'Asia is growing up:' Chookiat Sakveerakul in Next Gen Asia Class of 2010

Sahamongkol Film International writer-director Chookiat Sakveerakul is among the 20 young showbiz executives chosen for The Hollywood Reporter's Next Generation Asia Class of 2010.

"Asia is growing up," "Ma-Daew" Chookiat tells THR, which then keys on his statement for a look at the region and its largely youth-dominated demographic.

It's the second annual listing by THR, which aims to introduce the media and entertainment communities to their the leaders -- all under the age of 35 -- who will be "shaping the future of the media sector in Asia."

Ten were chosen last year, with Tony Jaa representing Thailand. They here honored at a party during the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Here's Chookiat's profile:

When Sakveerakul was deciding what to study in college, he says it was a close call between music and film. Thankfully for the world of cinema, music lost out -- though he cites his childhood music teacher, Mr. Pinai, as one of the major influences on his life and says he still plays the cello and trombone every day. Having started out making his first short film in 2000, Sakveerakul says "I just carried on making films year after year since then and I've never really stopped." Somehow he found the time to write and direct a few films before turning 30: The horror film Evil [Pisaj], the psychological thriller 13 Beloved -- the remake rights for which were snapped up by The Weinstein Company -- and the gay teenage love story The Love of Siam. Sakveerakul says the theme that links these diverse projects is "humanity -- they're all about humans and their feelings."

He hasn't completely left behind the world of music. He produces and composes with the boyband August, which was formed for The Love of Siam and has become a full-fledged act in its own right, releasing CDs and starring in Chookiat's animated segment of 4 Romances.

Others in the Next Generation Asia Class of 2010 include Filipino filmmaker Adolfo Alix Jr., Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu, Detroit Metal City director Genki Kawamura, Ex director Heiward Mak and Hong Kong producer Lorna Tee. The full list is at THR.

(Via Veen_NT)