Friday, May 18th, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion & Analysis by Burin Kantabutra

I fully agree with army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha that Thais have yet to learn what real democracy is– but as the head of an institution(Royal Thai Army) that’s played a leading role in at least 17 coups d’etat, and who each day personally decides to let the generals of Krue Se, Tak Bai, and, now, Nong Chik unjust killings get away with their deeds, he’s hardly in a position to talk on the subject.

I hold that a cornerstone of democracy is freedom of speech, within the law, for the “…freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; without free speech and assembly, discussion would be futile; with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; public discussion is a political duty; and this should be a fundamental principle of the … Government” (Louis Brandeis).

Too Often, the Reds' Protests Have Turned More Into Angry Mobs Using Violent Threats

I defend the right of the Red Shirts to set up Red Villages, just as I defend the right of actress Bongkot to denounce those who mourned the passing of ‘Uncle SMS’ —  even though I strongly hold that both the Reds and Bongkot are wrong.

Thus, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung must bring both those who torched the Reds’ newly- inaugurated pavilion in Narathiwat and the Pattaya- based Reds who formed a coordinated motorcycle swarm and ran Miss Bongkot out of town to court, rather than passing off the latter as being a ‘colorful’ exercise in democracy (while promising ‘justice’ on behalf of the Red Shirts- for at their core, both are crimes of threatening violence, politically motivated harassment and intimidation…)

Red Shirts Often Travel In Groups on Motorcycles, Usually In Peaceful Protests

Let the Red Shirts and Bongkot be shown to be in the wrong through calm, informed discussion – not intimidation, for “if all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” (John Stuart Mill).

Thursday May 17th, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion & Analysis by Burin Kantabutra

Buddhists in Ban Pong Namron, Wiang Pa Pao in Chiang Rai, are protesting against the local Muslims’ plans to build a mosque to serve the 200,000 Muslims who pass through the area yearly, as many Muslims have invested in rubber plantations in the North, especially Chiang Rai.

The local Buddhists are worried about violence in the Muslim-dominated Deep South and how the influx of Muslims might influence their lives, especially since the proposed mosque is adjacent to a Buddhist temple.

To Discriminate Against Any Religion in Thailand Without Just Cause Violates Royal Inspired Law

Imagine if local Buddhists in Narathiwat wanted to build a wat next to a mosque, to serve Buddhists passing through to visit their investments in the Deep South, and the local Muslims protested – despite the Buddhists’ having properly followed all procedures required for official approval. The Buddhists would, rightfully, be indignant. They would say that the Southerners wanted their  money but not them, and that there was no reason to suppose that the violence would migrate from one end of the country to the other.

The wat’s success would mean that Thai Southerners would have more clients for their hotels, eateries, tourist attractions, etc. Also, each religion has much to learn from the other, and this would be a good opportunity to do so.

As for the two religious structures being adjacent to each other, if Buddhist and Muslim by the hundreds of thousands can live harmoniously side-by-side for ages, as they have in the South, (and many other areas of Thailand, including Bangkok) why can’t their houses of worship do likewise, provided, of course, that zoning regulations regarding parking, buildings and traffic flow, etc. have been complied with?

Echoing the Golden Rule, or as a good Buddhist would say: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful,”  or “One should seek for others the happiness one desires for himself.”

Thai Buddhists in Chiang Rai Feel Threatened by Proposed Mosque Building

Sunday, May 13th, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion & Analysis by Burin Kantatbutra

If you read a recent opinion letter to the Bangkok Post in which “Capt. Stew”, an international airline pilot, holds that “Greed fuels rocketing prices,” asks, “How is it possible to purchase a five kilogram sack of potatoes in Frankfurt for the same price as just three potatoes in Bangkok? The wages and costs in Germany are at least 10 times higher than in Thailand. The only answer is greed.”

With all due respect, captain, that’s like saying that the only reason for flight delays is because ground crews were slow in cleaning out the planes, to ensure an equitable comparison.

