Luang Prabang will once again host its biennial film festival, previously known as the Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF), now rebranded as Blue Chair. With a rich history of connecting regional filmmakers, supporting the Lao domestic film industry, and presenting a free, curated selection of contemporary Southeast Asian film, Blue Chair has been a force in the region for more than 12 years.
This year’s festival is officially scheduled to take place from 5-9 December, across three different venues in the city. As is customary, the entire five-day event will be free-of-charge and completely open to the public for attendance, with the full program schedule to be available as a downloadable app for easy accessibility. In addition to the films presented, this year’s festival will include panels and discussions, live evening performances, as well as special screenings and discussions around these additions.
The visual theme of this year’s festival will feature the iconic gecko as a regional mascot, paying homage to the rich biodiversity of Laos.
As always, official selections for the program were made by filmmakers and critics from across Southeast Asia and represent a curated selection of the finest contemporary films from their respective nations. This year, Blue Chair expects to showcase a slate of films from at least 10 of 11 regional countries, including Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. By working with regional expert curators with an inside understanding of their communities’ film scenes, Blue Chair presents a unique program that consistently delivers some of the strongest voices from across the region.
Once again, filmmakers will join in-person for the event. Blue Chair has become well-known as a unique forum for regional professionals to network internationally and exchange diverse ideas and experiences.
Founded in 2009, Blue Chair, originally known as the LPFF, is an annual celebration of Southeast Asian cinema held in Luang Prabang, Laos. This not-for-profit initiative promotes cross-cultural dialogue and supports the Lao film industry through cultural events, educational activities, and the Lao Filmmakers Fund, which offers grants to help Lao artists realize their film projects.
Among the festival’s supporters this year are The Asia Foundation, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southeast Asia, Laos Buffalo Dairy, and EXO Travel. The event is produced in collaboration with the Luang Prabang Department of Culture, Information, and Tourism. Longtime hotel partners across Luang Prabang are also supporting the event, in addition to local businesses, community organizations and individual donors. Blue Chair is also a fiscally sponsored project of Film Independent, a US-based non-profit independent media arts organization.
Information provided by Blue Chair Film Festival
