From World War I to Love of Siam, 25 Thai films added to historical registry

The Siamese Military in the First World War

Another 25 titles have been added to the growing list of “Films as National Heritage” by the Culture Ministry and the Thai Film Archive, ranging from 1918 footage of soldiers going off to battle in World War I to puppy-love romance between teenage boys in the 2007 drama The Love of Siam.

Updated each year on October 4, which is Thai National Film Preservation Day, the historic-film registry now numbers 125 titles.

Many of the entries this year are from the U.S. Information Service, the propaganda arm of America's diplomatic corps. These include Thai Army Goes to Korean War, which shows Thai troops joining the fight against communism, and Heritage from King Mongkut, which recounts the contributions of American missionary and physician Dan Beach Bradley.

USIS also made The Ordination of the King, documenting the ceremony by which His Majesty King Bhumibol entered the monkhood.

The growth of commercial Thai cinema is represented by entries from the 1970s through the 1990s, ranging from director Piak Poster’s erotic island romance Choo, to Baan Phi Pob 2, the second film in the popular horror-comedy franchise, which had villagers endlessly running around and screaming and they tried to escape the gut-stabbing ghost-granny Pob Yip.

Ta-mone Prai

Aside from Piak, other notable filmmakers on this year’s list are Manop Udomdej, with 1981's On the Fringe of Society, Cherd Songsri with his 1983 sibling-rivalry romance Puen-Pang, Bhandit Rittakol and his 1987 farming drama Duay Klao, Pen-ek Ratanaruang with his 1999 black comedy Ruang Talok 69 and Jira Maligool with his 2002 Nong Khai festival yarn Mekhong Full Moon Party.

Historical battle epics now become history themselves, with the inclusion this year of Thanit Jitnukul’s Bang Rajan from 2000 and MC Chatrichalerm Yukol’s Suriyothai from 2001.

And recent global hits are represented by 2003’s martial-arts drama Ong Bak, which introduced Tony Jaa to the world, and GTH’s 2004 thriller Shutter, which introduced Thai horror to the world.

Here's the list, which is translated by Thai Film Archive deputy director Sanchai Chotirosseranee, who also offered commentary on some of the more-obscure entries.

