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Mr Prater's sentiments were echoed by Christine Rush, director of the festival's sister event, the Bangkok Film Market. "We have been careful to be respectful of the Thai nation's recovery from this terrible disaster," she said.
"However, the nation's recovery very much depends upon it continuing its economic life. "We are encouraging attendees to keep the victims in mind and aggressively support the aid organisations helping out," she added. Given the conspicuously low audience figures, that support may be more symbolic than significant. However, poor ticket sales have less to do with any fallout from the disaster and more to do with administrative and promotional difficulties.
The eclectic programme contains a wide range of titles, including such Oscar hopefuls as Ray Charles biopic Ray and Mike Leigh's abortion drama Vera Drake. That said, the absence of Thai subtitles on most film prints might have proved offputting to local cinemagoers.
On a more positive note, the celebrity guests attending the event have generated huge media interest in this busy capital city. Problems securing air transport, the clash with last Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles and other factors have forced some big names to cancel.
But the festival has still attracted such Hollywood directors as Oliver Stone and Joel Schumacher, alongside such screen stars as Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irons and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Irons, whose film Being Julia is in competition for the festival's Golden Kinnaree awards, said he had wondered whether he should attend after December's catastrophe. "I questioned whether I should come when such a tragedy had happened," the British actor said. "I thought it might be in rather bad taste. But then I spoke to the organisers and I was encouraged to let life go on. "Now I've come here I'm very glad. What impresses me about Thai culture is they get over these things far quicker than we do in the West," he continued. "Basically I was invited here by Thailand. If they still want you to come, you should."
Now in its third year, Bangkok is a relatively recent addition to the hectic film festival calendar. And while it has yet to attain the stature of more established events held in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Pusan in South Korea, Mr Prater predicts it will soon become their equal. "It's grown awfully fast in three years - maybe too fast," he concedes. "We've had some bumps in the road, but that's only because the festival is still a baby. "I have no doubt in my mind that in five years, this will be the top Asian film festival in the world." The Golden Kinnarees will be awarded on Friday. The festival itself runs until 24 January.
Carry On star Patsy Rowlands dies
Actress Patsy Rowlands, known to millions for her roles in the Carry On films, has died at the age of 71.
Rowlands starred in nine of the popular Carry On films, alongside fellow regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor. She also carved out a successful television career, appearing for many years in ITV's well-loved comedy Bless This House. Rowlands died in Hove on Saturday morning, her agent said.
Born in January 1934, Rowlands won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Speech and Drama scholarship when she was just 15.
After spending several years at the Players Theatre in London, she made her film debut in 1963 in Tom Jones, directed by Tony Richardson. She made her first Carry On film in 1969 where she appeared in Carry On Again Doctor. Rowlands played the hard-done-by wife or the put-upon employee as a regular Carry On star. She also appeared in Carry On at your Convenience, Carry On Matron and Carry On Loving, as well as others.
In recent years she appeared in BBC mini-series The Cazalets and played Mrs Potts in the London stage version of Beauty and the Beast. Agent Simon Beresford said: "She was just an absolutely favourite client She never complained about anything, particularly when she was ill, she was an old trouper. "She was of the old school - she had skills from musical theatre and high drama, that is why she worked with the great and the good of directors. "She didn't mind always being recognised for the Carry On films because she thoroughly enjoyed making them. She was a really lovely person and she will be much missed." Her last appearance on stage was as Mrs Pearce in the award-winning production of My Fair Lady at the National Theatre. Previously married, she leaves one son, Alan. Her funeral will be a private, family occasion, with a memorial service at a later date.
Dirty Den's demise seen by 14m
More than 14 million people saw "Dirty" Den Watts killed off on Friday, marking EastEnders' 20th anniversary, according to unofficial figures.
Den's death came 16 years after he was supposedly shot in 1989. But he came back to the show in September 2003. The audience for BBC One's one-hour special averaged 13.7 million and peaked at 14.2 million in the last 15 minutes, overnight figures showed. Den died after being confronted by Zoe, Chrissie and Sam in the Queen Vic.
If the ratings are confirmed, the episode will have given the soap its highest audience for a year. The overnight figures showed almost 60% of the viewing public tuned into EastEnders between 2000 and 2100 GMT, leaving ITV1 with about 13%. "We are very pleased with the figures," a BBC spokesman said. "It shows viewers have really enjoyed the story of Den's demise." The show's highest audience came at Christmas 1986, when more than 30 million tuned in to see Den, played by Leslie Grantham, hand divorce papers to wife Angie.
