A reminder of better days at the Washington

The below photos depict the Washington Theater in a slightly more decorative light than the previous post. At the time of their taking in the early 2000's, its movie screening days had already past and the Mambo cabaret had taken up the lease.  

The Washington Theater once stood behind the street side marquee and signage pictured above. 

In its heyday during the last quarter of the 20th century, the Washington was a premiere Sukhumvit Road movie destination, particularly for Hollywood and Bollywood films. The theater's parent company, the Asia Rama Network, circulated movies between its numerous first and second run theaters throughout metropolitan Bangkok, nearly all of which have been demolished.

These two shots come courtesy of the thoughtful Mr. Peep, a long time contributor to this blog.

Washington Theater movie ticket

Washington is destroyed!

Word has it that the former epicenter of Bangkok's Washington Square - the Washington Theater - is in the process of being demolished. 

Though shuttered as a theater for more than a decade, the Washington represents Cold War Thailand at its pinnacle. The surrounding "square" was lined with bars and brothels that catered to American soldiers and ex-pats left over from the Vietnam War and others who gravitated to it in the war's aftermath. Needless to say, the name of the square and its anchor theater hearken back to the "special relationship" between Thailand and America during the Cold War.   

Architecturally speaking, the Washington was never the most glamorous of Thai theaters. But for better or worse, an important vestige of 20th century social history is will be lost with its demise. 

 

Colorful Rot

The ruins of the Tang Sia Huad Rama in Nakorn Pathom are haunting. Why the abandoned theater didn't meet the same fate as the shop houses that once flanked it is unknown. It could be a warehouse, or some other kind of storage facility, I suppose.

Whatever it's post-cinema purpose, I'm glad it's there. And equally glad that my comrade had the consideration to document it and send it this way, to be displayed in the public domain. Colorful rot from central Thailand.  

SEA Movie Theater Project invited to Jakarta documentary film fest

If ever there was a perfect event for the Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project to exhibit at it's the upcoming ChopShots Documentary Film Festival being held in Jakarta, Indonesia from December 5th to the 9th.  ChopShots has compiled 60 documentary films from around the world, covering a diverse range of topics that's bound to satisfy all comers.

Among the many sideshows will be a 24-image series from the Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this inaugural film fest, but that shouldn't stop anybody who happens to be in the metro-Jakarta area from going. Don't miss out on this most stimulating event.

Burmese polychrome

If there's any style of cinema architecture that can be said to be unique to any of the countries I surveyed, it would be the polychromes of Burma. Only five were encountered in all, but scouring old photos revealed at least another two which have since been demolished.

This cosmetic touch, achieved by way of paint or tile, turns an otherwise mundane facade into a spectacle. 

Here are the five that I documented between 2010 and 2011.   

The Nay Pyi Daw Cinema - Yangon

The Shae Saung Cinema - Yangon

The Nyunt Cinema - Bago

The San Pya Cinema - Magwe

The Thida Cinema - Yangon

Burmese Art Deco

In my down time, the mind wanders back to recent excursions. To the frenzied streets of Burma and those Art Deco picture houses that enhance what we pedestrians see. After the British had accepted their resign and before iron fists clamped down on the country, Classical Art Deco cinema halls were one of two architectural styles to proliferate. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure.

The Thwin Cinema - Yangon

The Tun Thiri Cinema - Pyay

The Kemarat Cinema - Kyang Tung

The Myoma Cinema - Pyin Oo Lwin

The Shwe Hintha Cinema - Bago

The Win Cinema - Tounggoo

The Yazuna Cinema - Pyin Oo Lwin

The Aung Mingala Cinema - Dawei

Ciao for now.

Regular followers of the SEA Movie Theater Project have probably noticed the dearth of posts in recent months. Sorry to drag it out like this, folks, but truth be told, I am fresh out of material. In the past I could remedy that by setting out from my Chiang Mai apartment on field trips around Thailand, or into neighboring Burma, Laos or Vietnam. A steady supply of documentary photography was always in store to keep the faithful entertained, if not a little bit informed.

It's a new ball game now. At least for the time being I have decided to spend some time in America, without any immediate prospects of a return to Southeast Asia. Believe me, this is a painful adjustment. And nothing pains me more than not being able to work this project (I've tried documenting American movie theaters, but I can't muster the same devotion to it).

So an indefinite lull in activity awaits, but by no means is this the end of the Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project. To the contrary, I have a bunch of irons in the fire as I type. Besides my usual attempts to land grants and fellowships, I am slowly piecing together a book about the stand-alone theaters of Burma. That's still a ways from completion, but it is in the works nonetheless.

As some of you may already be aware, there is currently a series of SEA Movie Theater Project photos on display at Bangkok's Jim Thompson Art Center. That will be running to through October. Please check it out if you want to view these images in large print format and in a context other than a computer screen.

The people at Jim Thompson, I ought to mention, have been consistently supportive of this work. Without them I do not think it would have been able to survive as long as it has. They are a saintly group to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.

The Lifescapes Southeast Asia Film Fest, the Busan International Film Fest, the Luang Prabang Film Fest and the Cinemanila International Film Fest have also been extremely good to me and deserve much praise. So does his Wiseness over at Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal, who has generously promoted this project from the start.

As for future events, December of this year includes another exhibition, this time in Jakarta, Indonesia at the Chop Shots Documentary Film Festival. There very well may be something exciting in conjunction with that, which I'll keep you all abreast of.

In the meantime, thanks for all the visits and page views, the supportive comments and fan mail. Check back from time to time to see if anything new is in the works. Send in your own photos of stand-alone theaters in Southeast Asia if you feel so inspired. Or feel free to drop me a note: sea.theater@hotmail.com. It would be great to hear from you!

Warmly,
Phil