of a man who lost his 25-year job as a 35-mm films projectionist. His lifelong skill suddenly became useless. He lost all hope, turned into an alcoholic, tried to study Dharma, and continue living in mixed reality with his own fantasy.

Santi-Vina: First released 1954, the film was lost for 60 years before restoration in 2014 from the original camera and sound negatives preserved at the British Films Institute. Santi-Vina is the first Thai feature film shot in color 35 mm. It is also the first Thai feature film to win international recognition and officially selected for Cannes Classic. Santi-Vina is a story of a karmic triangle that bound three lives together. The story revolves around the life of a blind boy, the girl he loves, his rival, and a respectable monk who nurtured him to realize that real happiness in life is entering the land of Buddha.

Bad Genius: Inspired by real-life news of students cheating on the international standardized exam, the film transplants the heist film structure to a school-exams setting, and features themes of class inequality as well as teen social issues. Rank in top 6 for worldwide box office in October 2017 and screened all over the world, Bad Genius became a talk of the town in numerous international film festivals that it has been screened and awarded. The film also won a record-breaking award both in Thailand and international festival circuit. It is by far the highest grossing and most internationally successful Thai Film.