SuckSeed succeeds at Okinawa fest

Patchara Chirathiwat and director Chayanop Boonprakob at the Okinawa screening of SuckSeed on March 26. Photo via Getty Images.

The hit rock 'n' roll romantic comedy SuckSeed won the audience-voted Laughter AWard at the fourth Okinawa International Movie Festival, which wrapped up on Sunday.

Directed by Chayanop Boonprakob and starring Patchara Chirathiwat along with Jirayu La-ongmanee, Thawat Pornrattanaprasert and Natcha Nualjam, GTH's story of high-schooler slackers forming a rock band, was given 2.5 million yen in prize money. The big winner in Okinawa was Hong Kong director Ann Hui's A Simple Life, which won both the jury prize and the Peace Prize audience award.

Thai films have been big elsewhere in Japan too. At last month's Osaka Asian Film Festival, GTH's The Billionaire (Top Secret Wairoon Pun Lan), also starring "Peach" Patchara, was in competition alongside Kongdej Jaturanrasamee's mindbending P-047.

The Grand Prix there went to God's Own Child from India, the Most Promising Talent Award to Malaysia's Namewee, director, screenwriter, editor and composer of Nasi Lemak 2.0, special mentions for Indonesia's Lovely Man and China's The Sword Identity and the ABC Award to God's Own Child.


P-047, by the way, is playing in the Hong Kong International Film Festival along with Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Headshot. - Audience Award "Warriors of the Rainbow".

(Via @JohnBadalu)