NAPASIN SAMKAEWCHAM

Democracy After Death (Censored Version)

The film mixes several presentation formats, including animation, performances, and a large amount of actual news footage. Overall, Democracy After Death could be called one of the most colourful and complete Thai political documentaries ever. The documentary not only commemorates the story of the struggle and death of Nuamthong Praiwan, the elderly taxi driver who drove his taxi into a tank to protest the 2006 coup and eventually hanged himself to affirm there are those who are ready to sacrifice their lives to oppose the coup. It also reviews the beginning of the political conflicts of 2006, which can be seen as the beginning of the now-10-year-long political turmoil that shows no signs of stopping.

Images of violence, cruelty, anger and debilitating hopelessness are shown over the hour and a half. Instead of the normal film credits rolling at the end, the word “Anonymous” appears repeatedly. There is only the name of the director: Neti Wichiansaen. He is a director of advertisements that had to flee Thailand because of some posts he made on a political webboard. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) arrested him, saying that his photos and comments broke the lèse-majesté law.

People may not know him by his real name, but his pseudonym, Pruay Saltihead, is likely to be well-known among politically-active internet users from 2006 on.