“Make Believe,” Krystyn Lambert dazzle Thai film audience

January 22, 2012

Krystyn Lambert (center) is mobbed by audience members after the encore screening of “Make Believe” at the 9th World Film Festival of Bangkok.

“Make Believe,” voted Best Documentary at the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival, had an encore screening the evening of January 22 at the 9th World Film Festival of Bangkok to a captivated Thai audience made up primarily of Thai students and educators.  The documentary is a coming of age story set in the subculture of magic and follows Krystyn Lambert and five other teenagers as they compete to be crowned 2009’s “World’s Best Teen Magician.”  “Make Believe” and four other U.S. independent documentaries are part of the American Documentary Showcase, and will be screened free-of-charge as part of this year’s film festival slate.  The showcase, funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' Cultural Programs Division, brings award-winning American documentaries to foreign audiences to offer new insights into American life and culture.

To the audience’s surprise, Ms. Lambert was waiting in the theatre’s wings and made a “magical appearance” as the film’s credits rolled.  Her vibrant and outgoing personality enchanted everyone as she answered the audience member’s questions about her involvement in the film, updated them on what she has been up to since its completion, and performed an impromptu magic set which delighted everyone.

While in Thailand, Ms. Lambert will participate in a weeklong “EducationUSA Roadshow” that will have her speak to Thai students in Hat Yai, Songkla, Chiang Mai, Phayao, and Chiang Rai about the advantages of pursuing higher education in the U.S.