Shanghai IFF 2011: Two prizes for Yuthlert's Friday Killer

Yuthlert Sippapak's genre-bending crime comedy Friday Killer (Meu Puen Dao Prasook) won two prizes at the 14th Shanghai International Film Festival, which wrapped up last night.

In the main competition for the Golden Goblet, Friday Killer won the Jury Award, with the panel saying it was "most entertained by a colorful, atmospheric, good-looking gangster epic paying open tribute to Quentin Tarantino." And Friday Killer lensman Tiwa Moeithaisong won Best Cinematography for "the extremely exquisite combination of moving and tranquil scenes [that] makes the film full of wit and humor."

The jury was headed by Rain Man director Barry Levinson, with British screenwriter Christopher Hampton, Japanese director Yoichi Sai, Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung, Spanish actress Paz Vega, Chinese director Wang Quan’an and Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu.

The full list of winners is at the festival website, and there's coverage at Film Business Asia.

Friday Killer, which premiered at last year's Phuket Film Festival, is part of Yuthlert's Meu Puen 3 Pak trilogy of hitman movies that pair veteran comedians with young actresses. Friday, which has yet to play in Thai cinemas, stars Thep Po Ngam as an ageing assassin who's let out of prison and discovers he has a daughter, played by Ploy Jindachote, who's a police officer and is gunning for him.

The Hollywood Reporter's Maggie Lee has a review of Friday Killer, summing up that it's a "a kooky, genre-bending hitman tragicomedy".

Another entry in the 3 Pak trilogy, Saturday Killer, which actually did play in Thai cinemas last year, also played at the Shanghai fest as part of the Panorama program's "Thai Week", a massive line-up of commercial-hit Thai movies from the past year or so. Other movies playing during "Thai Week" at SIFF were:

• 32 December Love Error, Reukchai Poungpetch
• A Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Wasin Pokpong and Puttipong Promsaka na Sakon Nakon
• Bang Rajan 2, Thanit·Jitnukul
• Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story, Adisorn Trisirikasem
• Cool Gel Attacks, Jaturong Phonboon
• Hello Stranger, Banjong Pisuntanakul
• Phobia 2, Paween Purijitpanya, Visute Poolvoralaks, Songyos Sukmakanan, Pakpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisanthanakun
• The Little Comedian, Vithaya Thongyuyong and Mez Tharatorn

Update: According to the National News Bureau of Thailand, Actor "Ter" Chantavit Thanasevi won a Star Hunter Award in Shanghai for his performance in Hello Stranger.