Border crossings and the cinemas of Thai arthouse directors

This thesis explores the global rise of a previously little-known film culture that has grown from an example of ‘small nation cinema’ oriented towards local consumption to become a part of the modern network of world cinema, targeting both domestic and international audiences. It traces the globalization of Thai art cinema by focusing on three directors – Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Anocha Suwichakornpong – scrutinizing the contexts and discourses that have affected the construction of their cinematic texts and identities on their paths to international renown. Using John T. Caldwell’s ‘integrated cultural-industrial analyses’ approach, my arguments draw out the interactions and contestations between eastern and western modes of address at a moment of geopolitical and transnational convergence between local, regional and international film industries and cultures. The study positions the directors as the centres of interest – in my term the ‘director as method’ - and investigates how they have encountered and negotiated various filmmaking discourses in their desire to be a global author. Most importantly, I show how their authorship has been interrupted by emergent elements in the discourses. Focusing on the authorship of these three directors reveals the historical evolution of Thai art cinema in the last two decades. A study of Pen-ek’s relationship with his crew helps us see how his collaborative approach to authorship was interrupted by cinematic ‘noises’ as he became branded as a ‘pan-Asian’ author with certain recognisable cinematic aesthetics. A pioneer of the independent route that has recently developed in Thai cinema, Apichatpong has long mobilized several financing approaches, combining a ‘homemade’ filmmaking style, Bourdieu’s social capital or expanded ‘emotional capital’, the ‘European variegated film model’, distributed financing, and a background in visual arts to construct a ‘democratic art’ network that allows him to maintain his hybrid cinematic style, mixing contrasting artistic styles, which I define as ‘post-interstitial’ authorship. Anocha, on the other hand, seems to be more closely identified with ‘intertext-based authorship,’ which is to say that she depends on the support of such organizations as film festivals, film distributors and, most importantly, connections with other successful auteurs, especially Apichatpong. Like many other directors who have followed Apichatpong’s mode of filmmaking by depending on international funds, a ‘slow cinema’ artistic style and niche audience groups around the world, Anocha and her so-called indie art films might be seen as part of a global generation of authors whose identities and practices depend on global dynamics. The central conclusion of the thesis is that, despite the fall of the romantic notion of individual creativity, the promotion of single cinematic auteurs is still central to the dialogues of transnational cinema. To reach the top status in world cinema, one must construct and maintain an authorial identity that indicates artistic superiority