City directs own tragedy
This week Bangkok bids farewell to its oldest movie theatre, Lido, which over the past five decades has served its patrons with alternative, indie films and shorts. Its closure is lamentable, a move that has saddened thousands who have been touched by its nostalgic values.
It opened in 1968 as a standalone theatre and has served as a cultural landmark for Bangkok since the 1960s.
A fire in 1993 prompted the operator, Apex, which rented the plot from Chulalongkorn University, to modify it into a multiplex in a bid to increase income.
Apex also operates Scala and the former Siam theatre, which was reduced to ashes in a fire during the red-shirt riots in 2010.
The former Siam theatre has now been transformed into a shopping mall, Siam Square One, despite a plea for the university to maintain it as a film theatre.
The decision to close down Lido has seen Chulalongkorn face fierce criticism. There are fears that Scala, whose gorgeous design and structure has charmed many visitors, may see the same fate.
In a bid to defend the decision, Chulalongkorn issued a statement citing the reason for terminating the contract and retaking the plot from Apex. The university said: “It’s the wish of the operator to exit the business, and in recent years the university has ‘tried to help’ by extending the lease, which originally expired in 2016, thus allowing Lido to stay alive for another two years.” The university fell short of explaining what it would do with the plot, but speculation is rife that it will redevelop it as another shopping centre.
To calm public anxiety, Chulalongkorn said it has decided to extend the Scala contract for two years.
Business-wise, retaking Lido from the cash-strapped operator sounds like the right decision. The property is severely run down and requires a face-lift — not a cheap task. The operator has experienced a huge loss over the years and appeared not to want to stay in the business any longer.
But the fact is that the high rent means there is no place for such a niche-market business as Lido. Nanta Tansacha, the big boss of Apex, said in a media interview that she had told the university several times she would not be able to stay in business should the rent keep going up every year. Apparently her plea went unheard.
The closure of Lido (and perhaps Scala in the next two years) is unavoidable as long as Chulalongkorn, the landlord, acts as a for-profit establishment.
That triggers a question: Should the university do more in the area of cultural education, rather than just focusing on money? It would be sad if the rumours of another shopping mall prove true. The city has too many malls and shopping areas already, but is short of public spaces showcasing culture.
The farewell to Lido marks another cultural setback for Bangkok, which a few months ago lost one of its oldest communities in the form of Mahakan Fort, in the oldtown quarters of Phra Nakhon district. The city administration, the land owner, is short of vision about old-town preservation and, despite harsh criticism, simply uses the outdated laws in order to boot out the community, bulldozing old houses dating back to the early Rattanakosin period, and finally turning it into a park with no meaningful history.
The city administration made progress with its park plan. With its zero credit in cultural management, the state agency now aims to retake the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, which is a stone’s throw from Lido.
When the landlord means business, as in the case of Lido, and when the city administration, with its heartless, cold-blooded policy and lack of cultural knowledge, uses archaic laws in a top-down manner, Bangkok stands to lose.