Two years later, 24 million saw him apparently shot by a man with a bunch of daffodils by a canal. More than 16 million viewers watched his return in 2003. The show's ratings have since settled down to about 12 million per episode. Grantham hit the headlines in May after a newspaper printed photographs of him apparently exposing himself via a webcam from his dressing room. He also allegedly insulted four co-stars. He apologised for his "deplorable actions" and "a moment's stupidity".
Johnny Depp: The acting outlaw
Johnny Depp, whose latest role was Peter Pan creator JM Barrie in Finding Neverland, is celebrated as one of Hollywood's most maverick talents. Depp has become an unlikely major star, given his preference for taking dark and idiosyncratic roles instead of surefire box office hits. He has had a long-running working relationship with the equally unconventional director Tim Burton. Depp was born in Kentucky in 1963 and at first wanted to be a rock star, playing in a number of bands and supporting acts such as Iggy Pop and The B-52s in Florida. On a visit to Los Angeles, his former wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage.
In 1984 he started his film career playing a doomed teenager in horror film Nightmare On Elm Street. Two years later he played a soldier in Oliver Stone's Vietnam epic Platoon. But it was TV that first made Depp a star. He played undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the US series 21 Jump Street for three years from 1987.
In 1990 he began his partnership with Burton in the dark fairy tale Edward Scissorhands, about a young man with blades for hands. He won plaudits in 1993 for the downbeat film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, where he played a sensitive youth looking after an overweight mother and a retarded younger brother, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Another role under Burton, Ed Wood, starred Depp as the crazed cult film-maker Wood, in 1994. He played a much more serious, sensitive role in his next major film, Donnie Brasco, where he portrayed an undercover cop infiltrating a mafia ring. In 1997 he directed his only film to date - The Brave, the story of an Indian man offered money to appear in a snuff film.
Two years later he played Hunter S Thompson in Terry Gilliam's ambitious but poorly-received big screen adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He worked again with Tim Burton in the 1999 horror film Sleepy Hollow, and appeared opposite Dame Judi Dench and Juliette Binoche in Chocolat. His performance in Pirates of the Caribbean, which earned him Golden Globe and Bafta nominations, had many critics thinking he based it upon the mannerisms of his friend, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. His latest role in Finding Neverland explored JM Barrie's relationship with Sylvia (Kate Winslet) and her children. Depp's charismatic performance drew an audience of adults and children alike into Barrie's vivid imagination, and he was called the "fifth child of the group" by the film's director Marc Forster.
He has two children of his own with French singer Vanessa Paradis, having previously been in a long-term relationship with British model Kate Moss. The theme of children's literature in Depp's career - and his long association with Tim Burton - are set to continue in his next role, playing Willy Wonka in a remake of Roald Dahl's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. British TV comedy fans might also remember Depp's guest role in the final episode of BBC sketch programme The Fast Show, cited as his favourite show. It was another surprise move in Depp's varied and intriguing career.
Roxy Music on Isle of Wight bill
Roxy Music will appear at June's Isle of Wight music festival, along with Morrissey, Supergrass and Idlewild.
REM have already been confirmed as headliners for the three-day event, which takes place from 10-12 June. Original band members Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzerana, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson will take to the stage on the Saturday night of the festival. The band are also working in the studio on new material, their first since the 1982 album Avalon. Roxy Music were formed in 1971 by Ferry, Mackay and Brian Eno, with Manzanera joining the following year. Their first hit was 1972's Virginia Plain, with other hits including Street Life, Love Is The Drug and the 1981 John Lennon cover, Jealous Guy. Roxy Music's back catalogue was re-released in 2000, leading to the band undertaking a world tour in 2001. Morrissey will also play on Saturday at the festival, while Supergrass and Idlewild have been confirmed for the Friday.
Moreno debut makes Oscar mark
Catalina Sandino Moreno has joined a rare group of actresses who have been nominated for an Oscar for starring in a foreign language film.
