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KO

Ko Lipe is a small Thai island in the Andaman Sea, originally inhabited only by a few hundred Chao Leh (so called „Sea Gypsies“) of the Urak Lawoi tribe. In the last couple of years, mass tourism has arrived on the island—with all positive and negative consequences for its inhabitants, their way of life and the environment.

Viennese filmmaker Heimo Aga has visited the island many times over the last years; his first documentary feature draws a picture of this complex and irreversible development, with strong images rather than extensive dialogue, with empathy and humor instead of raised fingers.

  • Heimo Aga
    Director
    Robot Sumo, This Museum Does Not Have An Exit, Hong Kong Rollin'
  • Heimo Aga
    Producer
    Robot Sumo, This Museum Does Not Have An Exit, Hong Kong Rollin'
  • Nicole Schmidt
    Assistance & 2nd Unit
    Fair Enough, SXM
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Environment, Social, Economy, Ocean
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 28 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 16, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    40,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Austria
  • Country of Filming:
    Thailand
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    1080p 25
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • CayFilm
    George Town
    Cayman Islands
    July 3, 2016
    World Premiere
  • Corsica.Doc
    Ajaccio
    France
    October 21, 2016
    European Premiere
  • NaturVision
    Ludwigsburg
    Germany
    July 16, 2017
    German Premiere
  • Festival International du Film Insulaire de l’Île de Groix
    Port Lay
    France
    August 26, 2017
    French Premiere
Director Biography - Heimo Aga

Heimo Aga is an award-winning filmmaker and photojournalist based in Vienna, Austria. Over the last years, he has shot and produced a couple of feature-length documentaries.

LIST OF FILMS (PARTIAL):
Der Koch, der Wirt und der Fußball – 40 Jahre Rudis Beisl (90'), 2023 • Bye Bye, Grand Tour (27'), 2022 • i365-21 (24'), 2022 • HOT! (62'), 2020 • Fair Enough (77’), 2018 • SXM (8’), 2018 • Hong Kong Rollin’ (30’), 2016

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Director Statement

Trying to assess the situation in such a confined microcosm - a remote island with few locals, many immigrants from Thailand and lots of seasonal tourists - reminds me watching Kurosawa's "Rashomon": every party involved has a very distinct view of the ongoing and mostly irreversible processes they partly triggered themselves and now have to cope with.

I started to interview a few people, but soon realized the movie's message would be much stronger by only "showing what's there" without too many comments, and let the audience draw their own conclusions, whatever they might be!