FILMING THE THIRD SEX .................................................................. Tannia Sukkhapsit’s has generated lots of critical acclaim overseas, but at home she is banned. The controversial filmmaker talks to Vivienne Chen. Photos by Nick McGrath. .................................................................. Sitting in her office, with straight, shoulder-length black hair, chiselled brows, and lengthy nails painted with gold polish, Tanwarin “Tannia” Sukkhapisit hardly cuts a controversial figure. But when the Thai Office of National Culture Commission banned her 2010 film, Insects in the Backyard, it cited the movie as a “disruption 34 asialife Thailand
of national order and public morals.” Far from being resentful about the ban on Insects and subsequent denial for appeal, Tannia says it has enabled her to reflect more deeply upon the issue. “I realised if I got angry, I’d reduce myself to the same level as those who banned
it,” she says. “Instead, I try to understand those who do not understand.” In Insects in the Backyard, which she wrote and directed, Tannia plays a cross-dressing single father of a son and daughter whose dysfunctional family life drives them to shady hookups and prostitution. Unlike other Thai films like The