The Colombian-born actress was the final hope for director Joshua Marston, who scoured the US and Colombia for a lead for Maria Full of Grace. The film sees the 23-year-old play a teenage drug mule who smuggles heroin by swallowing pellets in condoms. Plaudits have been raining down on her for her gritty performance, making it all the more surprising that this is her first film. Her previous acting experience was in amateur productions in her home city of Bogota at the Ruben Di Pietro theatre academy. She has already received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Awards leading actress category but these rarely overlap with Academy Awards, instead recognising quirkier, low-budget films. And at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival the jury could not choose between her and Charlize Theron's Oscar winning performance in Monster so gave them a tied award. Sandino Moreno is now being regarded as one of the most promising actresses around at the moment. But she is taking her time committing to her next project, hoping to land a strong Spanish script and would love to be able to work with directors Pedro Almodovar or Alejandro Amenabar.
Pupils to get anti-piracy lessons
Lessons on music piracy and copyright issues are to be taught to secondary school pupils in the UK.
The lessons, aimed at 11 to 14-year-olds, will introduce them to copyright - including the issues of downloading from the internet and the illegal copying of CDs - and its role in protecting creativity.
Music piracy, including illegally swapping music online, costs the UK music industry millions every year and has been blamed for a decline in world-wide CD sales. British Music Rights (BMR) - which was formed to represent the interests of songwriters and composers - worked with education experts to put together a learning pack.
Songwriter Guy Chambers, who has worked with stars including Robbie Williams, has thrown his support behind the scheme. He said as well as educating children about music piracy, it would also protect young people planning a career in the music industry from "unscrupulous" individuals. At a debate in London to launch the scheme, Chambers said: "I think it is important that young people receive practical and engaging learning in schools. "These lessons will give them an insight into how the creative industries work which will help them in possible future careers." The education pack, which has already been requested by more than 1,600 secondary schools, is aimed at giving children an understanding of copyright in relation to the music industry. It will also teach children about the importance of royalties and raises awareness of different careers in the music industry, particularly in the digital age.
Henri Yoxall, general manager of British Music Rights, told BBC News schools had been crying out for a resource to help them educate pupils about the issues. The scheme - which is an extension of BMR's Respect the Value of Music campaign - is also being backed by singer-songwriters Feargal Sharkey, Lucie Silvas and Grammy Award-winning composer David Arnold. Silvas said: "I think it is so important that students gain an understanding of how the music industry works when they are at a young age. "I wish I had been given an opportunity like this when I was at school." Emma Pike, director general of British Music Rights, said: "We believe that copyright is an essential part of teaching music in schools. It is vital that the creatives of the future know how to turn their ideas into value. "Copyright education has always been important... creatives are facing more challenges and more opportunities from technological change. "Technology is allowing people to create music and distribute their music to the public in a whole host of new ways."
Bening makes awards breakthrough
Film actress Annette Bening is up for an Oscar for her starring role in the award-winning film Being Julia.
Bening, who was born in Texas in 1958, has gained prominence for a string of key roles. Although an Oscar has so far eluded her, her status as one of Hollywood's favourite actresses remains solid. One of the biggest Oscars buzzes in recent years was for Bening's role as troubled Carolyn Burnham in 1999's American Beauty. But her deliciously neurotic portrayal of surburban life turning sour was overlooked in favour of Hilary Swank's leading role in Boys Don't Cry. After opening her career in the theatre - and gaining a Tony Award nomination in 1986 - Bening had a low-key spell in television. She then made her film debut as a sex-starved wife in 1988's The Great Outdoors, opposite comics Dan Akroyd and John Candy.
Following a cameo in Postcards From The Edge, Bening's breakthrough role came in 1990, playing seductive con artist Myra Langtry in The Grifters - a role that won her an Oscar nomination. Despite some rave reviews, Bening did not win the best supporting actress Academy Award.
However the high-profile performance enabled Bening to capture roles in a number of big budget Hollywood productions, co-starring with some of Hollywood's greatest players, including Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford. But it was her role opposite Warren Beatty in 1991 gangster flick Bugsy which had the greatest impact. Bening played Virginia Hill, another role which won her high critical acclaim, but the film only picked up two of a staggering 12 Oscar nominations.
Bugsy was the start of a very significant liaison for Bening - she married Beatty, with whom she had a child as the couple promoted the film in Europe. The couple now have four children together. A pair of contrasting yet successful performances peppered Bening's career in the mid-1990s. She played Michael Douglas' opposite number in romantic comedy The American President, and as a "fiery" Queen Elizabeth I in a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III.
