CM 2023

The Burning Giants

Yakmai

CineMart 2023 - The Burning Giants

Goals at CineMart Looking for co-producers in key territories for financing, creative input, and production/post-production crew; ideally producers with strong track record and experience/interest in co-production with Asian independent/arthouse projects. The film will be shot in Thailand but we are open to making use of an international crew for key positions if (first and foremost) artistically and financially suitable.&nbsp;Synopsis J&rsquo;gaw, a Karen ethnic migrant worker, is trapped in a quarantine site near Bangkok&rsquo;s industrial compound. A mysterious toxic smog has caused an airborne disease that spreads bizarre skin conditions resembling second degree burn marks among the workers, as if those infected are burned from an invisible fire. The workers are rounded up and locked inside a huge warehouse by the Thai military. The streets are strangely quiet as several shops in the neighbourhood cease operations, including the massage parlour his wife Thida works in. Now living alone at their small apartment, she is frantic as she has not heard from her husband for days. Another village woman Majeh also loses her job as a babysitter and takes care of Thida, keeping her company. In the sweltering heat, the two women recall their days living in the mountains near the Myanmar border. Majeh shares about her former lover Lak, one of the Thai government officers tasked to look after their village. Fearing that J&rsquo;gaw might be dead, Thida picks a red traditional Karen costume of his and cuts a hole through it. She lays the outfit on the mattress, praying for J&rsquo;gaw to wear it back home.Soon, Majeh catches the disease and becomes quickly weakened. She tells Thida her dying wish is to reunite with her daughter Ladia whom she left behind after fleeing from the village fire. That night, the smog thickens and, in complete silence, finds its way into J'gaw's apartment building, moving along the hallway, up the stairs and finally, prying into the apartment where Thida and Majeh are. A crack of light pierces through the vast warehouse. J&rsquo;gaw looks up at the tiny opening above and in a small supernatural leap, he musters the strength to reach the roof and climb out. He returns to his apartment and finds it empty, with no sign of Thida. Undaunted, he packs his bag and rides towards his village on a motorbike.&nbsp;Lately Lak dreams of Majeh and their child he has not seen yet. As a Thai forestry officer, he was friendly with the Karen villagers but was later ordered to evict the villagers and set the village on fire. Majeh has since disappeared mysteriously. Lak wakes up to find unusual burn marks on his body, resembling the rumoured plague from the city. When the authorities receive a report that someone has trespassed on the National Park, he sets off on a new mission.A sudden gust of wind rises and whips up a thick envelope of dust over the forest. Will J&rsquo;gaw and Lak find their lost lovers in the fog?&nbsp;Director&rsquo;s Biography Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (1976) studied fine arts at Bangkok&rsquo;s Silpakorn University. His short films have screened in festivals including Busan, IFFR, Hamburg and Singapore. His 2015 short, Ferris Wheel, was screened at over 20 festivals and received 10 awards. He participated in 2009 Asian Film Academy at Busan and was also selected one of Asian Public Intellectuals fellows by the Nippon Foundation. He also works extensively as cinematographer, with credits including Anatomy of Time and Vanishing Point (dir. Jakrawal Nilthamrong), The Island Funeral (dir. Pimpaka Towira) and Dolphins (dir. Waleed Al-Shehhi). His debut feature film as a director Manta Ray won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the 2018 Venice Film Festival, as well as 11 other international awards. He just recently completed his second feature film Morrison.

Diversion

A mysterious toxic smog is infecting Bangkok’s migrant workers with a bizarre skin condition, as if they are burned by an invisible fire. An ethnic migrant worker escapes from the quarantine camp to return to his mountaintop village near the Myanmar border. On his way home to find his lost wife, he meets the Thai government official who burned down his village to make way for a new national park.