German experimental filmmaker Christoph Janetzko's two new exquisite, impressionisticfilms emerged from his time spent in Thailand, where he has been making films andteaching since 1988. River Colors (Vom Fluss, 60 mins) is a sensuous journey downa Thai river in the swamp regions of Nonthaburi. While gliding past houseboatsand small houses along the riverbanks, details of everyday life flow by-the glowof a TV, the rhythmic gesture of hair brushing, a conversation inprogress-"unrolling like a cinematic equivalent of Monet's Water Liliespanorama" (N.Y. Film Festival). Its companion piece, Sisom (30 mins), takesits title from "the Thai word for the color orange, the color of monks'robes, a color never used in a secular connection in Thailand. The film showspictures of the everyday activities of Buddhist monks in Wat, and the grounds ofthe Temple Monastery. Janetzko's image development and the sound montage createdby the composer Makin Fung Bing Fai from synchronic original sounds, trivialnoises and compositional elements, spur each other on, giving the film its uniquesense of restrained drama and sometimes even complete abandonment ofreality." (Berlin Film Festival)