Things are rarely as simple as you make them out to be.

Thai Food Is Famously Delicious and for Being Reasonably Priced, so Far...

As quoted from Wikipedia, based on Voice of America and BBC articles: “Robert Zoelick, World Bank president, said that food prices have risen 36% in 2011 over 2010. The steep rise in the cost of food is being driven by a combination of factors, including bad weather in food exporting areas, rising energy costs that increase the cost of producing and transporting food, and the incentives for farmers in many countries to produce crops for biofuels instead of for food. Additionally, the change in diet of the growing middle class in Asia and developing countries means they consume more meat and pork products which take increased grain to produce and drives up the price of feed stocks.”

Here in Thailand, Prime Minister Yingluck’s populist policy upped minimum wages by 40% in a single stroke for 7 provinces, and bought the entire nation’s rice crop with taxpayer money at 40% over world prices….!

Back to your potatoes in Frankfurt vs. in Bangkok question, possible reasons are that on a per capita basis, Germans eat more potatoes than Thais, creating enough demand for economies of scale; Germany can probably grow potatoes more economically than we can, boosting supply; German food transportation is far more efficient than ours, which relies far too much on high cost diesel fuel-consuming road transit instead of railroads, shipping, etc. (Climatic factors such as floods could be major contributors as well)

Yes, greed certainly is an important factor, but not the only one.

Stewing Over High Food Prices in Thailand? Try Abroad...

I don’t blame Captain Stew for getting himself into a stew (sorry, couldn’t resist it) by shooting off his mouth without thinking, but PM Yingluck should have consulted her economic gurus before boosting minimum wages and rice prices.

Had she done so, she wouldn’t have been surprised when labor- and raw material-intensive eateries catering to the masses found their already thin profit margins threatened further. She should also have consulted them before her knee-jerk reaction of seeking to control prices of khao kaeng stalls nationwide.

Burin Kantabutra

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion & Analysis by Burin Kantabutra

I fully agree with Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung’s request that Myanmar authorities arrest Major General Na Kham Mwe, leader of a Karen rebel group and our fifth most-wanted drug kingpin, and extradite him to Thailand to face charges.

Drug smuggling is a serious crime in both Myanmar and Thailand. Na Kham Mwe’s argument that he need not surrender because he has not done anything wrong holds no water; whether he is guilty or not is for a court to determine, not him.

But Na Kham Mwe’s point that Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm should seek Thaksin’s extradition is well taken.

All are equal before the law, and corruption is, like drug smuggling, a serious crime both in Thailand and Dubai.

Worse, the Karen major-general hasn’t been found guilty yet, and so must by law, be presumed innocent- whereas former Police Lieut.-Colonel Thaksin has been convicted by an impartial Thai court verdict.

Gulity Verdict on Various Charges Is Key Sticking Point to True Justice & Reconciliation

Deputy PM Chalerm says the two cases differ because Thaksin’s conviction was politically-motivated, which may well be – but as Chalerm doesn’t have the authority to overrule courts, the verdict must stand until legally overturned.

Also, the major-general says that the warrant for his arrest was issued in 2003 – so is our seeking extradition now, after 9 years’ delay, politically-motivated as well?

Chalerm should not act like Cornelius Vanderbilt, who said: “Law! What do I care about the law? Hain’t (Haven’t) I got the power?”

Instead, he should do more than give lip service to one far wiser than he: ”If the country does not follow the rule of law, it will not survive” (HM the King), and follow rule of law in both cases.

Burin Kantabutra

Wednesday, May 10th, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion & Analysis by Burin Kantabutra

We’re killing the goose that lays golden eggs for all Thais by guaranteeing our rice crop at 40% above market prices to farmers (which then presents the obvious problem of what to do with overpriced Thai rice in terms of price/market destination), while India is poised to rival Vietnam as the world’s biggest exporter of our key income earner, ending our 30 year reign.