Ngoa Ba

Films as National Heritage 2015

1. The Siamese Military in the First World War (unofficial title) / ภารกิจทหารอาสาสยามในสงครามโลกครั้งที่ ๑, 1918/63.26 min. – King Rama VI sent 1,233 Siamese volunteer soldiers to join World War I in 1917. According to newspaper ads from the era, the film was shown in Siam in 1919. It was thought to be lost, but resurfaced last year as France observed the centenary of the war. The French Embassy and the Alliance Francaise exhibited rare photographs and this film footage, which was well-preserved at the archives of the French Ministry of Defense.
2. The Playful Kids in the Reign of King Rama VII (unofficial title)/เด็กซนสมัย ร.๗, 1927-32)/7 min. – This "found footage" was shot on 16mm. There is no information on who made the film. It shows youngsters putting on a performance for the camera, playing traditional games, dancing, play-fighting and comic acting in the style of Western films, showing the already pervasive influence of film on Siamese society.
3. Pan-Tai Norasingh/พันท้ายนรสิงห์, 1950/98 min. – Directed by Prince Bhanubandhu Yugala (grand-uncle of MC Chatrichalerm Yukol) with cinematography by then-budding auteur R.D. Pestonji, this is the first theatrical feature of a historical tale that has been adapted many times for theater, film and television. The story, which takes place during the reign of Ayutthaya's King Sanphet VIII, is about an oarsman on a royal barge who loses control of the vessel in strong currents, causing it to hit a tree and become damaged. The king, understanding the difficult conditions, did not wish to punish Norasingh, but the ever-dutiful and devoted sailor insisted that no exceptions should be made, and he was beheaded according to law.
4. Thai Army goes to Korean War (unofficial title)/ทหารไทยไปเกาหลี, 1951–52)/7.42 min. – The United States Information Service in Bangkok made this clip of Royal Thai Army troops joining the United Nations' "police action" against the communist North Korean invaders.
5. Heritage from King Mongkut/มรดกพระจอมเกล้า, 1954/60 min. – This USIS dramatization depicted the influential contributions to Thai society of Dr. Dan Beach Bradley, an American Christian missionary and physician, whose close relations with the King Rama IV court helped Western medicine gain acceptance in Thailand. Bradley also published the first Thai newspaper, the Bangkok Recorder.
6. The Ordination of the King/พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัวเสด็จออกผนวช, 1956/13.42 min. – When His Majesty King Bhumibol entered the monkhood for 15 days in 1956, the USIS was there with its film cameras to record the royal ceremony.
7. The Commercial of the Monk Coin for 25th Buddhist Century Anniversary/โฆษณาพระเครื่องฉลอง ๒๕ พุทธศตวรรษ, 1957/4.52 min. – Commemorative coins were minted in observance of the 25th Buddhist century anniversary, which the government aimed to use to raise funds to build the massive "Buddhist Vatican" called Phutthamonthon, near Salaya, Nakhon Pathom.
8. Ta-mone Prai/ทะโมนไพร, 1959/42 min. – King Kong has a starring role this an artifact from a lost era of regional cinema. It was made by a filmmaker in Narathiwat and screened only there and in nearby southern provinces. “Only a few of these films survive,” Sanchai says, adding that the complete movie was 50 minutes but one reel was damaged, leaving just 42 minutes of the tale of triangular romance and a giant ape.
9. Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat Performing the Duty for His Nation as Head of Government and Military Commander Until He Fell Ill and Died/การปฏิบัติหน้าที่เพื่อประเทศชาติในตำแหน่งหัวหน้ารัฐบาลและผู้นำทางทหารจนถึงล้มป่วยและอสัญกรรมของ ฯพณฯ จอมพลสฤษดิ์ ธนะรัชต์, 1963/25.16 min. – Their Majesties the King and Queen make an appearance, visiting the bedridden military ruler, who in an act of devotion, takes His Majesty's hand and places it over his head.
10. Yuthana und Siripon Monch auf Zeit/ยุทธนา –ศิริพร, 1963/44.54 min – Another monkhood ordination is depicted in this travelogue documentary by German documentarian Hans Berthel in collaboration with noted lensman Tae Prakardwuttisan, following a middle-class Bangkok couple as they visit tourist attractions. Tae was made a National Artist in film in 1999.
11. The Spread of Kinship/สายเลือดเดียวกัน, 1966–68/103 min. – Another Cold War relic, made with support of the USIS, this feature-length drama aimed to attack and defame communism.
12. Choo/ชู้, a.k.a. Adulterer, 1972/145 min. – While he's probably best known for his string of teen-oriented comedies, movie-poster-artist-turned-filmmaker Somboonsuk Niyomsiri, a.k.a. Piak Poster, also made many solidly dramatic films, including this erotic island romance. "Although the film was not successful in term of box-office earnings, it was much-acclaimed and became the Thai representative at the 19th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Singapore, where it was awarded the special award because of its outstandingly unconventional story," Sanchai notes.
