The British Film Institute calls Tongpan “One of the most important “third world” films of the decade. It is based on the real life experience of a farmer from the poverty-stricken Northeast region of Thailand. Tongpan and his family are forced off their land when a dam built nearby caused their farm to be flooded and left it parched in the dry.

Tongpan is a black and white theatrical film. It is based on the real life experience of a farmer from the poverty-stricken Northeast region of Thailand. Tongpan and his family are forced off their land when a dam built nearby caused their farm to be flooded in the wet season and left it parched in the dry. They have moved to a small town bordering Laos on the Mekong River. There, Tongpan the farmer is struggling to support his family as Tongpan the pedicab driver, Tongpan, the small time boxer, and Tongpan, the keeper of someone else’s chickens. The British Film Institute calls Tongpan “One of the most important “third world” films of the decade.

In Thai and Lao with English subtitles

Awards:
Asian American International Film Festival: Award of Merit

Produced by Frank Green
1994 | 60 mins