Partly Due to Climate, But Mainly To Gov't Mishandling, Rising Rice Crop Prices and Lower Quality Harvests Are Now Imminent

The International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines forecasts that India may export 7 million tons of rice in the fiscal year ending August 31, more than double the 2.8 million tons shipped  last FY2011.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that Vietnam will export 7 million tons this FY, vs. only 6.5 million tons exported from Thailand, down 39% from last FY2011 as we deliberately chose to price ourselves out of competition.

World rice prices have slumped by  17% since peaking in 2008, and global rice production will probably outpace demand for the eighth year, for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts 488 tons of milled rice production this year, vs. consumption of 477 million tons. Gratuitously giving away our #1 position in world markets for our major crop is no way for Prime Minister Yingluck to reward the millions of farmers who voted for her, now is it?

Also, taxpayers who also voted for her will have to make up the shortfall between the mortgage and prices, either on world or domestic markets, so that the crop can be sold. (We won’t get into the waste, corruption and mismanagement that is being alleged according to some credible news reports recently…)

When she presented her policies to Parliament in her maiden speech, then-PM-designate Yingluck was lambasted from all sides for focusing mainly on the short run, and our female Moses hasn’t enlightened us on what the Promised Land she’s leading us to looks like.

I suggest that despite her record-high popularity, she needs more viable long term objectives.

Until Quite Recently Thailand Led the World in Both Quantity and Quality of Rice- No More.....

Killing the goose that lays golden eggs isn’t the way to go.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

Monday, May 7th, 2012

Opinion & Analysis by Burin Kantabutra

As Prime Minister Yingluck insists time and again that food prices have not increased under her watch, she even announced publicly that 11 of her ministers would personally go to the markets the following day and check on prices themselves…. And, surprise, surprise! None of her ministers, with staff and media in tow, found any merchants brave enough or foolish enough to charge more than last year. Shocking, isn’t it?

Parliament and Cabinet Members Have All Voted Wage Increases for Themselves... So Laugh Away, Until Election Day

To her I would say, one far wiser than you said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time” (attributed to Abraham Lincoln).

Thus, an ABAC poll, published the same day that your ministers did their market visits, showed that over 90% of respondents felt that food prices have gone up over the past year.

Madam Prime Minster, your popularity and approval ratings are higher than ever before.

Surely you can afford to tell us the truth about why prices have risen, and what you’re planning to do about it. For example, might your having bought the entire rice crop at 40% over market, and similarly subsidized other crops, have anything to do with it?

Burin Kantabutra

Editor’s Note: Recently Pheua Thai has lost several elections- 2 seats contesting in Pathum Thani and the mayor’s race in Chiang Rai… The Prime Minister should start doing the math… Further meddling in the market through excessive subsidies and populist interference, as in the case of rice, or the lack of a coherent energy stabilization price scheme will do serious damage to the economy and hurt the overall population far more than failed government-boosting popularity schemes can deliver relief.

Rising Food, Energy and Labor Costs Now Gripping Thailand in 3 Way Vice Grip...

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion and analysis by Burin Kantabutra

On many tollways, wealthy Thais have been driving fast and furious in their own speed races, in expensive, often souped-up cars.

Yet another deadly accident occurred on April 28, when two people were killed and another seriously injured in a high-speed crash involving three cars on the Don Muang tollway.

Thaifah Chayaworaprapa, 54, was dead inside his Porsche, whose speed dial was stuck at 280 km/hr. – almost triple the speed limit!

Also killed was Police Maj. Sakdipat Pathummarak, inside his Toyota Fortuner. He’s the son of Charnchai Pathummarak, ex-executive of the Thai Rak Thai Party and former deputy agriculture minister. (It appears that the rich and powerful often fear the least from steering into clear and present danger…)

Horrific Pile-Ups/Smashes Become Everyone's Concern- No Matter Who Causes it

As Police Maj.-Gen. Worasak Nopsittiporn, Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner, says, “We know racers of luxury cars aren’t afraid of fines. They are rich.”

