36

Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit : 2012

36 is the number of shots on an analogue roll of film. This experimental film consists of 36 static camera set-ups that tell a story of how we store memories in the digital era. Sai, a location scout working for a studio, takes pictures whenever she's working. One day, she discovers that she has lost all the files saved on her laptop and sets about trying to restore them with help from an old friend, Kai. She has the feeling that part of her own memory has been deleted and she does everything to get the photos back. In a playful way, the film tackles the issue of changing memory. These days a lot is remembered for us, but what do we still remember ourselves? We cannot guess when stored memories might be lost. The past is important to Sai, and one of the reasons why Sai and Oom, an art director who goes location hunting with her, fail to recognise each other's feelings is, ironically, perhaps their insensitivity to the present. Deeply hidden in the broken hard disk is also the picture of a possible lover. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize and New Currents Award at Busan International Film Festival 2012. The film's European premiere screened in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013.