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15 days is a lot to give over to any film festival, but VIPA International Film Festival 2026 makes a decent case for it. From September 11 to 25, Thai PBS on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road hands its screens to cinema from all over the world, and to the audiences and filmmakers who want to sit in the same room and argue about it afterwards.
The programme's centrepiece is One Cut, a strand built entirely around the long take, meaning pictures shot in one continuous run with no edits and no cutting away to hide the joins. Five of them screen across the fortnight, and watching different directors crack the same problem five different ways is the kind of thing you rarely get on an ordinary night at the cinema. One fumble from an actor or the camera operator and the take restarts from the top, which is half the thrill of knowing what you're watching.
Screenings aside, the two weeks fill up with talks from directors and actors, hands-on filmmaking workshops, panels for anyone working in the industry and exhibitions from artists and storytellers across a spread of fields. Most of it runs through the day, so you can plan around whatever you most want to catch.
September 11, opening day. Proceedings start with directors and actors in conversation, then an outdoor showing of One Cut Monk: วันคัต ดีเนาะ, Arunsak Ongla-or's 100-minute feature filmed in real time with nothing trimmed. It's September in Bangkok, so pack a poncho.
September 12-13, first weekend. An all-day marathon of Thai and international cinema, plus One Cut workshops and panels where you can put questions straight to working filmmakers.
September 19-20, documentary weekend. The focus shifts to documentaries, each followed by a chat with its director and producer. The exhibitions stay open, and the weekend closes with the announcement of the VIPA Pitching Project 2026, a contest for documentary makers to pitch their next idea.
September 25, closing film. VIPA signs off with the documentary The Unforgetting Wednesday alongside a history exhibition,Scene Of Oct, marking 50 years since the events of October 6 1976. Registration opens at 4pm.
Thai PBS, Vibhavadi Rangsit Rd. Free registration. Sep 11-25. Find the full line-up on Facebook at VIPA.