Top 5 Film Festivals of Thailand
| 5 MIN READ |
Written by Patrick Harney | @pharnney
Top Festivals:
Adfest
ITFF
Bangkok ASEAN Festival
Bangkok Underground
International Student Festival
Thailand has long been recognized for being an international hub for filmmaking, not only that but is also host to many of the worlds film festival awards. This acknowledgement for the country has shined light to many producers and directors from around the globe to give them a chance to expand their audiences. Because of Bangkok’s creative art community is gaining traction with its indie films and excellent filming locations and directors, a variety of film awards are being presented in unconventional ways whether it would be underground, mainstream or student submitted. Here we have collected a list of the top 5 film festival events in Thailand that every production house should know about.
Adfest
Founded in 1998, ADFEST is the ideal place for the creative industry to gather, network, exchange ideas and self education through captivating film submissions. ADFEST is open to companies involved in advertising, communications, and production industries throughout Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Being one of the most prestigious film festivals, many films, music videos and documentaries submitted end up being shown to audiences on a global scale.
ITFF
ITFF a.k.a. International Thai Film Festival is an internationally recognized film industry event and one of the reputable international film festivals of Thailand. The ITFF brings together film, animation and entertainment industry professionals from around the world, celebrating and awarding the very best productions and artists from new talents to seasoned experts. Judged by Thai film and entertainment industry professionals and guest judges from major studios, many of those who enter this competition are those who are passionate about film making and want to gain a higher reputation in this industry. ITFF is open to productions in all genres and all styles and main submission categories include short film, animation, feature film, video and music videos.
Bangkok Asean Festival
Ameliorating economic prosperity between many of the South Eastern countries, Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has organized the Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival in 2015. Since then the festival has promoted the role of movies as an agent of mutual understanding of cultural riches, ways of life, beliefs and identities of ASEAN members. The film festival is categorized into 3 sections; The ASEAN Film Competition, ASEAN + 3 FAR EAST (China, Japan, South Korea films), and ASEAN CLASSIC. Each screening film’s from around ASEAN countries showcasing the best works of producers and directors from new to old movies. The festival also offers a wide range of activities under the title ROUNDTABLE. Roundtable hosts film-related activities such as panel discussions and workshops for filmmakers and agencies.
Bangkok Underground
Bangkok Underground Film Festival showcases a diverse platform for filmmakers, students and production houses from all walks of life and all parts of the world who are interested in making movies without having a film department. This organization aims to those who want to tell the stories which may have had limited exposure to audiences. The film festival encourages emerging and unconventional films that may have been overlooked in the hustle of mainstream media. Invitations are open to the bizarre, the specific, the confronting and the abstract with the goal of enriching culture and broadening the boundaries of cinematography.
International Student Festival
Bringing local and international students together from Chula, Thammasat, Kasetsart, Mahidol, Siam, BUIC, and many more universities, this event is a meaningful music event with interesting cultural exchanges from people from all around the world at one place. The festival itself travels between cities across the world inviting cultures from different countries into a melting pot.
If you want to know more about the film industry in Thailand then you must read our Film Industry in Thailand – A Producer’s Guide article.