Last chance for Chiang Mai to restore a movie palace

The May issue of Chiang Mai Citylife magazine features the Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project. Much of article/interview is centered around Chiang Mai's last remaining stand-alone and what to do with it.

The full story can be found below:

"When approaching the intersection of Chang Klan and Sri Donchai Roads, a sense of loss pervades. Here on the Southeast corner of this busy intersection rests the colossal of Chiang Mai cinemas, rotting mercilessly. Bound like a sedated hostage in the cheapness of billboards and advertisements, the sole surviving relic of Chiang Mai's movie-going glory days awaits an undetermined, likely grim fate," writes Phil Joblan in a post on his blog, The Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project, about the now decrepit Sang Tawan Theatre in Chiang Mai. The language Joblan uses to write about the Sang Tawan Theatre can only be described as intense and despairing. He feels a special connection to movie theatres, especially those (like the Sang Tawan), that were once centres of community and culture, but are now nothing more than abandoned mammoths of a time long forgotten. Each post features a different Southeast Asian stand-alone movie theatre, complete with the theatre's history, photos and musings about its future. Unfortunately, for many of the theatres, Joblan can only imagine futures of destruction and dust, of strip malls and duplexes. But his project is not merely about documenting sadness. Rather, Joblan hopes that his work might help to inspire change and preservation. In a presentation he gave recently at the Alliance Francaise in Chiang Mai, he shared photographs from some of his favourite movie theatres throughout Southeast Asia and spoke profusely about the need to find sustainable solutions to ensure that these relics of architectural ingenuity and creativity don't fall to rubble under the weight of apathy and misunderstanding. "Thailand is regularly losing good architecture," wrote Joblan in his most recent blog post. "In particular, it is regularly losing good mid-20th century modern architecture, the same time period corresponding with a boom in movie theatre construction." He attributes much of this loss to major corporations gobbling up land occupied by historic movie theatres so that they might build chain restaurants and strip malls, a fact that he, most understandably, thinks is tragic. Even Bangkok's famously gorgeous Scala Theatre, the last active stand-alone theatre in all of Thailand - which recently won an award for architectural significance from the Association of Siamese Architects - has had its land bought up by ThaiBev Co., the company that produces Beer Chang and Mekong Whiskey.   Though Jablon has since returned  home to the United States for the summer, he agreed to answer some questions about the importance of stand-alone movie theatres in Thailand and the history of movie-going in Chiang Mai, as well as to give some advice to our community about how to protect the Sang Tawan Theatre, the last of the great Chiang Mai stand-alone theatres, which we could lose at any moment. Citylife: What led you to start The Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project? Phil Jablon: The discovery of a rustic old stand-alone movie theatre in Chiang Mai. Prior to finding that theatre - the Tippanet Theatre - my only knowledge of movie theatres in Chiang Mai were the multiplexes in the two existing shopping malls.  By the time I got around to going to see a movie at the Tippanet, however, it had been demolished. It was then that it occurred to me that this was the likely fate of stand-alone movie theatres across Thailand. So I made up my mind that I would document them for posterity's sake.  Citylife: What is it about movie theatres in particular that captivates you? Phil Jablon: There are numerous aspects about these old movie theatres that are remarkable. First of all, the geography of the stand-alone movie theatres of yesteryear is much more human in scale than the multiplex theatres that dominate today. The former were usually built in town centres, or in densely populated outlying districts. Whether facing onto a throughway or tucked away within a plaza, they enliven the street with their architecture and the way people use them. For instance, when a large crowd attends a movie in a mall cineplex, they drive into the parking garage and then back out when they're done. They never set foot on the street, which in turn makes the street feel lifeless. On the other hand, when a large crowd attends a movie at a stand-alone theatre, the surrounding area benefits from a flurry in foot traffic. There's something magical about that. Citylife: Why is it important to save these stand-alone theatres? What do they offer that sets them apart from mall cineplexes? Phil Jablon: The stand-alones were built solely for the purpose of watching movies. Cinema, we have to remember, is the most dynamic art form. The fact that there were once grand buildings where entire communities congregated for the shared experience of watching movies speaks volumes to this fact. Ensuring that a select few old theatres are preserved is good for the legacy, economy and vitality of the societies that claim them.  