Fridae

The European Union Film Festival runs until June 3 in Bangkok before it moves to Chiang Mai. This year, the Festival, now in its 10th year in Thailand, brings together 20 films made in the EU over the last several years.

The Festival features films such as My Best Friend - Klaus Kinski, a documentary by Werner Herzog about the emotional and difficult but very productive relationship between that director and the star, and Gaston's War, set among members of the Resistance during World War II.

Among the oddities at the festival is a drama about the relationship between an Elvis impersonator and a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. All this is a great change from the normal Bangkok film fare - largely a steady diet of Hollywood blockbusters and locally produced shoot-'em-ups.

Hosted mainly at the Emporium, the selection isn't exactly gay. There are no specifically gay-themed films on the program, but, as is the case with independent film in general these days, many of the offerings have gay characters, lesbian overtones and queer themes.

One typical film, for example, is Polaroid, a Greek flick that revolves around small, sexually diverse theater troupe, which performs a play with several controversial gay characters. No must-sees for the in gay crowd, but lots of why-not-goes.