Canadian Premiere
Patiparn Boontarig’s film, set in the bright, breezy climes of southern Thailand, portrays the slowly blossoming love between two women. Shati (Ilada Pitsuwan) comes from a Muslim background, and we see her quietly chafe against the strictures of her culture. Fon (Rawipa Srisanguan) is more free-spirited, and she partakes of more worldly pleasures. What brings the two together is a love of art: Shati works at a gallery for whom Fon is preparing an exhibit. From their first meeting, the mutual attraction is clear; the suspense lies in Shati’s struggle to transcend her religious boundaries and more general inhibitions.
Mellow and serenely ingratiating, Solids by the Seashore relaxes the mind even as it puts forth a provocative, subversive agenda. The title refers to the Thai government’s attempts to fortify the seashore against rising tides—a misguided practice further tainted by corruption and responsible for soil erosion and other negative environmental outcomes. That is the theme of Fon’s art, and Boontarig embeds the social protest beautifully in his dreamy, poetic film.
New Currents Award, Busan 2023
Media Partner
Community Partner
Ilada Pitsuwan, Rawipa Srisanguan
Thailand
2023
In Thai and Southern Thai with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Koblarp Thaitun
Producer
Chatchai Chaiyon, Mai Meksawan
Screenwriter
Kalil Pitsuwan, Patiparn Boontarig
Cinematography
Benjamaporn Rattanaraungdetch
Editor
Nisarat Meechok
Original Music
Nattapon Innoo, Sart Pornmuneesoontorn, Korn Saengkiewngam, Sathapat Teeranitayapap, Apichai Tragoolpadetkrai
Art Director
Praewploy Kapkaew
Patiparn Boontarig
ปฏิภาณ บุณฑริก
Patiparn Boontarig graduated in film and photography at Thammasat University in Bangkok and has worked on a number of shorts and documentaries as director and screenwriter. He was assistant director to Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s Manta Ray (2018 Venice Film Festival) and Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s Anatomy of Time (2021 Tokyo FILMeX Grand Prize). Solids by the Seashore is his first feature film.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Golden Spurtle
Each year the sleepy highland village of Carrbridge awakens with excitement as locals and competitors from around the globe vie for the honour of winning The Golden Spurtle in the World Porridge Making Championships.
Two Pianos
Once promising concert pianist Mathias (François Civil) returns to his native Lyon after a long absence. He's here to pay homage to his mentor, Elena (Charlotte Rampling). But a chance encounter with an old flame sends him spiraling.
At the Place of Ghosts
In this supernatural Indigenous thriller from the director of Wildhood, siblings Mise'l and Antle journey into Sk+te'kmujue'katik (the Place of Ghosts), a primordial forest that exists outside of time, to confront their violent upbringing.