Mobile theatre offers free services in Chiang Mai

BANGKOK, Jan 31 (TNA) -- The Culture Ministry has deployed its mobile theatre at Chiang Mai University for free movies for almost a month. The project is aimed at serving underprivileged children and checking people’s interest. About 70 pupils from Wat Mueng Kong School watched a movie on the 80-million-baht mobile theatre, the first of its kind in Asia, parked at the art and cultural centre of Chiang Mai Universityon Nimmanhaeminda Road. The mobile theatre screens movies two times a day for students and its evening round serves general people. It operates two rounds of screenings on weekends. On Jan 31 it screened a film from Sweden. The movie was shot in Chiang Mai in 1940, starring Thai actors and actresses. The mobile theatre has the capacity to serve about 100 people per round of screenings. Chalida Ueabamrungjit, deputy director of the Culture Ministry’s Thai Film Archive, said the mobile theatre paid its first visit to downtown Chiang Mai. Normally it was deployed for children in remote areas where there was not a theatre, she said. The visit to Chiang Mai was intended to gauge the interest of general students and people in old movies. Findings would influence a decision on whether the archive should build its permanent theatre in Chiang Mai, she said. (TNA)