Absence of Sound (ຮັກນີ້ບໍ່ມີສຽງ)
Directed by: Sonepasith Phanphila ກໍາກັບໂດຍ ສອນປະສິດ ພັນພິລາ
Written by: Sonepasith Phanphila ບົດປະພັນໂດຍ ສອນປະສິດ ພັນພິລາ
Produced by: Sonepasith Phanphila ອໍານວຍການສ້າງໂດຍ ສອນປະສິດ ພັນພິລາ
Genres: drama ຮູບເງົາແນວ ລະຄອນ
Duration: 1:28 hrs ຄວາມຍາວ 1:28 ຊົ່ວໂມງ
Year: 2022 ປີ 2022

ນ້ອຍ ເປັນເດັກຫູໜວກທີ່ບໍ່ມີທີ່ພັກອາໃສ ທີ່ພົບວ່າຕົນເອງຢູ່ເສັ້ນທາງໃໝ່ເມື່ອ ຝ້າຍ, ຍິງສາວຜູ້ໃຈດີທີ່ເປີດໂຮງຮຽນນ້ອຍໆແຫ່ງໜຶ່ງສຳລັບຄົນຫູໜວກ. ນ້ອຍ ໄດ້ກາຍມາເປັນເພື່ອນກັບ ເຈນ ຜູ້ທີ່ເປັນເພື່ອນບ້ານຄົນໜຶ່ງຂອງ ຝ້າຍ. ແຕ່ວ່າພໍ່ຂອງນາງ ເຈນ ຫ້າມບໍ່ໃຫ້ນາງຄົບຫາສະມາຄົມກັບຜູ້ພິການຫູໜວກ. ອີກບໍ່ດົນຕໍ່ມາເພື່ອນທັງສອງ ກໍ່ພົບວ່າຕົວເອງໄດ້ປະສົບກັບບັນຫາ ເມື່ອພວກເຂົາໄດ້ຖືກລັກພາຕົວ ແລະ ຖືກບັງຄັບໃຫ້ເຮັດວຽກຮັບໃຊ້ຢູ່ຕາມທ້ອງຖະໜົນ.

Noy is a homeless, deaf boy who finds himself on a new path when he is taken in by Fai, a kind, young woman who runs a small school for the deaf. Noy becomes fast friends with Jane, one of Fai’s neighbours. But Jane is forbidden by her father to socialise with the disabled kids. The two friends soon find themselves in trouble when they are abducted and forced to work on the streets.

Absence of Sound is Sonepasith Phanphila’s directorial debut. The film arose from Sonepasith’s desire to give the small town of Luang Prabang a film of its own to be screened at the Luang Prabang Film Festival. After meeting a local sign language teacher, Sonepasith was impassioned by the plight of the deaf and mute community and wrote this story to encompass and bring to light their struggles. All the actors are local to Luang Prabang and four students from the Luang Prabang Special Education School were recruited. The young deaf and mute debut actors were assisted by one of their teachers and managed what needed to be conveyed by example. Sonepasith found them to be “very good at learning quickly.”

Though the themes are serious, Sonepasith “didn’t want to make it sad, I wanted it to be happy.” The film is light with many comedic scenes, not wanting to foster pity, but instead affirmation. The film’s Lao title means “this love has no sound”, resonating the theme of acceptance that the director wanted to convey to audiences. This film was funded by the Lao Filmmakers Fund and Sonepasith achieved what he set out to do – Absence of Sound was the first full feature film of Luang Prabang to be screened at Luang Prabang’s Blue Chair Film Festival.

Filmmaker’s Profile: Sonepasith Phanphila (1992)
Born in Nam Bak District of Luang Prabang Province, Sonepasith Phanphila (Good) is the youngest of three boys. He studied sculpting at the Luang Prabang Arts School. His first and current job is with Luang Prabang TV where he works as an editor and cameraman. On weekends, he works on film projects with other filmmakers and private organisations.

When not working at his day job and film projects, Sonepasith spends his spare time watching movies, playing the Lao flute, spending time with his three young children, or playing soccer. He is currently working on another short film.

Prior to making Absence of Sound, Sonepasith made several notable short films:

• Father’s Handprint (2015) won first prize in the Vientianale.
• Ken (2017) won first prize in the Youth Agroecology Short Film Competition, which addressed the issues of environment, sustainable farming, and the role of today’s youth in an agricultural revolution.
• Chan Keo (2017) won first prize in the 2017 Vientianale Short Film Competition
• Children of the Jungle (2019), a film giving voice to children who implore adults to stop hunting animals won first prize in the #IWTMekong Short Film Competition.

Filmography:
2015 – Father’s Handprint, director
2017 – Chan Keo, director, editor
2017 – Mr. Ken, director, editor
2019 – Children of the Jungle, director, writer, editor
2022 – Absence of Sound, director, producer, writer