BANGKOK: The management of a Chinese cemetery in Thailand took the cinema experience to an other-worldly level by hosting screenings for the deceased.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that from June 2 to 6, a cemetery in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeastern Thailand, which houses 2,800 graves mostly belonging to descendants of individuals from China, was lined with empty chairs facing a movie screen.
Movies were shown to an empty hall, specially dedicated to the spirits of the departed.
Throughout the screening days, only four staff members were at the site while movies were played from 7pm to midnight daily.
The staff also held a feast for the spirits, burning paper with pictures of food, model houses, vehicles, clothes and daily necessities for their use in the afterworld.
The event, organised by the Sawang Metta Thammasathan Foundation, aimed to honour departed spirits and provide them with a modern form of entertainment, as reported by the Thai daily newspaper KhaoSod.
Somchai, the organiser of the event, said that the screening of the film was held after the Ching Ming Festival or before the Dragon Boat Festival and became a traditional custom in most Chinese communities in Thailand.
The event's contractor, Yanawut Chakrawattisawang, said he was initially afraid to show a film in a cemetery but later found the experience to be unique and positive, since it was his first time providing entertainment for deceased individuals.
"This movie screening event is actually a very unique idea to make the dead feel at ease and the living feel calm," wrote a netizen on the Weibo platform.
Thailand's Chinese community, influenced by Confucianism, places great importance on filial piety and ancestor veneration.
They believe that spirits may linger in the human realm due to unfulfilled desires.