Bening was the first choice to play the female lead in American Beauty, director Sam Mendes' film debut which was a critical and commercial success - but the actress had to be content with a Bafta award for her strong performance. But current film Being Julia has made Bening an award-winning actress rather than the perennial nominee, with success at the Golden Globes. The witty tale of revenge and love set in 1930s London sees the eponymous theatrical diva - played by Bening - grow tired of her success and fall for a young American - and could be the role which finally wins her the coveted Academy Award.
Oscars steer clear of controversy
The Oscars nominations list has left out some of the most controversial films of the past year in favour of safer, less contentious cinema.
If best film nominees were drawn on the basis of column inches, two of the front-runners would have had to be Michael Moore's Bush-baiting documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Both films polarised opinion but had critics talking, and the public turning up to see them - Fahrenheit 9/11 breaking US box office records for a documentary, and The Passion of the Christ making more than US$370m (£196m) in the US alone. But this year's Academy Awards have shied away from the big name controversies, with The Passion of the Christ - a film accused of being anti-Semitic - receiving nominations only in the 'minor' categories of cinematography, makeup and musical score.
Fahrenheit 9/11 has also been overlooked, despite winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2004.
Moore's caustic documentary may have been affected by its distributors' decision to enter it in the best picture category, rather than best documentary, says Tim Dams, the news editor of trade magazine Screen International. But he also believes the strong political viewpoint of Moore's film does not sit well with the Academy. "If you look at past Oscar winners and nominees, the very conservative Oscar voters tend to go for very conservative, epic-style pictures. Fahrenheit 9/11 didn't really fit in to that category. "They tend to go for films like Titanic, Gladiator, and the Lord of the Rings, films with scale that often aren't too contentious," he said. While he said the Oscar voting panel were not "snubbing" Moore's film, he thought it was unlikely a documentary could ever seriously compete in a best film category. "I think it's more a misjudgement by the people putting it out rather than a deliberate snub," he said.
The problem with Mel Gibson's film, he believed, was that the voting panel may have been cautious in nominating a film with dialogue in Aramaic, an ancient Middle Eastern language.
"Hollywood doesn't tend to like foreign-language films - no-one's ever tried doing a film in a dead language," he said. But aside from these two films, some potentially contentious pictures have won nominations. The German film The Downfall, a biopic tracing the final days of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in his Berlin bunker, has been recognised in the best foreign film category. The film has caused some controversy in showing Hitler as a fallible but human man, rather than a semi-mythical, historical monster. But Mr Dams said: "It's not an inflammatory film. It has done very well in Germany, and it's a film that portrays Hitler as a human rather than some kind of devil or monster." Another 'contentious' film, Mr Dams said, has gained a nomination in the best documentary section through the force of its charm.
Independent film-maker Morgan Spurlock may have forced fast-food giant McDonalds to withdraw its 'super size' portions in the US after he went on a month-long diet eating nothing but McDonalds meals - and filmed his progress.
The film has been a hit around the world. Mr Dams said: "It's a political film, but it's quite fun and punky and well-paced. "Morgan Spurlock is a really likeable guy. It's a very accessible film, and it doesn't beat you over the head with its views. "While in Fahrenheit 9/11 there are moments of comedy, I think the way that Super Size Me is put together - the fact it's a very likeable film - means it's won through on charm." Dam's pick at this year's Oscars? The Aviator, Martin Scorsese's biopic of aviation pioneer and Hollywood player Howard Hughes. Tinseltown, it seems, likes nothing more than a picture about one of its own.
Van Gogh festival film withdrawn
Murdered director Theo van Gogh's controversial film Submission has been pulled from the Rotterdam Film Festival because of security fears.
It was one of three of his works to be shown as part of a freedom of expression event in tribute to the late film-maker's life. The film is critical of the treatment of women under Islam. Its TV screening is thought to have led to his murder. The 10-day Dutch festival begins on Wednesday. Submission was made with liberal Somali-Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali and was due to be shown on 30 January. Van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death in November 2004 several months after receiving death threats following Submission's first broadcast on Dutch television. Two of Van Gogh's other films will be shown as planned, including the theatrical world premiere of his last feature 06/05.