The highly original and talented Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit has made the formally experimental features 36 (2012) and Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy (2013) – the former conjured from 36 shots, the latter based upon a young woman’s Twitter feed. Thamrongrattanarit enthusiastically agreed to be interviewed through his natural medium, Twitter. A part of this character-constrained conversation was published in Little White Lies – but here is the full ‘transcript’ – reordered, Storified and rendered unto the ether, so that the whole ephemeral exercise may be granted its precarious digital half-life [indeed, since publication, Storify has announced its end.]
@ter_nawapol @LWLies it's going to be fine 🙂
— Anton Bitel (@AntBit) March 14, 2014
@AntBit 36 is a love story in digital era. our love and memory are all contained in the harddisk.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit not by films but it's influenced by the concept of a film roll. 36 is number of shots in 35mm film for still camera.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yes indeed. i'm more interested in what is happening off-frame.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yes.it's all abt reconstructing the memory like Lego. audience can recreate their own story from 36 non-continuous shots.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit which scene is it ? haha #sorry #directorforgethedialogueinhisownfilm
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@ter_nawapol teehee, he's chatting with Sai about a location – just before he declares "I never had a girlfriend"
— Anton Bitel (@AntBit) March 14, 2014
WHY DOES TWITTER HAVE ONLY 140 LETTERSSSSSSSSS ????
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yes , sometimes the characters discusses about the life and feeling in digital era [because of their profession]
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit when i visit places [esp. old place] i always feel of the memory which is left behind ,through the object, the stain on the wall
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit it reminds me of the past , the owner who ever lives here.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit In thailand nowadays , the new condo is rising and replacing lots of old places without preservation from the government
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit wihtout photo, sometimes we can't remember them. they are disappeared so fast. [ok it's end for this answer] #long #140isnotenough
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit like when we are looking at the still photo, our memory is moving in our head. kinda like watching our own film in our own cinema.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit [i try to find the photo of demolished real locations. it's in my harddrive but i can't remember in which folder it is , haha]
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit i don't lament or celebrate. i just accept it. it's the nature of everything. change.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yes yes. funny thing is now the locations in film is now demolished already. such as the motel and Sai's apartment. all become condo
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yeah! i found it ! this is how the motel in the film looks now. pic.twitter.com/xRi8n2dAK6
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
* * *
@AntBit it's a film about tweets . #metaandmetatweet
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit ok, be serious now. it's a experimental film based on twitter of thai anonymous girl.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit @marylony i randomly choose the subject out of my twitter followers. luckily, i found her. very happy. hope @marylony is happy too.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
you should never follow me at all . https://t.co/KPMyM3Tqy4
— – แมรี่ มาโลนี่ (@marylony) March 14, 2014
@AntBit @marylony not at all. i don't want her to change her way of tweeting. so i'm kinda a stalker [with good intention] 🙂
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit sure, there's sth abt mary. mary never replies and retweets. her feed is very tidy. that's weird but i like it so much. [more]
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit but what i like most is mary always tweet about what she 'think' rather than what she 'see'
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit it's like our imagination / interpretation when we're reading anonymous's tweets. we will have our version of that person.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit the hardest 'tannese is enzyme not method' , i dunno how to deal with this. so i just voice over myself. [kinda too direct haha]
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yes , my voice . haha
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@ter_nawapol was it important that you never show anybody actually tweeting in MARY IS HAPPY?
— Anton Bitel (@AntBit) March 14, 2014
@AntBit mm…. i don't know why i never have this idea. haha
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit yes ! they share the same concept and appearance.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit tweets could be lost in the flood of digital data also.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit save them in your harddisk. don't forget to print them out because your hdd could be broken. who knows ? 🙂
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit both . when i had idea about twitter film , i thought it must be a film about teenager.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@ter_nawapol the film's title first seems straight, then is ironised by bleakness & oppression. Was it hard modulating the teenaged tone?
— Anton Bitel (@AntBit) March 14, 2014
@AntBiti i just go with the flow. i let tweets lead me. it's swinging itself.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit homage ! haha . i grew up with his films and i wanna put him in this film. because this film refelcts my subconsciousness.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit hahaha , that's a joke. we ever had the idea using the actor from uncle boonmee in this film too. but no one knows where he is now.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit [ in a way ] haha.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@ter_nawapol the date, I mean.
— Anton Bitel (@AntBit) March 14, 2014
@AntBit no meaning. this tee is designed by the actress @junejunee . i met her first time with this tee and i like it. so i use it [more]
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit 83 is number of her class year. but she wants 4 digits for good composition so she added 19 in front of 83 , make it like a year no.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit use same tee for the whole film for surrealistic tone. from the first impression on the actress. this pic pic.twitter.com/4LbffXs9lZ
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit ok. #only2letters
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit many short moments stay with us and change us forever. esp. moments in the time of youth.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit basically i like black comedy. i love looking at the reality with sense of humour. Actually Thailand is good resource of blackcomedy
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit truth is subjective but we can always find it there. we can see it more clearly as a third person.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit it's not liberating but it makes me under the obstructions and rules i like.
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit Thai mainstream film with the studio. my new obstruction. haha
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
@AntBit ขอบคุณมากครับ แอนตัน ดีใจจุง 🙂
— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
(“Thanks so much, Anton. I’m happy.”)
LIVE INTERVIEW ends here.
ขอบคุณทุกคนนะครับ ทวีตรกไปหน่อย แต่เสร็จแล้วจ่ะ 🙂 thanks @AntBit @LWLies for this interview!— NAWAPOL (@ter_nawapol) March 14, 2014
(“Thanks everyone, sorry for making your timeline a little messy, but it’s done.”)
© Anton Bitel
