BANGKOK -- The sixth Bangkok International Film Festival is looking to reinvent itself after years of declining red-carpet glamour and an embarrassing graft case involving the US Justice Department.

The festival, which organizers once hoped would rival South Korea's showy event in the port city of Busan, has lost much of its flash, a lot of its funding and has once again become embroiled in a censorship row.

"A couple of years ago, when they were dumping money into it, they might have been able to pull it off," said journalist and industry watcher Curtis Winston, who has blogged about Thai cinema since 2003.

"But it's going to be really tough for Bangkok to ever come up to the level of Busan."

This year's low-key event, which opened last week and runs through Tuesday, is a far cry from past festivals, when organizers rolled out the red carpet for A-listers such as Oliver Stone, Catherine Deneuve and Willem Dafoe.

The only visiting name Western audiences may know this year is schlock horror producer Roger Corman, responsible for such films as "Bloody Mama" and "Slumber Party Massacre II."

This year's festival features 78 films -- down from more than 140 last year -- including the Asian premiere of Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," Thai horror film "The 8th Day," and award-winning documentary "Up the Yangtze."

Organizers said the focus was now on independent, smaller films. But they tried -- and failed -- to nab the big international films "Burn After Reading" and "Maradona," artistic director Yongyoot Thongkongtoon said.

This year's line-up proved controversial before the festival even started.

Japanese-Thai film "Children of the Dark", a fictional account of child prostitution and organ trafficking in Thailand, was pulled at the last minute after organizers decided the subject matter might tarnish the kingdom's image.

"This country, Thailand, depends on the tourist industry so [I] understand that there will be people against anyone trying to shed light on the dark side of Thailand," the film's Japanese producer Yukiko Shiii told reporters.

This year's event is the first since US federal agents arrested a couple in Los Angeles for allegedly paying $1.7 million in bribes to a Thai government official for the right to run the 2003 festival.

Juthamas Siriwan, a former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), withdrew from general elections in December because of her alleged links to the scandal, although she denied all accusations.

TAT stepped down as festival organiser in the wake of the arrests -- it denies the decision was influenced by the scandal -- and also put in less money than in previous years.

The Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand has taken the helm, while the Thai government donated half of the 80-million-baht ($2.3-million) budget, with corporate sponsorship providing the rest.

Organisers, however, are putting a brave face on proceedings, saying the "compact" festival aims to showcase first and second-time directors, Thai mainstays and emerging Asian stars.

"I hope I'm not overstepping my borders, but I feel we've really got our act together this year," actor and competition jury member Ananda Everingham said during the opening ceremony on Tuesday.

If the festival is deemed a success this year, artistic director Yongyoot said, it could mean a little leverage to up the ante for 2009.

"We might be able to ask for the bigger [government] budget or get more sponsors for the film festival," he said.