Citylife: The last of these great stand-alone theatres in Chiang Mai is the Sang Tawan Theatre. What makes this theatre special and important? Phil Jablon: Truthfully, the most important thing about the Sang Tawan is that it's Chiang Mai's only remaining stand-alone movie theatre, which means that it represents the last chance for the city to reach back and salvage a piece of its cultural history. That aside, it has a beautiful terra cotta mosaic on the facade depicting northern Thai village life. Sadly, that is now completely covered up by a huge billboard bolted to the facade. The Sang Tawan is also part of the legacy of Chiang Mai's royal household, as the builder was Jao Chai Suriwong Na Chieng Mai. I feel that that fact adds to the sociocultural importance of the theatre. Citylife: What is the history of movie-going like in Chiang Mai? Phil Jablon: Chiang Mai's first permanent movie theatre opened in 1922, the same year the train line reached the city. The theatre was called the Patthanakorn and it was located near the Night Bazaar. Sometime in the 1940s, the Patthanakorn was sold and renamed the Sri Wiang Theatre - later to become the Wiang Ping - before it was demolished in the early 1970s. By the mid-1970s there were about 13 movie theatres throughout Chiang Mai, representing just about every densely populated area of the city. Two of those theatres - the Sri Visan and the Chintatsanee - were owned by the father of current Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The largest theatre magnate in the city, however, was Jao Chai Suriwong Na Chieng Mai. He built four theatres throughout the city, including the Suriwong, Suriyong, Suriya and the Sang Tawan theatres, the last of which is still standing. at the intersection of Chang Klan and Sri Donchai Roads. Citylife: A lot of your work focuses on finding sustainable ways to renovate these abandoned theatres. What are some feasible, sustainable solutions for the Sang Tawan Theatre in Chiang Mai? Phil Jablon: Ideally, it will be turned into a mixed-use venue, able to accommodate both film and live events, be it concerts, speaking engagements or plays. With the right cooperation, it might also have space for a small museum on the history of film in Northern Thailand.  The location of the Sang Tawan makes all this feasible. It's right in the centre of the densest concentration of hotels in the city, which would make it highly accessible to the tourist market. Imagine coming to Chiang Mai, staying at a gorgeous hotel like the Anantara or the Shangri-La, and being able to enjoy a classic Thai film in a restored movie palace!  If the greater Chiang Mai community has any interest in being home to a rare and prestigious structure in the form of a revived stand-alone movie theatre, then this is the last chance to do so. Once it's common knowledge that there's a beautiful old movie theatre slowly rotting at one of the most important commercial/cultural intersections in the city, the advocacy stage must begin, building a case for why this structure should be invested in. Given, this is going to be an expensive project. Returning old movie theatres to their original splendour always is. But the return in the form of cultural capital for Chiang Mai and greater Thailand would be incalculable. Think of it like this: If the Sang Tawan is revived, it would mark the first time in the history of Thailand that a stand-alone movie theatre was brought back from a state of near-abandonment. That would be something to be proud of! Citylife: Thai PBS recently did an excellent video piece on The Southeast Asia Movie Theatre Project - how else are you aiming to promote your research? A gallery exhibition or a documentary, perhaps? Phil Jablon: Yes, I am currently exploring options for making a mini-series about Thailand's old movie theatres. If this comes to fruition, it will air on Thai TV. The other upcoming event is a photo exhibition of my work at the Khum Chao Burirat House on Ratchadamneon Road. That will be held in cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture at Chiang Mai University and take place towards the end of the year. It's my secret hope that that exhibition will mark the beginning of a campaign to restore the Sang Tawan Theatre.  While not focused exclusively on movie theatres, the Thai Film Archive in Salaya does have some material on the subject, including a Thai film museum containing some artefacts from old movie theatres. The Film Archive is, however, a fabulous resource for learning about another extremely understudied aspect of Thai culture - Thai cinema. They regularly show old movies at their Sri Salaya Theatre, many of which they possess the lone existing print of. They also transfer some old Thai films onto DVD for sale.

by Cody Gohl 

The Thana Rungrot Rama Revisited

In the working life of a Thai stand-alone movie theater, 5 years can amount to a very long time. All the more so in these twilight years of the structural-type. If maintenance costs, or a dwindling customer base don't do it in, the necessity of keeping up with the times likely will. 