But such reckless drivers endanger not only their own lives, but those of innocent bystanders – andother drivers and their passengers, and must be brought within the law.

CCTV cameras and radio frequency identification systems won’t help much, since they identify cars, not drivers, and fines don’t deter the wealthy.

But reckless driving is a criminal offense, for which the law prescribes a fine, or jail, or both.

The mandatory punishment for reckless driving should be jail without bail until the courts have delivered their final verdicts– just as other accused who are likely to kill again should be jailed without bail. As Gilbert and Sullivan said, “Let the punishment fit the crime.”

Editor’s Note: Perhaps a more fitting punishment for their crime would be to sentence them to an appropriate number of weekends in jail, (up to one year, which is equal to roughly 100 days) while impounding their vehicles for an equal number of  days, charging storage costs of 500 baht a day- similar to overstay fines on foreigners who overstay their visa privileges…. The loss of use of their beloved ‘toys’ and fines to ransom them will certainly cause at least some to think twice… Since imprisoning the rich and powerful in Thailand appears to be quite a slippery slope, as the current commentary of the political landscape is at fever pitch in debate over… Regardless of how many people died or how many millions or even billions in baht were lost…

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Bangkok

Opinion/Analysis by Burin Kantabutra

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, top gov’t minister in charge of police, should have been delighted, not rattled, when police and local leaders protested the move of a high ranking police officer out of Nakhon Phanom and into an inactive post.

Maybe this Poster Could Be a Helpful Guideline in Reviewing Police Transfers

Officers from various police stations submitted a list of names of police, military officials, kamnan and village heads who opposed the reassignment of Police Col. Thithat Imthua, deputy provincial police chief, with one placard reading, “Nakhon Phanom police who crack down on drugs and illegal logging get transferred.”

Police should report to, and be accountable to, the localities which they are sworn to serve and protect – not the mandarins of Bangkok.

The people of, say, Nakhon Phanom, Chiang Mai, or Narathiwat know their local problems and how effectively the police in their province are working far better than somebody in Bangkok – for the problems of each region are far different from one another.

Thus, when Mr.  Chalerm sees people willing to stand up to his dragon’s wrath for their provincial police, he should be overjoyed at having found an officer who may well be outstanding. He should immediately investigate if the populace’s apparent strong support is warranted, and, if so, promptly recognize the officer in question.

He would do well to listen to Harold Geneen: “A true leader has to have a genuine open door policy so that his people are not afraid to approach him for any reason.”

DPM Chalerm, review Pol. Col. Thithat’s transfer now, please.

Monday, April 30th, 2012

Bangkok

IT’s like,… so California- WOW, to be bankrupt,

Not that any financially squeezed Californians would be surprised, knowing the state’s grim fiscal outlook, huge Central Valley area home foreclosure swamp (one of the biggest regional concentrations of home foreclosures and declining property values in the U.S.), and marked by bankrupt or near bankrupt cities, towns, counties and districts with obscenely overstretched deficits, massive illegal immigration inflows and bloated public spending….

While inflation Grips ThailandTighter in 2012….

Yes, perhaps Thais were a bit shocked at the news California WOW Xperience Plc (CAWOW), one of the main fitness operators in Thailand, is being sued in the bankruptcy court by Bangkok Bank Plc.

Even thought their stock CAWOW went near worthless before being suspeneded and delisted a short time ago last year founder Eric Levine, “is continuing to make progress on the existing rehabilitation plan” according to the company’s financial report. Uh huh,.. Not likely. And now that they are (or will soon be) on a near total loan black list from Thai banks & domestic lenders, overseas creditors or private lines of credit would be their only hope of survival

CaliforniaWOW Women, developed at a cost of 160 million baht and which opened in 2006 on Sukhumvit 31 but has since closed.

Gas & Energy Prices Combine With Food Costs and Pushing Cost of Living Higher

The fitness centre company on Wednesday reported the bankruptcy lawsuit to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).

