++ Amazing Stoner Movie Manifesto ++

What is a stoner movie?
 
This was the Golden Ganja question as we watched the exotic entries one after another. It’s not just the dude stuff or the trippy images with disassociated dialogue. It dawned on us that what makes a film a stoner movie is its sense of reality, a certain observational distance—Zen detachment. They don’t all show ganja on screen or even touch on weed culture, but they all have in common the state of being stoned.

The point being: If contemporary consensus reality with its abusive half-truths is clearly losing its mind, artists, filmmakers and cinephiles have the right—even the dharma—to subvert and shatter that cherished mirage.

All we weed is love.

Dr Alice Skinhead
Programmer
Cinema Oasis Amazing Stoner Movie Fest

*** UPDATE April 2024 ***

Why, at this time of near-total eclipse in world affairs, are we holding something so ‘silly’ as the 4th Amazing Stoner Movie Fest? Because being silly while faced with helplessness and doom is good for you, and because everyone had so much fun last year, that’s why. Meanwhile we stand by our cinematic manifesto below, sworn on our sacred plant whose legal status in Thailand is still not secure, despite the proliferation of weed shops around the festival venue, Cinema Oasis.

Ganja was still illegal in Thailand when Foundation Cinema Oasis for freedom of cinematic expression held its first Amazing Stoner Movie Fest, 8 – 11 August 2019. Many people warned of dire consequences, but miraculously the police did not come and we did not get shut down (which wouldn’t have been the first time). We posted signs requesting people not to light up so all would go well. All did go well.

Then the worldwide COVID Lockdown, during which all cinemas had to close their doors, meant the 2nd edition of the festival was postponed until 10 – 13 November 2022, by which time the Thai government under PM Prayudh ChanOcha had decriminalized ganja nationwide.

In celebration of this stupendous news, in addition to the regular screenings inside the cinema, another screen was set up in the atrium and with the help of mats and bean bags, an open-air garden cinema was created, flanked by two premium weed stalls (the one under the Buddha Tree actually run by Sagar Singh Sivaraman, director of ‘30K An Ounce’, first winner of the Crystal Bong for Best Stoner Short Film). A very happy festival was enjoyed by all.

That atmosphere of freedom is unfortunately threatened by the results of recent general elections in Thailand, which was won by political parties that have vowed to recriminalize our sacred plant. A War on Drugs has also been promised by one of the parties that had once waged a War on Drugs that killed over 2,000 people in Thailand in 2004. The sense of uncertainty and dread have prompted well-wishers to warn that we should delay the next Amazing Stoner Movie Fest “until it is safe to do so.”

How often have we followed such apparently sage advice, only to discover too late that we have merely given free rein to the oppressors of our freedom? It’s more important than ever to celebrate ganja as a sacred part of traditional Thai culture. We’re not going back into the closet.

This Call For Entries is therefore a Call To Arms.

In 2019, the Golden Ganja for Best Stoner Movie went to the mind-blowing ‘SuperPsychoCebu’ (dir. Christian Linaban) from the Philippines. The super slick ‘30K An Ounce’ (dir. Sagar Singh Sivaraman, Thai-born Indian filmmaker) won the short film prize, then called the Crystal Bong (now changed to the Baby Golden Ganja due to difficulty in sending ‘drug paraphernalia’ abroad to a winner).

COVID Lockdown postponed the 2nd edition until November 2022, when awesome Brazilian Kung Fu stoner movie The Smoke Master (dir. Andre Sigwalt & Augusto Soares) won the Golden Ganja, while eerie ‘Face to Face’(dir. Florent Mahoukou) from the Congo won the Crystal Bong. Special award Most Shocking Stoner Movie went to the emasculating Space Birth 2 (dir. Marius Jopen, Richard Keith, Audrey Beland). The hysterical The Maestro (dir. Paul Spurrier, Bangkok-based English filmmaker) won the Audience Award.

The 2023 Golden Ganja went to the soul-sucking and mesmerising Blood Rain (dir. Achitaphon Piansukprasert) from Thailand, while the accomplished and uncompromising Blessed Demon (dir. Kitpasit Tinnachartarak; Peerapat Singtothong; Thanarote Khaopare), also from Thailand, won the Baby Golden Ganja. The classically surrealist Head in the Clouds (dir. Luca Storch, Moritz Goebel) from Germany took the Audience Award and another Thai film, the wrenching music documentary Pain of Silence (dir. Christopher Janwong McKiggan) was awarded Most Necessary Film.

