Nontawat Numbenchapol

1. Introduction 

Nontawat shares his childhood obsession with cameras and film. He recalls watching movies such as Terminator (1984) with his family.

Despite this, his first storytelling lessons were taken from Japanese manga, a medium that inspired him to have his own comics published in magazines before University. He was then faced with the choice between graphic design or film school, a decision that was made when he was rejected from the latter. 

While studying graphic design his passion for filmmaking was kept alive as he continued to be a fan of cinema, citing the film Blissfully Yours (2002) as a huge inspiration since director Apichatpong Weerasethakul was also Thai.

2. First Short Film 

Meanwhile, his friends in University, who Nontawat described as ‘gangsters’, wanted to pursue skateboarding professionally and recorded videos of themselves performing tricks. Nontawat sensed an opportunity and asked to edit the footage, submitting the final product in the form of a packaged DVD for his visual communications class. 

He wanted to continue this project and asked for funding from a Thai movie studio, who at the time was making a documentary about gangsters and took interest in his project. The studio gave him a small budget and Nontawat eventually made an 80 minute cut.

3. Entering the filmmaking community 

In order to screen his film, Nontawat searched online and found  ThaiIndie.com, founded by a local independent filmmaker who wanted to build a community focused on experimental films. After taking a liking to Nontawat’s film, the first screening was then held in Bangkok Experimental Film Festival, Nontawat’s first festival. This film community would gather together every weekend to watch and study films together, with emphasis on Thai slow cinema. 

Around 2006, Nontawat attends the Thai Short Film Festival. 

4. First Experimental Films

Nontawat recounts the filmmakers he met at this festival, inspiring him to make more experimental shorts.

These first short films were based on his parents’ warnings regarding the dangers of skateboarding. He wanted to depict that parent-child relationship and so mixed skateboarding footage with interviews of the skateboarders’ parents from across the country. 

5. Career development

Nontawat recounts the journey from his first experimental short films to his first feature Boundary (2013). 

A lot of his lessons were learnt from his experience being on set.  One of the most important takeaways was that he did not want his shots to be ‘too beautiful’, a description he would use for Wong Kar Wai films. Although he himself is not completely sure what being ‘too beautiful’ consists of, he expresses the desire to avoid shots that are too modern, or postmodern.  

6. Making of Boundary (2013)

Nontawat was Inspired by the Thai-Cambodia border protests, especially when one of his friends was assigned to dispel protesters in Bangkok. He recounts how his friend showed reluctance at using force towards the protestors, yet he had no choice but to follow the authority of law. From this experience, Nontawat realised that political situations are never black or white. He then asked his friend for permission to follow him to the borders to shoot a documentary. 

7. Funding and Travel to Cambodia 

He then applied to Busan film festival for funding, whilst looking for connections that will bring him over to the Cambodia side. He met Noh Dong-Seok at Busan who expressed interest in helping him shoot in Cambodia. 

9. Activism

Back home in Thailand, many conservatives were angry during the screening, even in the film societies. Following this many people did not want to work with him, accusing him of making a film criticising his own country. A simillar response was given by the Cambodian audience who accused Nontawat of being ignorant 

Yet, Nontawat did not think of the film as controversial. 

10. By The River (2013)

His next documentary was shot at the Myanmar border.  He worked with NGOs and villages that are situated near the river.  The citizens here live without signals or electricity, and they face environmental issues such as water contamination killing the  water buffaloes.  

Nontawat interviewed someone who eventually died in the river. The locals believe that the river is haunted by ghosts . After this tragic incident, the crew was scared of the ghost haunting the set.  Eventually, this fear spread to Nontawat. 

Nontawat invited the NGOs to the screening. but in the village there is no electricity, so he improvised and used his car batteries. This screening was the first time the villagers had watched a film.

11. #BKKY (2016)

After finishing both films, he was interested in how teenagers in Bangkok live, especially on the topic of gender and sexual fludity. He hired a casting team and found 100 teenagers across the city and eventually landed on a muse which would inspire #BKKY.

He explains the idea of using the hashtag in the title, detailing how the youth has not only shaped the current political ideology but also cinema culture. He gives the example that only the youngsters refuse to stand up before a  cinema viewing, a tradition that the Thai audience adheres to out of respect for the King.

12. SEAFIC

After #BKKY, Nontawat wanted to make a film in a part of Thailand that he has not explored yet. he began researching Chiang Mai, and became interested in the Shan ethnic minorities that lived there.  He began researching the origins of  this diaspora, and one day his Shan friend approached  him  for advice as the former wanted to be a photographer. 

In exchange Nontawat wanted to shoot a documentary about the Shan camp that his friend was based in. Eventualy, he shot a short film regarding these residents, asking the Shan people about their hopes and dreams.One of the interesting tales about the Shan was that straight men will work in gay massage bars even if they have children which inspired Nontawat to develop a script about a dialogue between massage therapist and client. This script will eventually become Doi Boy, produced by Steven Chen at SEAFIC. 

13. Mobile Lab

Notawat then concludes with his work with Mobile Lab. 

Before Boundary he started this project as a way to trace history through visual and sounds. He then details the other filmmakers that he met throughout Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Cambodia. 

He concludes with the importance of metaphor in Southeast Asian Cinema as a resistance towards censorship.