Bangkok Bank, the creditor, filed a lawsuit after the company was unable to service debts totalling 75.87 million baht (debt of Bt71.90 million and default interest of Bt3.97 million).

This accounts for 9.05 per cent of the company’s total assets as of Dec 31 last year, Bt 838.79 million.

According to CAWOW’s report, the lawsuit will cause difficulties for the company to acquire future bank financing (let’s say, near impossible to be a lot more accurate) the report said of CAWOW, ..”

There have been consumer complaints about the company, which sells lifetime memberships but regularly closes facilities. Members have also complained about below standard services and breach of contract details, according to the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB).

Under Thai law a debtor cannot file for voluntary bankruptcy but its creditors must file a lawsuit, which if unpaid, then is cause for a bankruptcy ruling…. WOW!

IN related Thai economic news, inflation as measured by the consumer price index, stood at a moderate 3.4% last month compared with the year before, the recent price increases in food and energy especially belie a rising sense of discontent that costs are climbing quickly in recent months.Most Oil Fund subsidies are being decreased to reflect actual costs, so consumers have no one to serve as a buffer for their energy usage- or to blame…. This sudden return to reality is now putting Thailand producers’ prices on a par with traditionally higher priced markets in the global economy.

Seemingly invincible CA WOW, Stock listed and All, Now simply,...Isn't...

Food and beverages rose sharply in March, up 7.3% from 2011, while electricity, fuel and water prices jumped 8.5%.

The price hikes reflect a variety of factors, including supply disruptions following last year’s floods, with alternatively the impact of heat and drought conditions on the agricultural sector and higher energy costs. the governement’s heavily criticized rice pledging scheme is also a severe form of market distortion and should be abandoned immediately- if not sooner.

Recent wage increases, and the expectation of further hikes to come, is certainly a factor, as is the fact that many businesses are only now adjusting prices after holding back last year.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra this month said food prices are expected to ease starting in June, as supply shortages from last year’s floods ease.(we admit- we’re skeptical and fail to see which looking glass she’s using…)

But it’s a sentiment that few consumers or business leaders share, given rising energy and labour costs.

The government’s policy to lift minimum wages and civil service salaries has already led some producers to push up prices, said Pimonwan Mahujchariyawong, an economist at Kasikorn Research Center.

“But actually, prices now do not really reflect the rise in labor costs. We will start seeing the impact of the wage hikes over the next several months,” she said.

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Bangkok

Bangkokians will have the chance to catch some great  outside the mainstream movies this week and next, as Bangkok welcomes not one, but two high- interest film festivals, both of them offering free admission.

Hong Kong & Spanish New Film Fest Opens In Bangkok this Weekend

For the first time, Bangkok will host the New Spanish Film Week running from Thursday, April 26 (Tomorrow!) to May 2 at the Paragon Cineplex. Organized in conjunction with the Embassy of Spain, the festival brings 7  of the most exciting recent Spanish films including the Oscar nominee, a musical, animated feature- ‘Chico & Rita’ and also ’Blackthorn Sin Destino’ which won 4 Goya Awards, (Spain’s equivalent to the Oscars), earlier this year. Each of these films will be showed at 7 p.m. daily. Tickets can be booked in front of the cinema before the show time on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis. Movies like “Chico & Rita” or “No Rest for the Wicked” (“No habra paz para los malvados”) may be screened here commercially later, but many others will only be shown at this event. Just following the Spanish debut, SF Cinema at CentralWorld brings the Hong Kong Film Festival to Bangkok for 4 days but there are 7 movies being shown on the weekend, with the first starting at 11.30pm.

Like the Spanish Film Festival, admission is free but those interested should arrive at the theater lobby at least 30 minutes before screening to receive tickets. For more details about the programme check www.sfcinemacity.com for the Hong Kong cinema event and www.majorcineplex.com/news/newspanishfilmweek/ for the Spanish film event . Synopses of Screenings: Bangkok cinema fans, who grew up on the primitive staples of conspiracies, triads, swordsmen and family tragi-dramas from 15-20 years ago now agree that our taste has shifted recently to Korea and Hong Kong films have slowly faded from the cinema marquee or gone on to merge with Hollywood. Which is a shame, for the Chinese island remains a hub of film making activities and produces a constant supply of worthy titles.

