Court Refuses to Lift Ban on ‘Shakespeare Must Die’

BANGKOK — A film banned five years ago for touching a third-rail of taboo topics will remain that way, a Bangkok court ruled Friday.

The Administrative Court this morning refused to lift the ban on “Shakespeare Must Die,” a now-infamous film on politics and black magic based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth.”

Producer Manit Sriwanichpoom said he and director Samanrat “Ing K.” Kanjanavanit would appeal within 30 days.

“I feel like we didn’t get justice,” said Manit, the famed photographer who along with Ing was also behind 2008’s “Citizen Juling.” “The court still reasoned that the film’s content relates to the Oct. 6 massacre, and I’m not convinced.”

“Shakespeare Must Die” makes references to the 1976 massacre of students at Thammasat University and 2009 political violence. The movie’s protagonist “Dear Leader” holds parallels to ousted fugitive Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Although it was funded by the Culture Ministry, the film was rejected by censors in April 2012 for containing “content that divides the people.” Four months after, Samanrat and Manit sued the board, demanding the ban be lifted.


From  http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/courts/2017/08/11/court-refuses-lift-ban-shakespeare-must-die/

Banned Film ‘Shakespeare Must Die’ to Get Decision, 5 Years On

BANGKOK — Five years after it was banned by the government, the fate of a Thai adaptation of a Shakespeare play will be decided by a court next month, according to the film’s producer.

On Aug. 11, the Administrative Court will decide whether the infamously banned film “Shakespeare Must Die” can be released in cinemas and whether the production team is entitled to 7.5 million baht compensation, the film’s producer, famed photographer Manit Sriwanichpoom.

“Shakespeare Must Die,” directed by Samanrat Kanjanavanit, is a 2012 film based on William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The film was funded by the Culture Ministry, yet it was ultimately rejected by censors on the national film board for its politically charged content.
“Thailand has been lost because our imagination was locked up in an underground prison, tied down with chains. Any nation without freedom for films … has no way forward and will never be free,” Samanrat wrote July 5 in an open letter to the court.

The film’s references to the 1976 student massacre at Thammasat University and 2009 political violence likely factored into the decision. It may not have helped that the lead character was called “Dear Leader” and was similar to ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose sister was leading the Pheu Thai government at the time.

The film was banned in April 2012 by the board for containing “content that divides the people.” Samanrat and Manit sued the board in August of the same year demanding the ban be lifted and 7.5 million baht in compensation.



From  http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/courts/2017/07/26/banned-film-shakespeare-must-die-get-decision-5-years/