Taking the Thammasat student massacre of 1976 as its starting point, By the Time it Gets Dark intricately weaves together the lives of various characters in this beguiling and dizzying second feature by Anocha Suwichakornpong.

The lives of a documentary film maker and her subject, a former a student activist, a waitress who constantly drifts from one job to another, an actor and an actress are all loosely connected, hinging on a series of almost invisible threads, while the narrative doesn’t fail to surprise as it unfolds, layer upon layer.

The film intricately weaves together notions of memory, the political and cinematic, offering a bold exploration into film the possibilities of cinema itself.

Anocha Suwichakornpong’s début feature Mundane History won a Tiger Award at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2009, and she has also just won three Thai national film awards for By the Time it Gets Dark.

F-Rated

film of the week – Sight and Sound

★★★★ – “fascinating, enigmatic feature” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

★★★★ – “hypnotic” Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

★★★★ "This dreamlike journey into the imagination is never predictable" Little White Lies

film of the week – Mark Kermode on BBC Radio 5 Live and ★★★★ Observer

“an expansive and imaginative exploration of class, history and spirituality in modern Thailand” Eve Watling, Little White Lies

“a brilliant work” Nick Pinkerton, Artforum

Advance tickets are available up until 3 hours prior to the screening time. Even if a screening is sold out, tickets are often available 30 minutes before the start of the film at the box office.