13. Wai Tok Kra/วัยตกกระ, 1978/122 min. – Here's a Thai cinema “first” – the first commercial feature to have elderly people as central characters, with “actual senior actors, not young, famous actors in makeup,” Sanchai explains.
14. Ngoa Ba/เงาะป่า, 1980/86.21 min. – Two generations of master filmmakers, Prince Bhanubandhu Yugala and Piak Poster, came together to collaborate on this adaptation of a popular play from the King Rama V era. It's a "Romeo and Juliet" romance taking place in land of the Sakai, an indigenous tribe in the South of Thailand.
15. On the Fringe of Society/ประชาชนนอก, 1981/90 min. – Manop Udomdej directs this flipside view of all that anti-communist propaganda, with the story of community activists who were wrongly persecuted and killed for their socialist leanings. It was funded by the Roman Catholic charity Caritas Thailand.
16. Puen-Paeng/เพื่อนแพง, 1983/131 min. – Auteur director Cherd Songsri's best-regarded film is the tragic romance Plae Kao (The Scar). But I saw Peun-Pang several years ago and liked it better. Sorapong Chatree stars as a poor farmboy in 1930s Siam, who is in love with one sister, but the girl's plucky younger sister likes him more. It was another entry in Cherd's campaign to introduce the concept of "Thainess" to this world, which I think he accomplishes with subtlety and sensitivity.
17. Duay Klao/ด้วยเกล้า a.k.a. The Seed, 1987/107 min. – Like Piak Poster in the 1970s, director Bhandit Rittakol in the 1980s was primarily known for his teen-oriented Boonchu movies. Duay Klao was his attempt at "serious" cinema, and he succeeded. Made in celebration of His Majesty the King's 60th birthday, the drama stars folksinger Jarun Manupetch as a farmer who nurtures a rice crop from a single seed he obtained from the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. A story of drought-hit farmers and opium-growing indigenous people, the movie depicts many of the His Majesty's Royal Projects, including cloud-seeding and crop replacement. The movie had a brief revival run in 2006 to celebrate the King's 60th anniversary of accession.
18. Baan Phi Pob 2/บ้านผีปอบ 2, 1990/91 min. – This is the second entry in a crazily popular ghost comedy franchise, which for many Thais are the films that defined the '90s. The films all involve hayseed villagers endlessly running around and screaming and they tried to escape the gut-stabbing ghost-granny Pob Yip, portrayed by Natthinee Sittisaman.
19. 6ixtynin9/เรื่องตลก 69 (Ruang Talok 69), 1999/115 min. – With an iconic poster that features actress Lalida Panyopas pointing a gun into her mouth, I'm not sure Ruang Talok 69 would fly in today's squeamishly conservative and politically correct Thai culture. Directed by Pen-ek Ratanaruang, the biting black comedy is about a desperate jobless woman who comes across an instant-noodle box full of cash outside her apartment. She then haplessly racks up a body count as various thugs try to retrieve the loot.
20. Bang Rajan/บางระจัน, 2000/118 min. – Produced by Film Bangkok, this was one of the first Thai titles to make global impact during the "new wave" period of the late '90s and early 2000s. Thanit Jitnukul directs the blood-soaked tale of farmers mounting a last-ditch defense against the invading Burmese hoards in 1767.
21. Suriyothai/สุริโยไท, 2001/142 min. – Directed by MC Chatrichalerm Yukol and supported by Her Majesty the Queen, this epic historical drama recounts the life of an Ayutthaya-era queen who famously took up arms and rode an elephant into battle, and perished in defense of her king. A box office hit that was only recently unseated from the top spot by Pee Mak Phra Khanong, Suriyothai served as the prequel and template for Chatrichalerm's six-film Naresuan saga.
22. Mekhong Full Moon Party/15 ค่ำเดือน 11 (15 Kham Duean 11), 2002/120 min. – Jira Maligool's charming comedy offers an explanation of the mysterious fireballs that arise from the Mekong River during the annual Full Moon Festival in Nong Khai. While scientists and various experts offer their theories on the phenomenon, there's a local boy and a monk who know the truth.
23. Ong-Bak/องค์บาก , 2003/104 min. – Directed by Prachya Pinkaew, this is the definitive showcase of the abilities of martial-arts star Tony Jaa and the innovative choreography of Jaa's former mentor Panna Rittikrai, who passed away last year.
24. Shutter/ชัตเตอร์ กดติดวิญญาณ, 2004/92 min. – Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom wrote and directed this thriller, which is based on the notion of ghostly images turning up in photos, and has Ananda Everingham as a lensman who is haunted and slowly goes insane. It was one of the first Thai films to get the Hollywood remake treatment.
25. The Love of Siam/รักแห่งสยาม, 2007/171 min. – Widely acclaimed and winner of dozens of awards, this was the hit that brought gay romance to the Thai mainstream. It was a breakthrough for director Chookiat Sakveerakul, as well as the film’s stars, leading man Mario Maurer, actor-musician Witwisit Hiranyawongkul and the August band.

