About 200 people crowded a tiny venue yesterday evening for the Thai Night at Cannes . But this should not be considered a success.

Already securing a strategic location at the Majestic Hotel where jury members, directors, and stars stayed and where the main venue Palais des Festivals was only ten meters away, the Thai Night should be heading for success. Unfortunately, no one told the organizers how to run a successful event in Cannes.

Celebrities attending the event mostly came from the Sahamongkol production studio, such as Petthai Wongkamlao of Midnight My Love (2005) and Bongkot Kongmalai of The Judgment (2004). Forgotten among more famous stars was Mahasamut Boonyarak of Citizen Dog (2004), the latest film by Wisit Sasanatieng, who had made legends here at Cannes.

The evening would be incomplete without Tony Jaa, who performed only one stunt this time perhaps because he was dressed up in a suit. He still garnered most attention, judging by the number of photo ops throughout the event. Last night, he also introduced his long-time stunt partner Dan Chupong, who could potentially rise to the same level of popularity as Jaa now that he starred in his own movie Born to Fight (2004).
     

Mahasamut Boonyarak	Mum Jokmok and Tak Bongkot

The Thai Night ended a little over an hour after opening and no one was confident if anything productive came out of it. Better organization would definitely be required next time. Rumors had it that the organizers were forced to accept this bad time slot and small venue because they had only made the reservation one week ago despite months of press reports.
     
What happened last night could not compare to a few years ago when Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) was invited to screen at Cannes . That year, the Thai Night took place on the beach with a live band and an overwhelming turnout. It certainly made this year’s funding seemed wasted.