LAOS CONSUL GENERAL IN FAREWELL VISIT TO MSU

On July 13 Mr. Soutthideth Phommalath, the Consul General of the Khon Kaen Consulate of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, paid a visit to Mahasarkham University before the end of his term in Thailand and his return to Laos.

Mr Phommalath was warmly welcomed by MSU Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Preecha Prathepa and thanked MSU for for the cooperation and caring shown to Laos students attending MSU.

Mr Phommalath will  be paying a visit all twenty Isan provinces under his consulate before returning to Laos.

LOVE AT SARAKHAM MOVIE PREMIERE

On Thursday March 10 the general public of Mahasarakham was given the rare opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars of the movie Love at Sarakham at the premiere opening at MVP Cinema complex at Mahasarakham.

Love at Sarakham, described as a love story about teenagers and students, is centred in and around Mahasarakham University. Many of the contributing actors in the movie are local identities recognisable and identifiable with local people and their culture. The dialogue in the movie is rich in Isan dialect with subtitles in Thai for those not familiar with the north eastern Isan dialect.

There are humorous moments cleverly mixed in with in with the storyline which brought laughs from the entire audience of all ages at the premiere. There are also scenes of landscapes around Mahasarakham illustrating the natural beauty of some of the scenery to be found in north east Thailand.

Although seeing this movie through western eyes and not understanding the dialogue due to lack of Thai language skills, the editor still very much enjoyed the movie, easily recognising the ready Isan sense of humour and fun while at the same time very much enjoying seeing familiar scenery from in and around the beautiful Maha Sarakham Province. ...more pics

Movie fever seems to have gripped the campus of MSU over the last fortnight with the pending release of the movie ‘Love At Sarakham’.

The full length cinema movie Love at Sarakham is a collaboration between the Institute of Northeastern Arts and Culture with the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (Ministry of Culture). The movie is a romantic comedy set in and around Mahasarakham with many scenes shot on campus at MSU.

The dialogue and storyline is typically Isan, with language and costumes and character traits of the actors easily recognisable as from the north east. Local wags have suggested with typically lighthearted Isan frivolity the film will need to be subtitled in Thai language so those not familiar with Isan language can follow the storyline.

The underlying romantic story line is light and illustrates the light hearted and humorous side of young Isan people who really enjoy life, whatever it brings for them. It gives the viewer an outstanding insight into cultural aspects of the lives of young people living in the north east of Thailand. Love at Sarakham is due for national release in Thai cinemas on March 10. .... more pics          ...YOUTUBE TRAILER

PREECHA SAKORN ‘JUST PLAIN NATURAL’ SHORT FILM AWARD

MSU Information Science lecturer Preecha Sakorn     (left in picture) has received an honourable mention at the recent National Education Short Film Festival shown at SF Central World Cinema Bangkok.

Sakorn’s ten minute film, Just Plain Natural, was shot on location in Koofah National Park is a film regarding natural resources. Although the narrative is in Thai, English speakers will still be able to enjoy the scenery and understand a little of the storyline from the imagery.

Just Plain Natural and two other of Sakorn’s short films, The Transistor Radio (with English subtitles) and The Novices part I and part 2 (winner of an Excellence Award at the Tokyo Video Festival in 2007) are available to be viewed on Youtube (youtube search term = preesart).  ... more pics