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Thai Cinema Uncensored
by Matthew Hunt
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Book Presentation:
In this first full-length study on the topic, Matthew Hunt―with access to rare and controversial films―provides a history of film censorship in Thailand. Hunt outlines its beginnings in the country, when films were censored by the police for political and ideological reasons, rather than on the basis of taste and decency, to the present when issues such as politics, religion, and sex are the main reasons films are banned. He also examines how Thai filmmakers approach culturally sensitive subjects and how their films have been censored as a result. Hunt presents interviews with ten leading directors, including conversations with Thai New Wave veterans Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Pen-ek Ratanaruang. In these interviews, the directors discuss their most controversial films, which range from mainstream studio movies to independent arthouse releases, and explain their responses to censorship.
About the Author:
Matthew Hunt is a former features writer and journalism lecturer and has written about Thai culture and politics on his website, Dateline Bangkok.
Press Reviews:
"Matthew Hunt's Thai Cinema Uncensored documents the laughter, the ridiculousness, and the fear behind our fragile facade. I hope that in the near future, this fascinating record will read more like fiction, a horror tinged with comedy, to our young filmmakers."―Apichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of Palme d'Or 2010
"Thais and Thailand watchers will recognise the bigger story, an all-too-common narrative arc streaked with moments of fear, absurdity and humour, in Hunt's lingering closeups on the mangled, hidden wreckage of film censorship."―ArtReview
"Thai Cinema Uncensored...is a work of resistance against the censors. It describes in detail the struggle of filmmakers to work around inconsistent censorship rules. Matthew Hunt writes with a sense of urgency to legitimize these films and work towards a future where Thai filmmakers make the films they want without having to worry if people will be able to watch them. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of Thai films and the history that has shaped them."―International Examiner
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