This week, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Asean) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region aim to bring back the buzz. 10 new Hong Kong films will be shown for free at the first Hong Kong Film Festival in Bangkok, and the selection includes some new titles that have recently bagged acclaim and awards, such Tao Jie (A Simple Life), Soundless Wind Chimes and Sui Yuet San Tau (Echoes of the Rainbow).

These showings will be at SF World Cinema from Friday (today) to Mon. April 30. Tao Jie (A Simple Life) Directed by Ann Hui Friday, 8 p.m. / Sunday, 4:30 p.m. A sweet and touching drama from one of Hong Kong’s best known film makers. Stars Deanie Yip. An award winning performance, in which she portrays a housemaid who has served a family for three generations. Andy Lau plays her young master who sticks with the old lady after she falls ill and has to spend time in an old people’s home. Ching Yan (The Beast Stalker) Directed by Dante Lam Saturday, 2 p.m. & Sunday, 7 p.m. A traffic accident changed their lives forever. To capture a wanted criminal Sergeant Tong Fei (Nicholas Tse) was involved in a gunfight and car accident that put the criminal in a coma. But in the process he also crippled a fellow officer, and shot and killed a young woman. Unable to handle the guilt, Tong succumbs to a fog of pain. Three months later, the criminal Cheung Yat-tung awakens from his coma, and the drama continues.

Soundless Wind Chimes Directed by Hung Wing-kit Saturday, 4:30 p.m. / Apr 30, 2:30 p.m. A drama with a gay undercurrent, the film centres around a new immigrant to Hong Kong, Ricky, who works as a delivery boy while living with his prostitute aunt. He is pick-pocketed by a Swiss thief, Pascal, who is in an abusive relationship with his con artist boyfriend. Yi- Ngoi (Accident) Directed by Soi Cheang Friday, 6 p.m. / Saturday, 6:50pm A man known as The Brain is a professional assassin who kills his victims by trapping them in well-crafted “accidents” that look like unfortunate mishaps. After one mission goes awry, causing the life of one of his men, The Brain is convinced that this accident has been choreographed- but this time to terminate him. Sham Moh (At the End of Daybreak) Directed by Ho Yu-hang Saturday, 12:30 p.m. & Sunday, 5:30 p.m. Actually a drama/thriller by a Malaysian film-maker, in which the 23 year old Tuck Chai is dating Ying, a schoolgirl who isn’t yet 16. Their parents know nothing about the illicit relationship… That is until Ying’s mother and father find birth control pills in her room. That’s when their worlds begin to disintegrate. Tin Shui Wai Dik Ye Yu Mo (Night and Fog) Directed by Ann Hui Saturday, 11:30 a.m. / Sunday, 2 p.m. A domestic drama starring Simon Yam and Zhang Jingzhu, the film revolves around a Chinese woman who is brought to Hong Kong by her husband. The two are married and have two daughters, but when the abusive husband starts beating his wife, she flees, first to a woman’s shelter, then back to mainland China. Sui Yuet San Tau (Echoes of the Rainbow) Directed by Alex Law Saturday, 4:20pm / Sunday, 11:30am Spring 1969. The world was undergoing amazing changes. Man had yet to wait another six months before he would set foot on the moon. And our young protagonist was running wild on the streets proclaiming himself the first astronaut of Hong Kong. The film revolves around this child’s struggling family: a shoe-maker father; a happy-go-lucky mother who believes that anything and everything is possible; an aspiring, starry-eyed elder brother. Fun Sau Set Oi Nei (Break Up Club) Directed by Barbara Wong Chun-Chun Sunday, 3pm / April 30, noon Have you just been dumped? Well, what if there was a website that could get your loved one back? It’s called cynically,  BreakupClub.asia. And all you have to do is break up another couple that are happily in love together. Just fill in their names, and … Magic, they break up, and your love returns to you! Leun Yan Sui Yu (Lover’s Discourse) Directed by Derek Tsang and Jimmy Wan Sun, Apr 29, 12:30 p.m. / April 30, 4:45 p.m. 4 love stories make up this romantic package. They tell familiar stories in a idyllic language, and show us a multitude of hopes and the desperation of blind love, strange distances between partners, and a double affair. Quattro Hong Kong I and II Various Directors Friday, 4 p.m. / Saturday, 2:30 p.m. An omnibus comprised of short films by directors from different countries who’ve been asked to make movies about Hong Kong. Some big names include Brillante Mendoza, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fruit Chan, Stanley Kwan, Ho Yu-hang and more.

