Our Mission and Objective

The Samui Film Festival grew out of a pure love for meaningful independent filmmaking. Additionally, we are world travelers who rejoice in the cross-cultural expansion that subtly transforms all those who wander far and wide, and we embrace film as a medium for this soul-level evolution.

2009 marked SFF's premiere events and we were delighted to celebrate with you by sharing this year's roster of inspiring and exquisite hand-selected films from around the world with the local community as well as travelers to this beautiful tropical island. The Samui Film Festival is the sister event of the Phangan Film Festival (PFF). Following PFF's very successful first two years, the festival was invited to tour so that these important, timely, and diverse independent films could be seen by the largest audience possible. Festival founder and director Julien Balmer agreed, and SFF was born! The second annual Samui Film Festival will take place 6-8 August 2010.

The festival themes are NATURE and SPIRIT, two widely cherished and intimately related subjects which bear increasing relevance for all of us, both at the local and planetary levels.

We hope that this initiative will profoundly touch festival-goers, stimulate thoughtful reflection on our own ways of life, and help bring about appropriate changes in attitude and responsible action. For the community, we wish to open the doors to spiritual activism and ultimately contribute to the harmonious development of Koh Samui for all of its inhabitants and visitors.

Grand Opening Party – Thursday 5 August 2010 @ Beach Republic

Celebrate the kick-off to the second annual Samui Film Festival and be part of the grand opening party at Beach Republic on Thursday 5 August 2010. Meet and mingle with film lovers, directors, and VIPs. Doors open at 18.30.
Held at the chic and uniquely designed ocean club of Beach Republic in Lamai, attendees will be treated to a live audio-visual performance by local artist and a feature movie screening (Tampopo) during dinner hours (19.00 - 21.00), as well as DJs Simon Solo & Absolud in the later hours of the night.

For more info or reservation call 077 458 100 or check out www.beachrepublic.com.

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Thai Open-air Cinema Tradition >> click to expand/collapse

Back in the days when most movies were shot without synchronized sound and camera originals were circulated to cinemas around the country, most Thai movies were projected from the backs of trucks onto canvas screens hung between trees. It was customary for the projectionist to provide live sound effects and the entire dialogue which oftentimes was filled with whatever regional references and topical humour seemed to work best with the crowd. Those were the peak days of open-air cinema in the Kingdom, the days when the craft was greatly appreciated and the activity was a major cultural and entertainment event for Thais in the provinces as well as in Bangkok.

While resorting to digital technology and modern projection equipment SFF wishes nevertheless to honour this local custom of Nang Klang Plaeng (“movies in the middle of the field”) and will aim at recreating the original atmosphere and magic of this bygone era. A fence surrounding the screen will be built in the traditional way, using palm leaves and other naturally available materials, and local delicacies will be prepared by Samui locals.

We invite both travelers and residents to take part in this unique open-air event, and anticipate a memorable weekend.

(adapted after a 2009 Bangkok Post article by Kong Rithdee, and additional online resources)

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2010 Festival Trailer

SFF Trailer Small: Quicktime / Flash Large: Quicktime / Flash

Take the SFF trailer with you - click to download the trailer onto your desktop and load it onto your device:
CLICK HERE for the SFF trailer (zipped, 9.5 MB)

The SFF trailers are available for download in full SD resolution (various formats) at trailers.samuifilmfestival.com (no username or password needed).

The 2009 Festival

Take Action (See our Positive Action page for more information)

SFF also supports the efforts of The Green Island Project, a non-profit initiative that educates and advocates a low-impact, sustainable way of life on Samui island.

A share of the SFF profits will be used to sponsor the Samui Mala, a week-long festival for a "cleaner and greener" Samui. To find out more about this initiative, click here.

To read more on what you can do to contribute in your community and to access our recommended reading, click here.

SFF on
To join the SFF 2010 facebook event and receive occasional news, click here.


SFF Blog
For more background infos of the 2nd Annual Samui Film Festival please visit the SFF blog.

Location

SFF will take place at the spacious Tamarind Springs Forest Spa, located off the main Koh Samui ring road between Lamai and Chaweng. The entrance to Tamarind is located right opposite Spa Samui on the main ring road. If you are not familiar just ask, locals are usually happy to help with directions. Also, feel free to call +66 (0) 77 424 221 or +66 (0)83 393 90 21 for assistance.

			Travel Information:
			•	How to get to Koh Samui
			•	Recommended Accommodation
			•	Festival Address: Tamarind Springs Forest Spa 205/7 M. 4, Thong Takian Koh Samui 84310 Suratthani, Thailand +66 (0) 77 424 221 +66 (0) 77 230 571 GPS: N 9°47'42.47"   E 100°05'80.40"