This is the story of a small school in a remote rural area of China, with about 30 students, facing a problem when their only teacher, Mr. Gao, has to leave to return to his hometown because his mother is ill. The village headman then sets out to find a temporary teacher to in his place, and finds a 13-year-old girl named Wei Minzhi who doesn't know much beyond reading and writing, but agrees to take the job because she needs the money.
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The crucial task assigned to Wei Minzhi by teacher Gao is to ensure that not a single student goes missing. This is illustrated in "Not One Less," the title of a film by renowned director Zhang Yimou that uses real villagers, not actors, in its realistic and simple portrayal of inequality, poverty, and the universal nature of the education system. The film resonated with audiences of all nationalities and languages, eventually winning the "Golden Lion" award at the 1999 Venice Film Festival.
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Zhang Yimou's masterpiece became a part of the inspiration for Amornwat Phutthalertsak, the producer of the film "Sabai Dee Luang Prabang," to create a Thai film using the natural talents of local people as actors, instead of professional actors. The goal was to prove that Thais could do it, and to encourage today's children, who mostly spend all their time in front of mobile phone screens, addicted to games and social media—a major problem for many families in Thai society—to reconnect with their neighbors and play with their friends, just like they did as children. He presented this idea to the Safe and Creative Media Development Fund and received a general grant in 2565, authorizing the production of the short film "Kop Dek Khang Ban" (Befriending the Neighbors).
"I wanted to prove that children from Isaan, our home region, are also talented and capable. In Thailand, there aren't many places that cast children from local areas, not just actors, in films because it's difficult; everything is hard to control. Parents who cast their children in films want their children to be able to act, so they push and encourage them a lot."
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The six-episode short film series, "Kids Next Door," tells imaginative and fun stories with action sequences that transport modern-day game-addicted children into the past. There, they experience and play with children of that era through traditional games from northeastern Thailand that modern children may never have known, such as "Tee Klee Fai" from Chaiyaphum, "E-Toey" from Loei, "Phi Phon" from Nakhon Phanom, "Ma-nyeng Yang" from Mukdahan, "Saba" from Yasothon, and "Jam Mu Mi" from Nong Khai. The filming process took Amornwat and his team almost a year to complete, even involving three different cinematography teams.
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“Child actors aged 6-10 years old are still very mischievous and lack concentration. Furthermore, we intended to use local child actors to make it as realistic as possible. Therefore, we had to conduct auditions for child actors in the actual area and find teachers or villagers knowledgeable about traditional games to train them. Then, three months later, we began filming. The difficulty lay in working with the children. Some couldn't perform, and some cried and went home before filming was complete. This made it very challenging because we weren't using professional child actors. And filming took place during the rainy season, which made it even more difficult.”
Despite the hardships, the obstacles that came with the challenges became a source of pride for Amornwat, who ultimately succeeded in transforming ordinary children from northeastern Thailand into successful actors in films.
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"The first time I met the kids, they didn't want to play or cooperate at all. But once we got to know them and became close to them, making them feel like we were their friends, they started performing smoothly. It's a source of pride that we didn't choose professional actors; we chose ordinary kids, kids who had never been in front of a camera before. They didn't know what facial expressions to make or which angle to face the camera. When they were given a script to speak, they diligently memorized it. Some memorized it perfectly. When they arrived, they could speak clearly."
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After the film aired, it received quite positive feedback, with praise from various sectors. Many schools requested to use it as teaching material, and local authorities in several provinces asked to disseminate it further to promote tourism and local culture and traditions. Those who haven't seen it yet can watch it on the TPTV application and the Parliament TV channel, with reruns every Saturday at 8:20 AM until the end of this year. Alternatively, you can watch it retrospectively on YouTube at Thai Media Fund, under the title "Kop Dek Khang Ban" (Befriending the Neighboring Kids). This short film reflects the pride of the production team, the pride of these ordinary kids, and has ultimately become a source of pride for all Thais. It may even encourage children to spend more time with their neighbors and reduce their gaming time.
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