5 years ago, digital projection was just a rumor circulating through the movie exhibition industry. Theaters which failed to integrate the costly new technology, the thinking went, would soon find themselves short of films and short of business. "Out of business" would be the next and final stage. 

Those predictions have become reality for many Thai stand-alones over the last 5 years. Metropolitan Bangkok, for one, went from having about 10 stand-alone double-feature theaters to zero during that span. In the provinces, too, their numbers have fallen to lows not seen since the late 1920's. 

In the 5 years since the Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project first surveyed the Thai north, the sum of active stand-alone movie theaters has been halved from 2 down to 1. The lone survivor hangs on thanks to a life-saving upgrade to digital projection. For a movie theater, that's the equivalent of having a heart transplant. 

Uttaradit's Thana Rungrot Rama is the only active stand-alone movie theater left in northern Thailand.

While favorable to movie lovers in Uttaradit, it's not a coincidence that the Thana Rungrot Rama was given the digital upgrade. Thana, the company that owns the theater, is the distribution arm of Phranakorn Films, one of Thailand's main production companies. Thana is also the main movie distributor for the central and northern regions of the country.

Given that there are virtually no independent movie exhibitors left in northern Thailand other than Thana (not counting the national chains, Major Cineplex and SF Cinema) going digital was a natural investment. Should the Thana Rungrot Rama fail, it could easily be sold off and the expensive projection equipment installed in one of the company's other theaters.

Technics aside, the old theater seems to be doing just fine. About 50 people turned out for an 8:00 PM screening of the Thai coming of age film Timeline. If this is an average size crowd, then it's no wonder Thana opted to install digital projection. For a small, up-country market like Uttaradit, 50 ticket sales for a single screening is not bad at all.

Open-air lobby

Like almost all Thai movie theaters built in the middle decades of last century, the entrance to the Thana Rungrot Rama's lobby area is without exterior walls. This design is in harmony with the local climate, allowing the ever-warm tropical air to circulate freely, without need for costly air-conditioning. 

Lobby accouterments and advertisements. 

Thai tradition dictates that nothing can be higher up on a given wall than pictures of the King and Queen.

2014 marks the 40th birthday of the Thana Rungrot Rama. This, however, is the first year that the theater will stand as the sole surviving stand-alone movie theater in northern Thailand. But with the profiles of these cultural institutions gradually on the rise, perhaps one of the many dormant theaters in the north will be resurrected. 

Stranger things have happened. 

The Thongpaijid Rama Theater - Uttaradit, Thailand

In bygone eras, if anti-government protests turned riotous it was much easier to avoid confrontation than it is now. All you had to do was duck into a movie theater. Given their ubiquitous presence, chances are you were never more than a Molotov cocktails throw from the sanctuary of a cinema.

Take for instance the Thongpaijid Rama Theater. It was located smack in the middle of downtown Uttaradit and a two minute walk from either the Uttaradit Rama (see two posts prior) and the Sri Uttaradit Theater (RIP). So if you weren't ready to face the bullets when things got hot, there were three viable choices for refuge within a few hundred meters of each other.

The Thongpaijid Rama is still owned by the Thongpaijid family, but now they sell furniture instead of movie tickets.

Front steps serve as display for furniture.

I was very fortunate to meet Ying, daughter of the builders/operators of the Thongpaijid Rama. She very generously told me of the old theater's glory days and allowed me to do a little exploring of its inner sanctums.

Imagine that it's 1980 and the front steps of the Thongpaijid Rama are strewn with movie patrons, not furniture.

