Ai-Fak director goes to the dogs

Pantham Thongsang is keeping busy as a managing director of TIFA Film Co. His next producing project is Beautiful Boxer director Ekachai Uekrongtham’s The Coffin.

But Pantham, who was hailed critically for this debut film, Ai-Fak (The Judgement), has his own film in the works, reports The Nation's Soopsip column (print only).

He's been training dozens of dogs for Mah Khang Thanon (Street Dog), which he’ll co-direct with Ai-Fak screenwriter Somkiat Murathathit.

Somkiat had planned a solo session in the director’s chair, but coming to terms with herds of dogs turned out to be something other than a piece of cake.

Pantham is no stranger to working with dogs, as anyone who's seen Ai-Fak can attest. A "mad" dog plays a crucial role in the film, when the central character, Fak, must beat the unfortunate canine to death. But no animals were harmed. The "mad" dog (named James Bond) had a stunt double -- a paraplegic dog that dragged its hind legs around as if it had been beaten.

"The project is tough and I decided to help him," Pantham was quoted as saying. "We're going to start filming as soon as possible."

(Cross-published at Rotten Tomatoes)