Cannes 2011: Four to try for funds in Thai Pitching Event

There are no Thai films in any of the official selections of the Cannes Film Festival this year. Say it ain't so.

But four Thai projects will make their cases for funding at the Thai Pitching Event, sponsored by the Culture Ministry's Office of Contemporary Arts and Culture.

The projects are:

• eNEMIES (พี่ น้อง ศัตรู เพื่อน) – Ekachai Uekrongtham directs this tale of boyhood friends that's set against the backdrop of the bloody 2003 "war on drugs" during the administration of Thaksin Shinawatra. Pantham Thongsang is producing. Ekachai, who previously directed Beautiful Boxer and The Coffin, is now staging the Muay Thai vs. B-Boy theatre production Boxing Boys in Bangkok, previously pitched Enemies at the Tokyo Project Gathering and at Pusan.
• A River's Tale (สายน้ำลูกผู้หญิง) – Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad, a veteran filmmaker, has long been at work on a follow-up feature project to her 2005 GTH family comedy Wai Ounlawon 4 (Oops, There's Dad). She also did a short for the Sawasdee Bangkok anthology and recently had a cameo in SuckSeed. A River's Tale is about young professional Bangkok woman dealing with an unplanned pregancy with her schoolteacher mother while on a visit back to her provincial riverside hometown. Siriphan Wattanajinda and Rungnapa Kittivai star. There's a sneak preview by Local Color Films. Pawas Sawatchaiyamet is producing. A River's Tale is among the Culture Ministry's "Strong Thailand" projects.
• Karma Police – Visra Vichit-Vadakan's film has Thailand's first female prime minister trying to send the first Thai into space. Meanwhile, a Buddhist monk pads his way around Bangkok's slums. Visra, an award winner for her Buddhist-themed short In Space, has previously pitched Karma Police at Rotterdam. She has also been supported by Rotterdam's Hubert Bals Fund.
• Three Marks of Existence (อินเดียรำลึก) – Krittanut Tarawisid directs this tale of a young man on pilgrimage to Buddhism's holy sights, and the various characters he encounters along the way. Autchavipa Pattapheesin is producing.

Full details and posters are available at the official blog. The Thai Pitching Event will be held May 11 to 16 at the Thai Pavilion in Cannes.

(Via Screen Daily)