This is the view from the 2nd floor balcony. The flooring is actually a new ceiling built over the lobby to cut down on the energy bill and keep birds from nesting up there. From this view you can see the grandeur that it once was, with giant columns supporting a 10 meter- high vaulted ceiling.

Old poster cases still mounted on the wall. The auditorium was on the 2nd floor and boasted of the biggest screen in all of Uttaradit province.

Once reaching the second floor landing, you climbed the short staircase pictured above to enter the largest auditorium in town.

Old trash can with the inscription Thongpaijid Rama

Ying (pictured above) spent much of her childhood in her family's movie theater. She recalled with clairvoyance the crowds before showtime and how the Thongpaijid Rama was "the biggest and best theater in town."

As time passed and ticket sales declined, however, the Thongpaijid family experimented with different business models to prop up the ailing theater. On the first floor, below the main auditorium, they installed a roller skating ring in the mid-1980's. But it was doomed to failure. By that time, transnational electronics companies had unleashed the dual theater killers of video and the home entertainment system en mass. Over the course of the next decade independent movie theaters in Thailand began to fall like dominoes.

The Thongpaijid Rama Theater opened in 1971 or 72 and closed in 1999.

Many thanks to Ying

The Uttaradit Rama - Uttaradit, Thailand

If you weren't aware before hand, chances are you'd never know that the Big-J Superstore in Uttaradit City was once the Uttaradit Rama. Sure, the building has an unusual design, which maybe gives off a slight hint as to its former incarnation, but only if you were searching for theaters. For the most part it looks just like a supermarket.

The Uttaradit Rama, currently Big-J Superstore, at night.

But low and behold, in its days of yore it was a movie-showing mecca in the little city on the Nan River.

Fortunately somebody at the Big-J Superstore has a sense of the past. The photos above and below were taken in a little shipping and receiving office outside the loading dock. The painting on the right of the wall depicts the building as it was when it was a movie theater. Strangely enough, it appears that the letters on the marquee were supposed to read "Uttaradit Rama," but for some reason they were painted so as to look like some had fallen out. Maybe it was painted when the theater was already closed and abandoned.


(Never got an precise DOB but I was told the Uttaradit Rama was built some time in the late 1960's. It closed relatively recently, if I'm not mistaken).

The Jaroenporn Theater (Thana Uttaradit Cineplex) - Uttaradit, Thailand

An oasis of entertainment in an otherwise barren land, the theater formerly known as the Jaroenporn rises poignantly from streets of Uttaradit .

The Thana Company is best known for operating multiplexes in shopping centers like Big-C and Tesco Lotus. Those venues aside, a number of years ago they bought up a handful of ailing single-screen theaters throughout Thailand like this one in Uttaradit. Without knowing any details about the company, my guess is that Thana purchases and operates old theaters like this in towns that do not have megamalls or chain department stores large enough to accommodate a multiplex. This was the first of four Thana-owned single-screen theaters that I found on my most recent expedition, though two of them had already been shut down.

Thana Uttaradit Cineplex dates to the early 1970's, when it opened under the name the Jaroenporn Theater. The Thana Company bought it in the late 1990's and has been running it ever since, with two shows daily at noon and 8:30 PM.

I bought a ticket for the 8:30 showing of "Neung," which I walked out of after about 45 minutes - a complete bore instantly banished from memory. The memory of the Jareonporn Theater will remain til the tomb.

Theater lights at night.

Lounging comfortably in the lobby 10 minutes before showtime

"Next program" and "coming soon"

Get your read in!

Yes, the charms of old movie theaterhood. The screen and auditorium were huge, which I enjoyed very much, but the picture was much fainter than it should have been. The Dolby Digital surround sound, as advertised above the door, wasn't working. Sound was projected from speakers behind the screen, or so it seemed. The already hurting sound quality was further diminished by the hum of a giant air-conditioning unit at the far corner of the auditorium. Basically it was dump, but an edifying one.

Besides myself, there was another 21 people in attendance. At 50 baht per ticket, that means that the theater brought in 1,050 baht (about 37 dollars) for the night show, and they had a staff of about 6 people to pay. It's no wonder these places can't survive.