Contemporary Thai Cinema

Focusing upon Southeast Asia’s most vibrant and internationally prolific film industry, this collection of essays charts the rise of Thai cinema in its contemporary incarnation. Beginning after the 1997 economic crisis with the renaissance of the Thai film industry and its globally renowned auteurs, the collection provides new insight into the transnational nature and industrial formation of the contemporary Thai film and screen industries. Bringing together Thai and international film scholars, the volume explores the development of local genre films, transnational co-productions, and the significance of queer cinema in relation to the wider queer screen culture, as well as the growth of film culture through micro-cinema, para-industry bodies and foreign-film service production sector. Throughout these chapters, the collection highlights the development of Thai cinema through key moments of industrial and economic transition, outlining the intricate relationship between popular film, the avant-garde and indie cinema in Thailand today.