From the 6 to 12 July, the Thailand International Film Destinations Festival took place, showcasing a number of movies filmed in Thailand. The Swedish movie “Happy Hour in Paradise” was supposed to be shown, but where banned from the festival that was held at the Paragon Cineplex in Bangkok .
Four movies were banned from the festival, the most controversial being “Twilight Over Burma”, a movie about transistion to democracy in Myanmar.
“Happy Hour in Paradise”, on the other hand, is about a Swedish not-so-godly priest , who have received funding to construct a church in Phuket. Another priest from Sweden visits to prepare the church for its official opening that will be attended by the Swedish Prime Minister, but the fundings are used up on the pleasures Phuket have to offer and so the trouble begins.
The Thailand International Film Destinations Festival is arranged by the Thailand Film Office under the Department of Tourism.
No official statement have been sent out yet, explaining why the Swedish movie was banned, but, according to several medias, the film allegedly had raunchy or violent scenes that put Thailand in a bad light.
Despite being banned, “Happy Hour in Paradise” was shown at a local cinema club, off the film festival site.
Sources:
Artsfreedom.com (July 11, 2016)
Screen Anarchy (July 25, 2016)
“the film allegedly had raunchy or violent scenes that put the country in a bad light”. Which country, Sweden or Thailand or both?