HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Bangkok International Film Festival 2008 begins next week

A voyage down the Nile keeps the audience guessing

---

Bangkok International Film Festival 2008 begins next week

Anyone who loves films must surely be looking forward to the Bangkok International Film Festival 2008 where visitors to the festival will be able to enjoy seventy outstanding films. This year there will be a special focus on films from the ASEAN region with the festival opening with the Thai movie ‘Queens of Langkasuka’.
‘Queens of Langkasuka’ is an epic story taken from Thai history, which has been produced on a massive scale, and is keenly awaited by critics and audiences alike. Directed by one of Thailand’s most renowned directors, Nonzee Nimibutr, it is based on a screenplay by SEAWrite Award winner - Win Leowarin.
Ananda Everingham, one of the best-known and most highly respected actors in the region, plays a leading role in the film, and he will also be a Juror in the South East Asian Competition.
The Golden Kinnaree Awards Ceremony will take place on Sunday 28 September at Aksra Theatre, King Power Complex. HRH Princess Ubolrat Ratchakanya Siriwattana Pannawadi has graciously consented to preside over the awards ceremony.
The competition will be divided into two sections: the Main Competition for international films; and the South East Asian Competition for films from the region.
In the non-competitive section there is the ‘World Cinema’ program, a selection of great films from around the world and in the ‘Thai Panorama,’ a selection of Thai films from the past year to represent the best of Thai cinema.
There will be many outstanding films shown at the festival. The program includes Birdsong from Spain, 24 City from the People’s Republic of China, and Slingshot from the Philippines. The festival offers a rare chance to see these and many other films which have received acclaim and awards in film festivals around the world.
The festival will take place from Tuesday 23 to Tuesday 30 September 2008 at SF World Cinema, CentralWorld and King Power Complex.

A voyage down the Nile keeps the audience guessing

Pattaya Players hit all the right notes in latest production

A quick diagnosis confirms that Benjamin Peters has indeed left
the land of the living.

Paul Strachan
Following on from the success of “An Evening of One Acts’ (which was actually – 3 Evenings of One Acts!) the troupe of local thespians called The Pattaya Players recently staged their latest production – without a stage!

Princess Tara of Munchovnia (Debbie Cavanaugh) confronts Professor Dillon Dobson played by Duane Hautch.
This time the players took a different approach to their craft by giving the audience an evening of murder, mystery, intrigue and exotic cuisine, the theme was a cruise down an historic river to see some rare jewels, entitled ‘Death and Deceit on the Nile’.
The venue was Indian by Nature, and due to the initial rush for tickets, a second night had to be added to meet demand.
On arrival guests were given an envelope that contained a name badge and a brief description of their character (should they choose to participate). Drinks were served in the upstairs room of the restaurant where some of the actors, in character mingled with the guests, where they set the premise and spread salacious rumors of their fellow shipmates. Neil Wrightson decked out as the archeologist Benjamin Peters replete with a pith helmet, was casting a shadow over the organizer of the voyage Professor Dillon Dobson played with ease by Duane Hautch, who in turn was casting aspersions over his loyal if somewhat outspoken and sometimes inebriated assistant Esmirelda White played with much gusto – or was it Gin - by Foo Smith.

Chris Parsons as Zelda Lavish, center, with Jacinta Chamberlain and Rachel Hoag.
The scene was set and Prof Dobson told us we were about to set sail down the Nile and see a rare collection of gems. Then we were introduced to a voluptuous member of Royality: Princess Tara of Munchovnia a woman with a love of jewels that just about outweighed her love of men where Debbie Cavanaugh ditched her American accent and brilliantly convinced the audience that she was indeed from some long forgotten mid-European country, it was impossible not to be entranced by her sexy, sultry tones as well as her plunging neckline!
Benjamin Peters then announced that the Professor was a fraud and that the real treasure was in a place that only he, Benjamin knew about. It was then that Benjamin Peters was shot ...and the plot thickened.

The scribe grabs a word with archeologist Benjamin Peters a.k.a. Neil Wrightson.
Then an ancient Egyptian God named Anubis who is the ‘Guardian and guide of the dead to the underworld’ removed the body of Benjamin and ushered the guests down for dinner – this was in fact the director of the performance Ray Lightbown.
The evening continued and as dinner was served the cast of characters grew, as Sanjay Lamba (who was in the first Murder Mystery back in April 2007) dripping with gold and sickly charm tried to sweet talk all the females in the room and another man who at first was taken as a ghostly apparition, but in fact turned out to be the twin brother of the recently deceased archeologist, Michael Peters (again played by Wrightson) whose job it was to lead us to draw our own conclusions at to who committed the murder.
There was still one cast member waiting in the wings, the ‘Belle of the ball’ Zelda Lavish, or rather ‘Ball of the Ball’ as Zelda was in fact an alarming attractive Christopher Parsons, who played with relish the quick witted femme fatale that had all the male members eye her with undisguised interest while the women ventured as to how Chris managed to parade around in his red – Dorothy like - high heels.
A second murder took place with the welcome demise of Professor Dillon Dobson and the evening continued as the storylines intertwined and it was the job of the audience to unravel them, detect red herrings and finally pin down the killer …or killers
These types of interactive Murder Mystery Evenings can be something of a sure fire hit; however it can only succeed if the standard of the acting can convince the audience that they are who they say they are and that the audience buy into the theme.
This was the key to Pattaya Players ‘Death and Deceit on the Nile’ with everybody remaining firmly in character, reciting their lines on cue but also even more importantly – improvising as they worked their way round the voyagers, each one with an agenda and overt character that kept us all guessing …right to the end.
The Pattaya Players have the motto ‘Home of the Professional Amateurs.’ It’s not just a motto, its an assurance of quality, from the sound, make-up, costumes, acting, directing, even their website pattayaplayers.org, but also the vision to continue bringing these groundbreaking (well to Pattaya at least) productions to our community.
Their next production again will be a shift of focus as Christopher Parsons ‘ditches the drag’ and returns to the director’s chair in a self-penned haunted ghost tour called ‘Path of Phantoms, Poltergeists and Pagans’ which will be held at Horseshoe Point on the 31 October, which in case you hadn’t twigged is Halloween Night.

Viewers of PMTV can catch up with some of the actors on Friday the 19th and again on Sunday the 21st in PMTV’s Meet and Greet section, which is on 5 cable networks across the Eastern Seaboard.

News | Business | Features | Columns | Mail Bag | Sports | Auto Mania
Our Children | Travel | Our Community | Dining Out & Entertainment
Social Scene | Classifieds | Community Happenings | Books Music Movies
Clubs in Pattaya | Sports Round-Up

E-mail: ptymail@pattayamail.com
Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20150, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596

Copyright © 2004 Pattaya Mail. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.