Wonderfruit is a four day celebration that brings together an entire universe of art, music, food, wellness, adventures, learning, exploration, and ideas. Every piece of the glorious puzzle of The Fields holds a deep story of creative people, hectic logistics, and a desire to do things differently. Stories that can’t be told in the fleeting but enthralling moment that Wonderers spend with each element.
Over the past two months, in collaboration with SCOPES, we’ve been diving a little deeper to expand on these stories and share them with you.
SCOPES is a new virtual festival driven by Porsche, bringing the stories of creative innovation to life online. Alongside outlets like Hypebeast, Green Is The New Black Sunshine Nation, and 1880 Singapore, we’re sharing the ins and outs of our world. We’ve produced a series of films and a podcast to unravel the details behind some of the goings on in The Fields—and behind the scenes.
SCOPES looks at four pieces of the world that sound very familiar to Wonderfruit: pioneering spirit, design, tradition, and sustainability. Really, really familiar. So when it came time to create together, we knew we were going to have plenty to share with the good people at SCOPES. Our efforts for the virtual festival tell the stories of food, music, art, wellness and the future of live events.
Our first feature follows one of our favorite chefs, Num from Samuay & Sons, on his journey through the forests of Udon Thani to rediscover and elevate the Isaan ingredients, techniques and traditions of his ancestral lands. Alongside Fruitfull’s Creative Director, Perm, the film explores what it means to preserve the wisdom of the chefs that came before us, and how platforms like Wonderfruit can make a difference in the food of tomorrow.
The team travelled to Num’s hometown and the kitchen of his famed restaurant Samuay & Sons to see the magic up close, and discover what goes into every plate.
Watch the film here.
Our second feature hears from DJ, crate digger, collector, and label boss Maft Sai—the unofficial global ambassador of Molam music. Molam music is a common fixture in The Fields, and is becoming a more familiar site at festivals around the world, but its path from the countryside to the big stage wasn’t an easy one. Maft Sai and his fellow Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band members discuss the traditional healing practice of the energetic, distinctive sound and Wonderfruit founder Pete explains how the festival helped take Molam from old fashioned to in fashion.
With the festival spaces closed, the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band had The Fields all to themselves to record this intimate sunset session alongside the lake.
Watch the film here.
In our third and final documentary film as part of SCOPES, Wonderfruit’s head of art and architecture Bow Wasinondh shares the finer details of what goes into selecting, developing, and realizing sustainable artworks for The Fields and the future. Through the eyes of four of the installation artists involved in Moobaan Wonder’s artistic landscape, we discover the form, function, and feelings of the designs that make our place a little more interesting—and the world a lot more positive.
Boonserm Premthada, Sirasar Boonma, Sanitas Pradittasnee, and Nanu Youttananukorn all returned to The Fields to film the works that had been installed months earlier for Moobaan Wonder, and were given the chance to revisit the installations in person.
Watch the film here.
The final film in the Wonderfruit x SCOPES was hosted as a live workshop led by Dew Phattayakul, co-founder of Thai Fit. Thai Fit takes the traditional movements of the Thai khon masked opera, and adapts these into a high-energy, low-impact fitness form. Limber up and get ready to join the session (available on demand LINK) and help to preserve not only your physique—but the traditions of a fading Thai traditional artform.
The Thai Fit Studio team chose the grassy surrounds of Patom in Bangkok for their session, because they wanted to spend as much time outside in nature as they possibly could during filming.
Join the wellness workshop here.
It’s been a tough year and a half for local live events. In a special panel podcast, three dedicated event pros from the live spectrum in Thailand unpack what’s happened, what’s to come, and what innovations could save artists, venues, suppliers, and promoters from a repeat of 2020. Featuring Wonderfruit’s Pete Phornprapha, Have You Heard?’s Ki Promsaka, and United We Stream Asia’s Phuong Le.
Between recording the panel and editing the podcast, Bangkok went back into lockdown—ironically highlighting the razor’s edge that the creative communities live on these days.
Listen to the Wondercast here.
None of these stories could have had the chance to be told without the support of SCOPES and Porsche. Take a look at virtual.scopes.asia for a collection of incredible films from some of Asia’s most inspirational outlets (once you’ve experienced all of the Wonderfruit stories, first).