NEW SPANISH FILM WEEK The title proclaims all: New Spanish Film Week offers a selection of Spanish cinema from directors who are not yet household names. Organised by the Embassy of Spain and Paragon Cineplex, the showcase of films mixes comedy with thriller (a Spanish flair), with a touch of animation and a Spanish-speaking version of the Butch Cassidy saga. The taste is ample, so pick what you like. Admission is free for all films. The screenings take place every day from tomorrow until May 2, at 7pm at Paragon Cineplex.

Chico & Rita Directed by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando Tomorrow, 7pm This Spanish animation film scored a surprise when it was nominated for the Oscar Best Animated Film. A sweeping tragedy set against the vibrant Afro-Cuban music scene of the late 1940s, the film focuses on the passion and the road to stardom of Chico, a womanising piano player, and Rita, a singer who loves him with all her heart.

Pa Negre (Black Bread) Directed by Agusti Villaronga Friday, 7pm During post-Spanish Civil War Catalan, this is a story of a boy who takes refuge in the supernatural as the violence of the world creeps around him. 11 year old Andreu is sent away to live with relatives after his father is accused of a murder. The boy has to confront the harsh reality inflicted upon him by adults and the consequence of the war. Primos (Cousinhood) Directed by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo Saturday, 7pm Diego’s fiancee dumped him five days before their planned wedding. What is the man to do to overcome the shock? Balada triste de trompeta (The Last Circus) Directed by Alex de la Iglesia Sunday, 7pm The Spanish Civil War is a macabre circus that affects the life of real circus performers. The clown, recruited against his will by the militia, ends up carrying out a bloodbath with a machete among the Nationalist soldiers while still wearing his costume. Many years later, during Franco’s dictatorship, Javier, son of the militian funnyman, finds work as the sad clown in a circus where he meets an outlandish cast of weird characters like the human cannonball, the elephant tamer and a couple of dog trainers.

Mientras Duermes (Sleep Tight) Directed by Jaume Balaguero April 30, 7pm You can’t beat a tale about a creepy doorman. He’s Cesar, the doorkeeper of an apartment building, whose job allows him an insight into the movements, the most intimate habits, the weaknesses and the secrets of all tenants. When a bright, smiling woman moves into apartment # 5, Cesar is ready to begin his new sick game.

No Habra Paz Para los Malvados (No rest for the wicked) Directed by Enrique Urbizu May 1, 7pm Based vaguely on the bombing in Madrid in 2004, the film centers on Santos Trinidad, a policeman who finds himself involved in a triple murder. Santos and a prosecutor will soon discover that what seemed at first a simple case of drug trafficking is actually something far more dangerous.

Sin Destino (Blackthorn) Directed by Mateo Gil May 2, 7pm Having fled America, the legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy supposedly died in Bolivia along with his partner in crime, the Sundance Kid in a shootout in 1908. So goes the official version. However, the truth is that he’s been lying low in Bolivia for 20 years and now he wants to come home. But he soon runs into a young Spanish engineer who has just robbed the mine he was working in, the property of the most powerful businessman in Bolivia.