..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

December 22, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2004 Bangkok International Film Festival Unveils Film Festival Line-up and Golden Kinnaree Competition

Thai Film The Siamese Renaissance to Open the Festival on Thursday, January 22, 2004

The Barbarian Invasions, In America, Lost in Translation, August Sun Amongst Films in International Competition

Bangkok, Thailand, December 22, 2003 - The 2004 Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) has announced its roster of more than 100 films culled from more than 40 countries for this year's festival, to be held during January 22 - February 2, 2004. The dynamic city of Bangkok will serve as the backdrop of an equally energetic Festival highlighting the very best in global filmmaking, which will bring motion picture notaries from across the globe together. The Festival will also feature cultural events, conferences, industry workshops and lectures.

Commenting on the growth and evolution of the Festival, Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and President of the Festival, stated, "This year we will continue to mark the growing significance of Bangkok to the world's motion picture community as a prime launching platform for quality international filmmaking."

A total of 12 films from around the world will be screened in the Festival's International Competition. These films will be reviewed by the Festival's prestigious jury members in four categories - Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director - leading to the staging of the second annual Golden Kinnaree Awards, to be presented at the Awards Gala on January 31, 2004, at the Royal Thai Naval Conference Hall. A Kinnaree is an ancient and revered Thai mythological figure, whose attributes mix reality with fiction.

The International Competition will open on Thursday, January 22 with the premiere of the Thai film The Siamese Renaissance, the directing debut by Surapong Pinijkhar, based on a locally popular novel about a young woman travelling in time to Thailand's 19th Century.
The films to date that have been selected to compete in the International Competition include:
* The Barbarian Invasions (Canada/France) - directed by Denys Arcand
* Carandiru (Brazil) - directed by Hector Babenco
* Facing Windows (La Finestra de Fronte) (Italy) - directed by Frezan Ozpetek
* Girl with a Pearl Earring (United Kingdom) - directed by Peter Webber
* In America (United Kingdom) - directed by Jim Sheridan
* Lost in Translation (USA) - directed by Sofia Coppola
* Maqbool (India) - directed by Vishal Bharadwaj
* Nathalie (France) - directed by Anne Fontaine
* Rosenstrausse (Germany/Netherlands) - directed by Margarethe von Tratta
* Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (South Korea) - directed by Kim Ki-duk
* Zaitoichi (Japan) - directed by Takeshi Kitano

Another Golden Kinnaree will be awarded to the winner of a new program, ASEAN Panorama, featuring the best of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) cinema. A selection of films from ten countries - Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia - will be screened from January 24-28 and judged by members of FIPRESCI (International Association of Film Critics), who will present a Golden Kinnaree for the Best ASEAN Film. Films that will be competing in this category include Birdman Tale (Indonesia), Eliana, Eliana (Indonesia), Room to Let (Malaysia), Homecoming (Philippines), The Last Virgin (Philippines), Magnifico (Phillipines), 15 (Singapore), My Girl (Thailand), King of the Garbage Dump (Vietnam), Let the Star Dance (Indonesia), Okay Baytong (Thailand), The Overture (Thailand) and Paloh (Malaysia).

For audiences wishing to experience Thai filmmaking, the festival has created two separate programs. In the reality genre is a retrospective of Thai documentaries including 14 October (1973), Hara Factory Workers (1976), In the Fringe of the Society (1981), Chinatown Montage (1982) and Mysterious Object at Noon (1999). The other new program, Thai Panorama, will allow attendees to see seven to eight of the most popular Thai films from the past year that have not been released internationally. Films that will be screened in this program will include Beautiful Boxer, Fake, Macabre Case of Prompiram, Omen, One Night Husband and Pad Thai Story.

Windows of the World will feature a collection of 75 international films from over 40 countries not screening in competition. This presentation will include world premieres and showcase various film genres and filmmaking styles from around the world to festival audiences. Films that will screen include Calendar Girls (UK) starring Helen Mirren and directed by Nigel Cole, Travellers and Magicians (Bhutan) directed by Khyentse Norbu, God is Brazilian (Brazil), directed by Carlos Diegues, The Snow Walker (Canada) directed by Charles Martin Smith, The Nominee (Chile) directed by Nacho Argiro, The Dreamers (Italy), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, and The Company (USA/Germany) directed by Robert Altman.

Jennifer Stark, the director of programming commented, "This year's Festival will showcase some of the finest in cinema the world has to offer. We hope that through this programming line-up audiences will gain exposure to emerging Thai and ASEAN films while giving Asian audiences an opportunity to experience unique films not normally available to them."

Cinematographer's Day will be held on January 29 and 30, 2004. The special program will include a tribute to renowned cinematographer Christopher Doyle and a screening of his films including Hero, In the Mood For Love, Last Life in the Universe and Three. Doyle will also be honored with a Crystal Lens Award at the Awards Gala. The event will also feature a presentation of Brazil Through the Lens, which will include highlights from the following films Window of the Soul (Cinematographer - Walter Carvalho); Dogville (Cinematographer - Anthony Dod Mantle); God is Brazilian (Cinematographer - Alfonso Beato); Madame Sata (Cinematographer - Walter Carvalho); Carandiru (Cinematographer - Walter Carvalho); Topanga (Cinematographer - Fredrick Goodich); Warabinokou (Cinematographer - Shoji Ueda).

The Festival will also host the Bangkok Film Market from January 27-29, 2004. The Market not only plays host as a traditional film sales market, but also will present the opportunities, financial benefits and technical expertise available in Thailand to the entertainment industry. Its mission is to provide a quality environment for the sales and marketing of global filmed entertainment, while offering producers and distributors an opportunity to explore film alliances and co-productions with Thai financiers and filmmakers. Currently more than 40 companies have committed to participate. Those confirmed at this year's market include Alta, Artisan, Arclight, Atlas International, Beta Cinema, Blue Star Films, Capitol Films, Celestial Films, C-2 International, Fildebroc, Franchise, Golden Harvest, Grupo Novo de Cinema e TV, Horizon, H30 Filmed Entertainment, Icon, Intercontinental, Kathy Morgan International, Kinowelt, Madhu Entertainment, Magic Lantern, Media Luna, New Regency, Prophecy Entertainment, Razor Films, Sandstorm Films, ScanBox, Screen Gems, Spice Factory, Toei Company, and UGC International.

In addition to the films being screened, attendees will enjoy some of the Festival's signature events, which will include a Jazz Concert with Regina Carter (January 23), Celebrity Golf Tournament (January 27), Lifetime Achievement and Honorary Awards Gala at the Conference Hall, Royal Thai Navy Headquarters (January 31).

The Bangkok International Film Festival is scheduled January 22-February 2, 2004. An estimated 150 films from around the world will be screened. Winners in various categories will receive the film festival's Golden Kinnaree Award announced January 31, 2004 at an international Awards Gala Ceremony. Sponsors for the festival include Thai Airways International, the official Festival airline and Shangri-La Hotel, the official headquarters of the film festival. For additional festival information, contact the Los Angeles Festival office at (310) 272-1167, TAT Headquarters in Bangkok at (662) 250-5500 ext. 1575-78 or www.bangkokfilm.org.

www.bangkokfilm.org

International Public Relations Division
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Tel: 66 2 250 5500 ext. 1575-8
Fax: 66 2 253 7419
E-mail: prdiv3@tat.or.th