COOL STUFF

Check Out This Amazing Island Festival Floating Screening 'Room'

by Alex Billington
April 8, 2012
Source: Visual News

Many great film festivals take place at exotic, hard-to-get-to locations all over the world, from the South of France, to the mountains of Colorado. But one I've never been to but would love to—it's now on my bucket list—go to is Film on the Rocks, in Yao Noi, Thailand, co-curated by Tilda Swinton and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Tropical Malady, Uncle Boonmee). The four-day fest features screenings and workshops, but best of all, its centerpiece is a floating movie theater designed by German architect Ole Scheeren and these photos make it look breathtaking. Who wouldn't watch to watch movies there—forever?!

You can get more info on the Film on the Rocks festival at their website, as the first edition just took place this past March, where these photos are from (found via Honestly WTF & Visual News). "Moviegoers were delivered by boat to a floating movie theater, made of recycled materials, to watch the original Peter Pan from 1924." After the festival, the rafts were given back to the fisherman. Here are some spectacular photos:

Hong Kong based architect Ole Scheeren describes his inspiration for this: "A screen, nestled somewhere between the rocks. And the audience… floating. Hovering above the sea, somewhere in the middle of this incredible space of the lagoon, focused on the moving images across the water. A landscape of pieces playfully joined together. A sense of temporality, randomness. Almost like drift wood. Or maybe something more architectural. Modular pieces, loosely assembled, like a group of little islands. A congregation of rafts as an auditorium. Archipelago Cinema." Yes, please let that become a thing, I want to go experience this!

For those wondering about specific location, the screen was placed in front of two beautiful rocks in the archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, near Yao Noi, Thailand (Google maps). It states that it "may be brought back for next year's festival", but I'm sure after all the coverage this is going to get, they're definitely going to bring it back or even improve upon it. This has definitely put the Film on the Rocks on the map. Right?

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