Thai Activists Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal and Settanant Thanakitkoses Visit NYC to Screen Documentary “The Last Breath of Sam Yan”
On November 27, 2024, Engage Thailand organized a screening of the award-winning documentary "The Last Breath of Sam Yan" at Metrograph in NYC. The documentary chronicles the struggle to preserve a sacred Mazu shrine in Bangkok’s Sam Yan neighborhood, under threat from gentrification driven by Chulalongkorn University’s redevelopment plans. This shrine, a vital cultural landmark, represents the deep-rooted traditions of the local community.
The screening was well-received with a full house, filled with over 40 Thais and international allies. We were honored to host two Thai activists and producers of the documentary: Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal and Settanant Thanakitkoses. After the screening, both of them got to engage in a lively conversation with the audience about the Mazu shrine, their activism, and transnational solidarity.
Netiwit shared that the documentary has been invited to screened in many different universities across Thailand, except a in Chulalongkorn University. He noted that students other regions outside Bangkok were still able to resonate with the documentary because they had similar experience of gentrification—some sort of forced erasure of something valuable from their communities.
“We have to resist together.”
When asked about his personal experience in pro-democracy activism, Netiwit highlighted the importance of transnational solidarity. He reflected on how he had made an effort to connect with other pro-democracy activists across Asia, or the #MilkTeaAlliance, in order to raise awareness about what was happening to democracy in Asia and beyond. “We have to resist together,” Netiwit said.
