Young Lao filmmaker tackles deadly road accidents

A spate of road accidents that killed several people during the Lao New Year celebrations has prompted a young Lao filmmaker to make a short film aimed at helping the government in its renewed road safety campaign. Award winning young Lao film-maker Lee Vilayphong Phongsavanh tackled the theme of road safety in his short film "YOU+ME=ONE" which recently won the country's premiere short film competition, Vientianale. "YOU+ME=ONE" takes the viewer on a journey through the eyes of a young man who comes to consciousness in a bright room surrounded by unfamiliar masked faces. As the film progresses, the viewer becomes gradually aware, along with the protagonist, that a series of bad choices regarding drinking and driving have not only placed him but also his girl friend in the hospital fighting for their lives after they had an accident. The film then depicts the events backwards from the terrible crash, showing the protagonist drinking heavily despite the warning of his partner. The film not only garnered the first place at the Mini Vientianale but was also lauded by the local audience for its timely portrayal of a creeping social problem. The film certainly struck a chord with viewers who were able to relate too well with its themes of pain, regret, sacrifice and loss of young lives due to road accidents. "Three of my friends died already," said Lee who produced and directed the film. "I just lost my friend a year ago in a car accident, another friend two years ago and another friend five years ago. Always it was in a road accident." However "YOU+ME=ONE" wasn't the only film in the competition that dealt with road safety. Many of the other films grappled with similar topics such as over-speeding and drunk driving, especially among the young. During New Year celebrations in Laos which ran from April 11-16, over 303 road accidents killed 37 people and injured over 500. In the first quarter of this year, there had been 1,541 road accidents throughout the country that resulted in 276 fatalities and 2,584 people injured. "There are road accidents in Laos every day, every single day," said Lee. "Twice or more than that in Vientiane. One of the reasons I came up with the film is that four of my friends and even more died because of accidents. I just want to make something to remind them, to make them realize it's dangerous." The number of vehicles in the capital has soared in recent years as the standard of living in the country has gone up. Officials said that the increase in car ownership has often been the cause of reckless driving resulting in untimely death of passengers or bystanders. In 2013 over 66,000 vehicles were registered, an increase of more than 5,000 vehicles compared to the previous year. According to Vientiane traffic officials only about 200,000 of the capital' s 800,000 population have driver's license. Lee's passion for film developed after watching a video about break-dancing on the Internet. He saved up for a camera and traveled to the city of Luang Prabang alone, and filmed some of the dancers there. "I edited it and posted it on Facebook and people liked it, now I think it has about 10,000 viewers," Lee said. Encouraged by the success of his videos on social media, Lee took on ever larger projects, culminating in two prize winning films at Vientianale. Lee hoped that in the future he will be able to produce even bigger projects to showcase his love for dance and hip-hop culture as well as promoting Laos on the world stage. As capital Vientiane continues its rapid development, several projects are underway, which include multi-screen cinema complexes. It is expected that as disposable income and access to feature films increase, so will the demand for Lao films. For the young generation of filmmakers such as Lee, the prospect of a growing Lao film industry is exciting. "When I was in Singapore one day I walked into a 7-11 outlet and the cashier asked me where I came from. When I said Laos, he asked me if Laos is in Africa," Lee said smiling. Lee said that Laos is indeed a small country but he and other Laotian filmmakers are trying their best to come up with something that will show to the world that Laos has its own unique culture and way of life.