There are five special film screenings this month at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand (518/5 Ploenchit Rd, Maneeya Center, Penthouse), which are part of the ongoing Monday night documentary series. On August 7th the club presents Twinsters, a 2015 film by Samantha Futerman. The film follows the story of how the writer, director, and star stumbles upon a familiar face on YouTube—her own—and finding the resemblance uncanny, she sends the video’s American creator a message. Miraculously the pair discover that they are, in fact, twins separated at birth. This screening includes a post-screening Skype discussion with the filmmakers.
The series continues with two films that explore the world of fine dining. On August 15th don’t miss A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt, a 2011 documentary that follows the career of British chef Paul Liebrandt as he makes a name for himself in post-9/11 New York City. This is followed on August 21st with the 2016 doc City of Gold, in which filmmaker Laura Gabbert follows Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold as he explores the culinary culture of Los Angeles.
The FCCT Monday night screenings in August conclude with Most Likely to Succeed, a 2015 feature-length documentary examining the history of education in the United States and revealing the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods in today’s innovative world. All the aforementioned films are being shown in partnership with the U.S. Embassy and the American Film Showcase, and begin at 7pm. Admission is free for members, and B150 for non-members.
As an extra bonus this month the FCCT is also presenting a Tuesday night documentary screening on August 29th with a film entitled The Rainbow Over the River Kwai. The film profiles Takashi Nagase (1918-2011) a Japanese soldier who witnessed the misery behind the building of the infamous ‘Death Railway’ in Thailand during the Second World War—where hard work, torture, malnutrition, and disease claimed the lives of 13,000 POWs and more than 50,000 Asian workers. This documentary highlights ‘Nagase’s ties with Thai people, and details his devotion to atonement, reconciliation, and attempts to make peace with those who were involved in this regrettable chapter in the county’s history. Nagase established the ‘River Kwai Peace Foundation’ to give scholarships to Thai students in Kanchanaburi, and made 135 pilgrimages to Thailand throughout his lifetime. Sometimes he faced cruel rejection, but other times he shook hands with ex-POWs. There was also a notable reunion with Eric Lomax, author of a best-selling non-fiction book which was made into a moving film The Railway Man (2013).
Ironically, the same subject matter—the construction of the ‘Death Railway’ in Kanchanaburi—is the focus of another, unrelated cinematic presentation this month. On Sunday August 13th at the historic Scala Cinema (at Siam BTS station), you can watch the Academy Award winning 1957 war drama The Bridge on the River Kwai, directed by David Lean and starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Alec Guinness. Based on the novel Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai, by Pierre Boulle, the film is largely fictional but loosely parallels the building of a railway bridge at a place called Tha Ma Kham, 5 km from the Thai town of Kanchanaburi (however the movie’s shooting location was, in fact, Sri Lanka). This screening is part of the ongoing ‘World Class Cinema’ series, which presents a different classic film each month up on the big screen. Showtime is 12 noon, and tickets are B100. Call 02 251 2861 for more information.
