2050 Productions

2050 is a small documentary team based in Bangkok, Thailand. We seek to rise above Western journalism’s worst habits. In lieu of reports hastily assembled from cheap stereotypes, we try to present our subjects with complexity. Documenting Asia in the 21st century is a privilege — and we take pride in illuminating the lives of people who are too often ignored. As for our name? 2050 alludes to the year 2050, right in the the center of the unfolding Asian century. Human civilization's center of gravity is moving east — and yet Western societies still fail to grasp the immensity of this shift.So we're here to tell Asian stories, decipher Asian conflicts and expose the often-overlooked links between Asia and the West. Our storytelling offers a glimpse at the world to come.

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HOPE FROZEN

Bangkok, Thailand
January 01, 2020 by Pailin Wedel

HOPE FROZEN

HOPE FROZEN is our first feature-length documentary and the first Thai film to win an International Emmy. It’s about a Thai-Buddhist-scientist family who decided to cryopreserve their two-year-old daughter’s brain after she died. It’s about life, death, faith and love and how technology is redefining our very existence. It screened at more than twenty festivals worldwide and won BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE at HotDocs in Toronto (qualifying it for the OSCARS) among other awards at film festivals in the Netherlands, China, Uruguay and Peru. Please follow us on Facebook or www.hopefrozen.com for more information on the next screening or watch it on Netflix here.

January 01, 2020 /Pailin Wedel
documentary, film, thailand, bangkok, cryonics, cryogenics, alcor, science

ASIA'S METH BOOM

Thailand, Myanmar
March 31, 2019 by Pailin Wedel

Myanmar has become the world’s biggest meth producer. More meth pills are made than Starbucks coffees are sold a year. We try to understand how and why.

March 31, 2019 /Pailin Wedel
101East, documentary, meth, drugs, investigation

THE LAST HEADHUNTERS

India
June 09, 2018 by Pailin Wedel

Some of the last surviving Naga headhunters describe how they once killed members of other tribes, a practice that ended when they converted to Christianity. Today these men are elderly, and their region in northern India, Nagaland, has a higher percentage of Baptists than the state of Mississippi. Our short film on National Geographic.

June 09, 2018 /Pailin Wedel
natgeo, headhunters, christianity, film, documentary

SOUTH KOREA'S GENDER WAR

South Korea
April 30, 2017 by Pailin Wedel

A murder in South Korea’s Gangnam district sparked an online war began between men and women. Women blame the violence on the country’s entrenched misogyny. Men’s rights groups feel unfairly blamed. Our film talks to both sides to get to the root of South Korea’s gender war.

April 30, 2017 /Pailin Wedel
korea, gender, feminism, misogyny, rights, film, documentary, 101East

MYANMAR: FREE AND FAIR?

Myanmar
October 03, 2015 by Pailin Wedel

Just four years ago Myanmar released hundreds of political prisoners and promised to embrace democratic reforms. Now more are being thrown in jail. Our film follows two women activists through this new political landscape.

October 03, 2015 /Pailin Wedel
101East, doc, myanmar, politics, prisoners, human rights

TAINTED ROBES

Thailand
December 03, 2014 by Pailin Wedel

Scandals in the monkhood rock Thailand’s moral soul. Our film investigates misbehaving monks.

December 03, 2014 /Pailin Wedel
buddhism, monks, thailand, monkhood, religion

VANISHING SEA TRIBE

Thailand
March 28, 2014 by Pailin Wedel

The Moken, a nomadic sea tribe, knew of the tsunami before it reached shore. But today they are without land, citizenship or rights. Our film follows the plight of the Moken in Thailand.

March 28, 2014 /Pailin Wedel
moken, sea tribe, nomad, culture, vanish, human rights, 101East

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