Home, Countdown, I Carried You Home take top prizes at Subhanahongsa Awards

Best actor and best actress winners David Asavanond and Apinya Sakuljaroensuk. Nation photo.

The sentimental three-segment drama Home, the psychological thriller Countdown and the funereal road movie I Carried You Home shared the top prizes at the 22th Subhanahongsa Awards (รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์) last night.

Put on the by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, the Thailand National Film Association Awards, a.k.a. the Golden Swans, are the Thai film industry's equivalent of the Oscars.

Home won best picture and director Chookiat Sakveerakul won Best Director. The three-segment drama from the celebrated helmer of Love of Siam is set in his hometown of Chiang Mai, and involves stories of beginnings and endings, with ruminations on death and major phases of life, such as school graduation, widowhood and marriage. It was one of the top nominees, with seven nods.

Best actor went to David Asavanond for the thriller Countdown, in which he portrayed an unhinged drug dealer named Jesus who terrorizes three young customers in a New York City apartment. It was a controversial nomination, being not only an edgy choice for the usually conservative awards, but also because Asavanond had been billed in the movie as a supporting character. Writer-director Nattawut Poonpiriya, who adapted his feature from his original short film, which featured Asavanond in the same role, won best screenplay. Also with seven nominations, Countdown also won for film editing.

Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, who has landed roles in dozens of movies since making her debut as a teenager in Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Ploy in 2007, was named best actress for I Carried You Home. She plays a rebellious young woman whose mother has just died in a bizarre karaoke mishap. She accompanies her mother's corpse on an ambulance journey to Bangkok to the southern border town of Pedang Besar, and her estranged older sister joins her. Along the way, the siblings hash out their strained relationship and renew their bonds. Indie director Tongpong Chantarangkul's I Carried You Home also won best cinematography.

The top nominee in this year's awards was Tanwarin Sukkhapisit's generation-spanning transgender drama It Gets Better, which had 11 nods. It won three awards: best supporting actor for Parama Imanothai as well as best art direction and costumes.

The lifetime achievement award went to Pong Asvinikul, who founded the Ram Indra Sound Recording Studio in 1971. Pong's career dates back to the 1950s. He was a sound man in the early days of recording on film, working on the now-lost 35mm masterpiece, 1955's Santi-Weena. His Ram Indra studio handles the sound on dozens of films each year.

Two indie favorites from the festival circuit, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's 36 and Kongdej Jaturanrasmee's P-047 were not nominated at all. They, along with It Gets Better, have both been major winners in other awards shows this season, such as the Kom Chad Luek Awards and Thursday night's Thai Film Director Association Awards. But they were not entirely shut out. Nawapol co-wrote the nominated screenplay of Chookiat's Home, and Kongdej won best original song from the animated feature Echo Planet, which also won for score and sound mixing and editing.

Here is the list of winners:

Best Picture

• Home (Home ความรัก ความสุข ความทรงจำ, Home Khwam Rak Khwam Sook Khwam Songjam), Sahamongkol Film International

Best Director

• Chookiat Sakveerakul, Home

Best Actor

• David Asavanond, Countdown (เคาท์ดาวน์)

Best Actress

• Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, I Carried You Home (Padang Besar, ปาดังเบซา)

Best Supporting Actor

• Parama Imanothai, It Gets Better  (ไม่ได้ขอให้มารั, Mai Dai Kor Hai Ma Rak)

Best Supporting Actress

• Piyathida Worramusik, Together Wan Tee Rak (Together วันที่รัก)

Best Screenplay

• Nattawut Poonpiriya, Countdown

Best Cinematography

• Pramett Chankrasae, I Carried You Home

Best Film Editing

• Panayu Khunwallee, Countdown

Best Recording and Sound Mixing

• Trithep Wongpaiboon, Noppawat Likhitwong, Wattanadet Samanchat and Kantana Laboratories, Echo Planet (เอคโค่ จิ๋วก้องโลก, Echo Jew Kong Loke)

Best Original Song

• “Fang Si Fang Si Fang” (“ฟังสิฟังสิฟัง”), Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Echo Planet

Best Original Score

• Chatchai Pongprapapan, Echo Planet

Best Art Direction

• Achira Nokthet and Narongsak Pawapootanon, It Gets Better

Best Costume Design

• Panchalee Pinthong and Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, It Gets Better

Best Make Up Effects

• Amarit Chokprecha, Dark Flight 407

(Via The Nation, THR, Daily News, Kom Chad Luek, Manager)