The Open draft special film screenings
“Hearing the Voice of Absence”
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The Japan Foundation, Bangkok is pleased to support the “Hearing the Voice of the Absence“, a three-day film screening and conversation programme presented by Dude, Movie, taking place from 7–9 August 2026 at Suan Anya, Chiang Mai. The programme is supported under An Open Draft – Asia Film Programmers Lab #2, an initiative by The Japan Foundation that encourages cultural exchange and strengthens networks among emerging film programmers across Asia through collaborative film programming.
Hearing the Voice of the Absence explores the relationship between voices, spaces, and memory—examining histories that have gradually faded from public consciousness or have been obscured by structures of power that determine what should be remembered and recorded. Bringing together eight Thai and Japanese films, the programme presents documentary, essay, and experimental cinema that considers landscapes, objects, and human bodies as sites where memories are preserved, reconstructed, and reinterpreted.
The screenings are organized into three thematic programmes.
Programme 1: Landscape and the Order of Seeing explore landscapes as traces of invisible power and historical transformation.
Programme 2: The Objects of Reminiscence examine how memory is continually reconstructed through bodies, monuments, and material objects.
Programme 3: Rehearsing the Chronicle reflects historical trauma and the reconstruction of collective memory through cinematic storytelling.
In addition to the screenings, the programme features a series of public events designed to deepen discussions on film, history, and curatorial practice. The opening day includes a curator conversation between Nattakun Khamphinit (Dude, Movie) and Gohei Miyoshi (Asian Film Joint), who will discuss the collaborative process behind the development of the programme. On 8 August, participants are invited to join “Walking Through Memory,” a historical walk led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jirantanin Kitika, exploring traces of history throughout Chiang Mai University and its surrounding communities. The programme concludes with a keynote lecture by Koyo Yamashita, Festival Director of Image Forum Festival and Programmer at Theater Image Forum, titled “Between Political and Ultra-personal: Exploring the Duality in Post-60’s Japanese Cinema,” examining the relationship between political movements and personal expression in post-1960s Japanese cinema.
As one of the outcomes of An Open Draft – Asia Film Programmers Lab #2, Hearing the Voice of the Absence demonstrates how international collaboration can lead to new perspectives in film programming while encouraging dialogue between Japanese and Southeast Asian cinema. Through screenings and conversations, the programme invites audiences to reflect on overlooked histories and the role of moving images in preserving memory and fostering cross-cultural understanding.
About Mr. Koyo Yamashita
Koyo Yamashita is the Festival Director of the Image Forum Festival and the chief programmer at Tokyo’s Theater Image Forum. A pioneer in the curation of avant-garde and experimental cinema, he has shaped the landscape of independent moving image art in Japan and across Asia for over two decades. Yamashita has curated groundbreaking film programs for prestigious global platforms, including transmediale (Berlin) and BOZAR (Brussels), and has served as a jury member for major international film festivals such as Rotterdam and Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. His work focuses on the intersection of alternative media, visual subversion, and international cultural exchange.
Schedule
Venue: Suan Anya, Chiang Mai
Friday 7 August 2026
17:00 Curator Conversation
Nattakun Khamphinit (Dude, Movie) and Gohei Miyoshi (Asian Film Joint)
Conducted in Thai and Japanese with Thai interpretation.
19:00 Film Screening
Programme 1: Landscape and the Order of Seeing
• Tongpan (Thailand, 1977)
• The Extinction of Landscape (Japan, 1971)
• Night Colonies (Thailand, 2021)
Saturday 8 August 2026
09:30 Historical Walk – “Walking Through Memory”
Led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jirantanin Kitika
• Free admission (limited to 25 participants)
• Meeting Point: Suan Anya
• Conducted in Thai
17:00 Film Screening
Programme 2.1: The Objects of Reminiscence
• The World of Dementia (Japan, 1986)
19:30 Film Screening
Programme 2.2: The Objects of Reminiscence
• The Cherry Tree with Gray Blossoms (Japan, 1977)
• Local Sensations (Thailand, 2025)
Sunday 9 August 2026
17:00 Keynote Lecture
“Between Political and Ultra-personal: Exploring the Duality in Post-60’s Japanese Cinema”
Speaker: Koyo Yamashita Festival Director, Programmer, Theater Image Forum
Conducted in English with Japanese and Thai interpretation.
19:30 Film Screening
Programme 3: Rehearsing the Chronicle
• Narrative (Thailand, 2025)
• Double-Layered Town / Making a Song to Replace Our Positions (Japan, 2019)
Registration: Ticketmelon – Hearing the Voice of the Absence
Contact Information
The Japan Foundation, Bangkok
10th Fl. Serm-mit Tower, 159 Sukhumvit 21, Bangkok 10110
Tel: +66-2-260-8560~3
Email: acdept_jfbkk@jpf.go.jp
For more updates, please visit
The Japan Foundation, Bangkok Facebook Page
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