Best picture upset

The Macabre Case of Prompiram, based on a real-life story about a rape victim, won the top Subhanahongsa Award - Thailand's version of the Oscars, awarded by the Thailand National Film Association.

According to a January 10 report in The Nation, the docudrama won best movie, best screenplay and leading actress, beating out top box-office earner Fan Chan and the art-house geared Last Life in the Universe.

Pimpan Chalayonkup was the female lead. The editor was Patamanadda Yukol and Richard Harvey provided the score. Executive producers were Kamala Yukol na Ayutthaya and Somsak Techaratanaprasert with Kunakorn Sethi credited as a producer.

When Macabre Case was released in July 2003, it created quite a controversy in the town of Prompiram, which did not welcome renewed attention to the decades-old crime.

The nostalgic childhood comedy Fan Chan (My Girl) won the award for best director. Actually, the film had six directors (!) - Nithiwat Tharathorn, Vitcha Gojiew, Songyos Sugmakanan, Komkrit Triwimol, Witthaya Thongyooyong and Anusorn Trisirikasem.

Also, Chaloempol Tikamporntheerawong picked up the supporting actor award for playing Fan Chan's scene-stealing big bully Jack. This was well-deserved, though the entire cast of children were excellent.

Assanee Suwan, a former kickboxer who made his film debut playing gay pugilist Nong Toom in Beautiful Boxer, was named best actor. He beat out heavy competition from Japanese leading man Tadanobu Asano of Last Life and Panom "Tony Ja" Yee-ram, the talented star of the martial-arts actioner Ong-Bak. "I thought I received the award because the judges saw that I'm straight and yet I could understand the feelings of a transvestite," Assanee was quoted as saying by The Nation.

Beautiful Boxer also took the make-up award.

Last Life collected the best cinematography (for Christopher Doyle) and art direction awards.

Alisa Kachornchaikul was awarded best supporting actress for the Buddhist historical epic, Angulimala.