Following the recent appointment of Weerasak Kowsurat as the new minister of tourism and sports, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has finally been given the greenlight for this year's Bangkok International Film Festival (BKIFF) which will be held from July 21-30.

The Federation of National Film Association of Thailand, which was roped in to run the Bangkok Film Market last year, will be responsible for managing the festival this year.

The association's new president Jareuk Kaljareuk, who is also chairman of the executive committee of the Kantana Group, is expected to announce the management team shortly, including the appointments of festival director and programmers.

The Bangkok Film Market, however, will be separated from the TAT-sponsored festival and join a new event hosted by the Department of Export Promotion. The inaugural Thailand Entertainment and Content Fair, which covers film, television, animation, post-production and location services, is scheduled to be held from Oct 1-4 in Bangkok.

With the change of government, the festival's future was once put into doubt especially when the bribery scandal came to light last December. Gerald and Patricia Green, the husband-and-wife team of Los Angeles-based Film Festival Management who were arrested in the US, have since pleaded not guilty in paying bribes to obtain contracts for running the Bangkok festival.

Thailand's Department of Special Investigations has recently completed its probe against former TAT governor Juthamas Siriwan who has been accused of being the recipient of the alleged bribes. The case has been submitted to the National Counter-Corruption Commission for possible charges.

Topics