On the month of May, I hosted a film screening and presentation of the recent resarch project on screen labour during the COVID-19. This event was co-organized by the MA programme in Cultural Studies. 

The film is a collaborative research output with Natthanun Tiammek which captures stories of below-the-line workers at the time in which filmmaking was suspended. The project is funded by Thai Humanities Forum grant as part of the National Research Council of Thailand. We were kindly joined by Khun Ginawadee (Geena) Chaimusik, a film producer who also took part in our project and Dr. Graiwoot Chulphongsathorn, film producer, critic, and lecturer at the Faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University. The post-screening discussion covers different topics including the process of doing a creative output out of an academic research project, a possible way to explore the use of sound in the film, a possibility of doing a another cut for film festival or public screening, as well as additional reflection on labour conditions within the Thai film industry.  

Other outputs from the project include a book chapter (in Thai), which will be published along with other chapters on COVID-19 from the lens of humanities and social sciences research in Thailand, and a journal article in English. 

With the generosity and flexibility of the funding, we were also able to create a self-reflexive photo essay based on a rephotography trip, which sought to capture the transformation of sites related to film memories in Bangkok during COVID-19. This essay in Thai is available on the top left menu of this website. 

Through this project further collaborative research on global screen workers with the Newton Fund partner at the University of Sheffield is also being discussed. The subject of screen culture and workers will also be extended to cover links between Asia with other regions including the Middle East.