It’s not surprising when you think about it that the 3 short films that have won Best Stoner Short Film all deal with oppression: being forced to pay bribe to police after a weed bust (30K An Ounce); the history of the slave trade in the Congo (Face to Face); Siamese colonial suppression of Ubon (Blessed Demon). After all, stoners or ganja-chon in Thai, well understand what it is to be a victim of oppression—of cultural oppression and misrepresentation, of slander as well as criminalisation of Lord Shiva’s sacred plant.

Thai filmmakers have no human rights so long as they can be banned. Thus stoners and filmmakers are a perfect match in the struggle for the freedom to be our true selves and tell our stories with truth, beauty and unrestricted imagination.

Downstairs in the atrium the post-sunset open-air screenings (kicked off by Thai ganja icon Piak Lek Hip and Iron Pussy director and star Michael Shaowanasai with his original cult ‘The Adventures of Iron Pussy Episode 2’) amidst the bean bags, cushions and the happy stall the chill vibe reigned. May we continue to be free, to be ourselves, unhurried and unbullied, out of the dark closet and the silence. May cinema follow ganja out of that darkness of enforced silence, into the light of day.

Boom Shankar!

Who will win the Golden Ganja and USD 1,000 at the 4th Amazing Stoner Movie Fest?
Who will win the Baby Golden Ganja and 5,000 Thai baht for Best Stoner Short Film?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

++++ THE GOLDEN GANJA ++++

Win the Golden Ganja & USD 1,000 for Best Stoner Movie and the Baby Golden Ganja & 5,000 baht for Best Stoner Short Film!

The Amazing Stoner Movie Festival at Cinema Oasis takes Ganja seriously. Not only do we want to support excellent stoner films to educate the public, but we offer CASH Prize to winning filmmaker! Which can be used for Ganja or production of your next film!

All films selected will receive Amazing Stoner Movie Festival laurel certificates.

All films (short and feature) are in competition for "THE GOLDEN GANJA"
+++ BEST FILM +++

The AMAZING STONER BEST FILM will receive USD $1,000 cash for
THE GOLDEN GANJA award

"Baby Golden Ganja"
+++ BEST SHORT FILM +++
Receive 5,000 Baht cash

The contest is wide open to all types of film: fiction & non-fiction, full-length features & shorts, documentary & video art.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Each submitted film goes through an involved judging process, and is screened in its entirety. Films submitted to The Amazing Stoner Movie Festival are distinguished by their overall artistic and technical quality. The Amazing Stoner is open to all genres and looks forward to expanding visions, ideas and truths to the world.

ELIGIBILITY:
To be eligible for The Amazing Stoner Movie Festival, films must comply with the following:

- The film cannot require dual projection (interlock) or separate soundtracks.
Non-English films must be subtitled in English.

- There must not be a screening fee attached to the film. The Amazing Stoner Movie Festival will not pay a screening fee to any film featured in the Festival; there are no exceptions.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Kitpasit Tinnachartarak

    Great high and stoned experience! The festival was cozy, happy and great!

    Not a single festival had selected our film due to political topic, but except Stoner Festival. I really appreciated everyone that day. Thank you for loving our film.

    Meeting many film creators was an inspiring experience for me. It's light up ideas for future film project. Each genres, each stories, each films have its own uniqueness. Mixing and blending from mind of each creators. We(Blessed Demon's team) love all your films. See you next year, stoners!

    November 2023
  • Incredibly warm and hospitable festival with a very hardworking and passionate team. The award ceremony was heart-wrenching, because two Thai students won an award with an extraordinarily well-made animation about a historical battle that the government has some problems with, so no other festival wanted to screen it -- and you could see the pain and gratitude in their eyes as they accepted the well-deserved award.

    November 2023
  • Karolina Alvarez

    Your festival is a real space of freedom, so appreciated by people with a anticapitalist message, like me! Thank you Alice for your sweet review of my mexican graffiti film Take your space, I hope to get to know you all in the future!

    November 2023
  • Nous sommes honorer d'avoir choisi parmi tant de projet notre Film FACE TO FACE. Merci au directeur ainsi qu'à toute son équipe !!!
    Bonheur et joie

    December 2022
  • The festival was a blast!
    Everybody was so nice and lovely. It was incredible to meet so many creative film makers in one spot.

    The weed was great! The films as well.

    So grateful for this experience!
    I want to come next year again! Just to see more stoner movies :-D

    November 2022