36 wins top international prize at Turkey's Golden Orange fest

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Nawapol Thamrongrattanrit's acclaimed 2012 feature debut 36 is still making the rounds on the festival circuit, most recently picking up the Best Film Award in the International Competition at the 50th International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey.

With Nawapol in Busan with his latest feature Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, it fell to the 36 stars, actor Wanlop Rungkamjad and actress Vajrasthira Koramit, to be there and accept the trophy.

Here's the festival synopsis:

36 is the number of shots on an analogue roll of film. It’s also the number of shots in this film. It’s the playful quest of a young photographer for the photos that disappeared on her computer: a whole year’s worth, including one of a challenging encounter. In a playful way, this film tackles the issue of changing memory. These days a lot is remembered for us, but what do we still remember ourselves? Thamrongrattanarit’s first feature film 36 competed in International Film Festival Rotterdam for the Hivos Tiger.

On a handshake deal by producer Aditya Assarat, 36 will be distributed in the U.K. by Day for Night.

The film won last year's New Currents Award in Busan, a string of awards in Thailand, Cinemanila, Hong Kong, St. Petersburg and a bunch more award from other fests I never heard of. In Thailand, Nawapol released the highly experimental film himself.

His latest effort Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, a story based on a teenage girl's Twitter feed, premiered at Venice and screened in Busan and Chile's Valdivia Film Festival. Upcoming appearances include the Tokyo International Film Festival and the 10th Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.