VISUAL SYMBIOSIS FILM FESTIVAL AT THE CHINATOWN RAMA, BANGKOK
Visual Symbiosis and Gallery 253 Participative Art Space selected The Chinatown Rama to host Visual Symbiosis Film Festival (April 2019) for its cultural significance, a sense of history and transitions, also architectural style. Moreover, the theater possess authentic scent of the past, with rotten interior, smell of underground sewer in eternal summer heat, hundred of cats all over the place, street food and community who live there. The place itself is a work of art. EXHIBITION CATALOG / CATALOG .JPG - higher resolution -
As part of a historic 1930s art deco building, the theater is located on the lower floor. Originally designed and functioned as Chinese opera house, later (possibly during 1950s) transformed to movie theater. The building has been known for many names such as Sri Meuang (ศรีเมือง) and New Laem Thong (นิวแหลมทอง) which were also former names of the theater, and also Seng Hang Li (เซ่งเฮงหลี) which is the name of the establishment who owns the property. In its glory days, there was a hotel on the upper floor while the theater running popular Hong Kong film. According to Sakkda Siri-Rattanapanya (ศักดา สิริรัตนปัญญา), a general manager of the theater who has been with the place for many decades, contrast to upscale theater of its former self, nowadays runs whichever movies sent by local distributors, from noon until 8.00 PM with an old digital projector.
