1. Watching Films from the Projectionist's Room. 

Born in northern Thailand, Pimpaka later moved to Bangkok. As Pimpaka describes, she spent her childhood watching films from the projectionist’s room as her father owned a cinema in Bangkok. Although now demolished, the cinema was a crucial introduction for Pimpaka to films from Hong Kong and Hollywood.  

2. First Filmmaking Experience. 

Although Pimpaka never thought she would become a filmmaker, she always wanted to be part of cinema. As Pimpaka puts it, her family was not content with her career choices involving the film industry. Nevertheless, after discovering experimental filmmaking at the Goethe-Institut Thailand, Pimpaka participated in two experimental filmmaking workshops supported by the institute in the early 1990s. 

With the first workshop, Pimpaka had the opportunity to become part of a team and shoot a short film on 16mm. During the second workshop, Pimpaka's filmmaking experience was more rigorous and involved recording sound on location and writing a script. In her Mae Nak (1997), Pimpaka reconstructs a popular ghost story that disrupts the audience's expectations. Despite the film's success at Japan's Image Forum Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize, Pimpaka describes the film's negative reception in Bangkok. 

3. The Beginnings of a Film Community. 

After Pimpaka participated in the two filmmaking workshops, she felt a sense of a growing film community. Although still at its beginnings, the alternative Thai film scene featured more opportunities for film creation and exhibition. Pimpaka pins down 1998 as pivotal in Thai film history with the rise of alternative cinema supported by film festivals such as the Bangkok International Film Festival. Having received an opportunity to work for a film studio, Pimpaka began her feature film debut คืนไร้เงา/One Night Husband (Pimpaka Towira, Thailand, 2003) starring a popular pop singer Nicole Theriault, cast prompted by the film studio. After being asked to reduce the length of her film from two hours to ninety minutes by the studio to secure box office profits, Pimpaka realises she does not want to choose the path of a commercial filmmaker. At this time, Pimpaka also meets with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and begins to engage more with the independent film scene in Thailand. 

4. Film Programming. 

Pimpaka speaks to her experience working as a film programmer in 2008 and 2009 at the Bangkok International Film Festival and the controversies regarding its leadership. Moreover, in 2017 and 2018, Pimpaka worked as the program director of the Singapore International Film Festival. More recently, Pimpaka was the programme director of the Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival in 2022. 

5. Southeast Asian Regional Cinema. 

Seen as a pivotal figure in supporting Southeast Asian regional cinema, in this section of the interview, Pimpaka is asked to speak about its importance while describing changes she senses within the platform of international film festivals. In contrast to international film festivals, Pimpaka ascribes significance to the regional, alternative exhibition spaces. As a film programmer, Pimpaka questions the established pattern of discovering new filmmakers through international film festivals. Furthermore, Pimpaka raises concern about streaming platforms and their effects on film audiences and exhibition spaces in the future.

6. The Island Funeral (Pimpaka Towira, Thailand, 2015)  and the Deep South Young Filmmakers. 

Pimpaka’s interest in southern Thailand began before the insurgency took place in 2004, amplifying the area’s political, societal, and religious turmoil. Compelled to explore the Muslim communities there, Pimpaka started working on her film The Island Funeral. The film features a travel narrative with a young Muslim protagonist as she journeys from Bangkok to the south of Thailand. As Pimpaka describes, she researched the area while making the film. She engaged with the local population, which brought many challenges, partially inspiring the underpinning theme of the film: the fear of the unknown. Shot on Super 16mm, The Island Funeral was successful at film festivals. 

After screening the film in the south, Pimpaka initiated the film workshop Deep South Young Filmmakers, funded by the Thai Media Fund. Collaborating with local activists and media artists, the workshop serves as a platform for young filmmakers and provides resources enabling them to share their perspectives. While the film audiences in the south connect profoundly with the screened films, the audiences in Bangkok gain invaluable insight into southern parts of Thailand. Finally, Pimpaka stresses the value of the post-screening discussions about the social issues depicted in the films and the demand to continue screening the films in the southern areas.   

7. Spaces of Film Exhibition. 

Given the need for exhibition spaces Pimpaka encountered during her workshop organising in the southern areas of Thailand, she wanted to find more opportunities to house screenings of the short films produced by the workshop members. With the help of a local activist, Pimpaka found an old building and a projector and created a programme featuring not only Thai films but also films from Indonesia and Malaysia. The screening and the film programme were very successful, and Pimpaka speaks about future plans and film exhibition opportunities.  

8. The Magic of Cinema and Closing Remarks. 

At the end of the interview, Pimpaka mediates on the issue of maintaining the 'magic of cinema'. Pimpaka and Philippa Lovatt engage in a dialogue about the changing ways of film consumption with the rise of streaming platforms and film viewing on mobile phones or laptop screens.