Pen-ek and Ploy to sing Samui Song

Ploy in Last Life in the Universe.

Pen-ek Ratanaruang has picked actress "Ploy" Chermarn Boonyasak to star in his next feature, Samui Song.

“Using Hitchcock as a starting point, it serves as an homage to the kinds of movies I enjoy from Bollywood and Shinya Tsukamoto to Luis Bunuel and Thai cinema from the 1960s,” Pen-ek tells Screen Daily.

Pen-ek previously worked with Ploy on 2003's Last Life in the Universe. She had a small role as the sister of the lead actress, Ploy's real-life sister, Sinitta Boonyasak. Ploy is currently on the Thai big screen in the GTH romance The Teacher's Diary. Her many film credits also include Yuthlert Sippapak's Buppa Rahtree ghost-comedy franchise, Chookiat Sakveerakul's Love of Siam, ML Bhandevanov "Mom Noi" Devakula's period romance Chua Fah Din Salai (Eternity) and Mom Noi's Rashomon adaptation U Mong Pa Mueang (The Gate of the Ghost).

In Samui Song, she will portray the wife of a man who joins a cult and falls under the influence of its charismatic leader, the Holy One. The cult leader will be portrayed by Vithaya Pansringarm – the killer cop from Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives. He's wrapping up work on his next movie, The Last Executioner by Tom Waller.

Samui Song is being produced by Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who previously worked with Pen-ek on Headshot.