Laos is ready for its close-up through Sabaidee Luang Prabang, the country’s first commercial film in more than three decades.

The Culture Hall in Vientiane was packed for the world premiere two weeks ago of the first commercially produced Lao movie in 35 years.
Sabaidee Luang Prabang (Hello/Good Morning Luang Prabang), starring Bangkok-based heartthrob Ananda Everingham and Lao beauty queen Khamly Philavong, is co-produced by Thailand’s Sparta Co and music label Lao Art Media and co-directed by Kiev-educated Laotian Anousore Sirisakda and Thai filmmaker Sakchai Deenan.

“The audience really appreciated the fact that the characters represented Laos, in terms of their accents, culture and points of view,” said Anousone.

The film tells the story of Sorn (Ananda), an Australian-Lao photographer on assignment in Laos who finds himself attracted to his guide Noi (Khamly). He decides to trace his father’s roots and asks Noi to travel with him from Pakse in the south up to Luang Prabang, a famous tourist destination and world heritage site.

Sakchai came up with the idea for the film while travelling from his native Surin (in northeastern Thailand) to Pakse.

He had problems financing the project until the intervention of young Ubon Ratchathani (in northeastern Thailand) businessman Nattakool Muthukan, who mortgaged his house and land to fund the project. “I saw the potential and it didn’t seem a lot of money. My family doesn’t agree. They are still upset,” Nattakool said.

Shot over 13 days in Pakse, capital Vientiane and Luang Prabang, Anousone was careful to ensure the story stayed within the bounds of Lao culture.

“In our society, kids don’t wai (greeting with palms press together as a sign of respect) when they see their mothers, they give her a hug,” he said.

Ananda, 25, who was born in Thailand to an Australian photojournalist father and a Lao mother, reduced his fee in order to take part in the production.

“I’m half Lao so it’s a great opportunity for me to be involved with the project,” he said. “I don’t expect much income. I think we have to wait for the country to grow economically.”

Sabaidee Luang Prabang is the fifth film of the actor this year. (By PARINYAPORN PAJEE In Vientiane/ Daily Express/ AsiaNews)

With reports from Wise Kwai/Daily Xpress.

Look At Laos
* Only two films have been produced in Laos since 1975, the 1983 docudrama Siengpeun Chak Thonghai (The Sound of Gunfire from the Plain of Jars), a co-production with Viet Nam and 1988’s Bua Daeng (Red Lotus), a romantic drama set in 1972 directed by Som Ok Southiphonh.

* Sabaidee Luang Prabang, with English and Thai subtitles, opened in Thai cinemas on 5 June and in Laos on 9 June.