A number of historic films were destroyed when a fire last night ravaged the national film archive.
Archivists were still determining how many films were destroyed by the blaze inside the shipping containers housing the Thai Film Archive’s temporary offices in Nakhon Pathom’s Phutthamonthon district in west metro Bangkok.
No injuries resulted from the fire, but a few dozen films are believed to have been destroyed, archive Director Chalida Uabumrungjit said Monday morning.
The office, which is utilized to examine and repair old films, had a few dozen reels on hand at the time, including 1940 historical drama The King of the White Elephant and Lued Chaona (1936).
Old prints on nitrate film are highly flammable. But Chalida said that if any damage was done to the reels, digital copies had already been made as well as backup prints.
Local police said they were notified of the fire at about 7pm and are investigating.
Reader Interactions