Field Notes
Over the past decade, I’ve visited so often that my partner jokes I work in Singapore but live in Bangkok. What keeps pulling me back is the city’s unique balance—chaotic yet laid-back, unpredictable yet deeply familiar.
Bangkok is a city of quiet innovation, where things evolve in ways that aren’t always obvious at first glance.
In Constant Motion
In recent years, architects, entrepreneurs, and developers have transformed the urban landscape with independent spaces that blend local brands, restaurants, and cultural experiences—offering fresh ways to engage with art, music, and design.
Even shopping in Bangkok is its own ritual. A local once described how office workers spend their lunch hour:
"Twenty minutes eating, forty minutes shopping."
That’s why pop-up stalls selling food, clothing, and lifestyle products flood office lobbies and atriums daily, from late morning to late afternoon.
Style, Culture, and Respect
Thais are among the most fashionable people I’ve seen in Southeast Asia. Despite the heat, they put great effort into dressing well—not just as personal expression, but as a sign of respect for one another.
Their easy-going, patient, and adaptable nature is shaped by Buddhist values and a deep-rooted emphasis on harmony. Politeness is everything. Confrontation is avoided. And too much honesty can feel aggressive.
These observations—collected over a decade—have shaped my deep admiration for Bangkok and its people.
So when I finally had the chance to work in Bangkok, I was ready.
In 2010, 2015, and 2017, we brought A Design Film Festival (DFF) to Bangkok.
The first edition in 2010 was hosted by Art4D, an architecture magazine. Mongkon Ponganutree, then editor-in-chief, reached out in early 2010, asking if we’d consider bringing DFF to Bangkok.
At the time, we never imagined DFF would travel beyond Singapore. We weren’t even sure if it would continue beyond 2010. The Bangkok edition felt like a one-off experiment, but it turned out to be the beginning of something much bigger.
Why We Started DFF
DFF was about exploring design through film, making design more accessible to non-designers and elevating design literacy through storytelling.
When interest from Berlin, Seoul, Taipei, and Bangkok started coming in, we realized that the need for a new way of talking about design went beyond Singapore.
DFF Bangkok 2010 – The First Edition
In 2010, we brought A Design Film Festival (DFF) to Bangkok in collaboration with Art4D magazine. Mongkon Ponganutree, then editor-in-chief, reached out asking if we’d consider hosting the festival in Bangkok. At the time, we had no plans for DFF to extend beyond Singapore—in fact, we weren’t even sure it would continue past its inaugural edition.
The goal of DFF was simple: to explore design and its subcultures through film, making design more accessible to non-designers while elevating design literacy. But as interest from Berlin, Seoul, Taipei, and Bangkok started coming in, we realised there was a global demand for a fresh way to engage with design.
Held at SF Central World from 22–28 November 2010, the Bangkok edition featured eight films, including Visual Acoustics, Herb & Dorothy, Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight, Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect, Beautiful Losers, Extended Play, Kraftwerk & The Electronic Revolution, and J-Star. Unfortunately, all event archives and photos were lost due to a failed hard drive backup—a reminder to always keep multiple backups!
DFF Bangkok 2015 – The Second Chapter
Fast-forward a few years. In February 2015, while in Mumbai for a private screening of Dior and I for Christian Dior India, I received an email from Pimpun Sungkorn of Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC). He wanted to bring DFF back to Bangkok. The answer was an easy yes.
A recommendation from Satoru Yamashita of +81 Magazine, who had worked with TCDC in 2014, reinforced that this would be a solid partnership. Planning moved quickly, largely thanks to Ploy Wongondee, who single-handedly managed venue coordination, film ratings, Thai translations and subtitling, marketing, and publicity. Her ability to juggle so many moving parts remains impressive to this day.
DFF Bangkok 2015 was held at SF Central World from 18–26 July, featuring 10 films that Ploy and I co-curated from the 2014 and 2015 programming.
Here are photos from the 2015 edition, capturing moments from the screenings, behind-the-scenes, and the people who made it happen.
In 2017, we partnered with TCDC to bring A Design Film Festival back to Bangkok, this time at the legendary Scala Theatre—a hidden gem in Siam Square’s bustling shopping district. Opened in 1969, Scala was Bangkok’s last stand-alone cinema, a landmark of Thai cinema history. Sadly, it closed on 5 July 2020, making our event one of the last major screenings there. The festival ran over two weekends (25–26 February and 4–5 March), drawing Bangkok’s creative community into its grand art-deco halls.
For this edition, we collaborated with members of the Thailand Graphic Designers Association (ThaiGa) to produce a series of limited-edition tote bags, exhibited and sold during the festival. Designed by Techit Jiro, Manita Songserm, Nattapol Rojjanarattanangkool + PRACTICAL, and PIE Maker, the collection reflected Bangkok’s design scene and the intersection of art and cinema.
Here’s the trailer for the festival and behind-the-scenes photos from the setup and event at Scala.
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Felix Ng
Co-founder, Anonymous
@felix.anonymous