(Adapted from an article in The Nation)

The Love of Siam

Related posts:

• 2011 Registry of Films as National Heritage
• 2012 Registry of Films as National Heritage
• 2013 Registry of Films as National Heritage
• 2014 Registry of Films as National Heritage

Teacher's Diary is top Subhanahongsa nominee

Nominees for the 24th Subhanahongsa Awards have filtered out.

The top nominee is The Teacher’s Diary (คิดถึงวิทยา, Kid Tueng Wittaya), the hit GTH romantic drama. With 13 nods in all, it's up for Best Picture and screenplay, as well as actor and actress.

Other Best Picture nominees are GTH's blockbuster comedy I Fine Thank You Love You, Lee Chatametikool's indie romance Concrete Clouds (ภวังค์รัก, Phawang Rak), Yuthlert Sippapak's comeback Chiang Khan Story (Tukkae Rak Pang Mak, ตุ๊กแกรักแป้งมาก) and Plae Kao, a new adaptation of a Thai literary classic.

Reflecting the indie Thai trend in documentaries, a new category has been added. It has three nominees, Somboon by Krisada Tipchaimeta, By the River (สายน้ำติดเชื้อ, Sai Nam Tid Shoer) by Nontawat Numbenchapol and The Master by Nawapol Thamrongratanarit.

Voting for the winners is under a new complicated new process instituted last year. The Nation has more on that.

BEST PICTURE

• Kid Tueng Wittaya (The Teacher’s Diary)
• I Fine Thank You Love You
• Phawang Rak (Concrete Clouds)
• Plae Kao (The Scar)
• Tukkae Rak Pang Mak (Chiang Khan Story).

DIRECTOR

• Yuthlert Sippapak, Chiang Khan Story
• ML Bandevanop Devakula, The Scar
• Lee Chatametikool, Concrete Clouds
• Mez Tharatorn, I Fine Thank You Love You

SCREENPLAY

• Nithiwat Tharatorn, Thosaphol Thiptinnakorn, Suppalerk Ningsanon, Sophana Chaowiwatkool, The Teacher’s Diary
• Yuthlert Sippapak, Chiang Khan Love Story
• Lee Chatametikool, Concrete Clouds
• Boongsong Nakphoo, Wangphikul (Village of Hope)
• Mez Tharatorn, Chaiyaphruek Chalermpornpanich, Benjamaporn Sa-bua, I Fine Thank You Love You

ACTOR

• Sukrit Wisetkaew, The Teacher’s Diary
• Jirayu La-ongmanee, Chiang Khan Story
• Sunny Suwanmethanon, I Fine Thank You Love You
• Chaiyapol Julien Poupart, Plae Kao
• Ananda Everingham, Concrete Clouds

ACTRESS

• Preechaya Pongthananikorn, I Fine Thank You Love You
• Davika Hoorne, Plae Kao
• Jarinporn Joonkiat, Jodmai Khwam Songjum (Timeline)
• Chermarn Boonyasak, The Teacher’s Diary
• Janesuda Parnto, Concrete Clouds

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Nopachai Jayanama, Timeline
• Natpat Nimjirawat, Chiang Khan Story
• Pongpat Wachirabanjong, Plae Kao
• Prawith Hansten, Concrete Clouds
• Popetorn Sunthornyanakij, I Fine Thank You Love You

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Concrete Clouds
• Piyathida Worramusik, Timeline
• Chanikarn Tangabodi, Chiang Khan Story
• Sinjai Plengpanich, Plae Kao
• Marsha Wattanapanich, Rak Mod Kaew (Love on the Rock)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Narupon Chokkanapitak, The Teacher’s Diary
• Somkid Phukpong, Chiang Khan Story
• Panom Promchat, Plae Kao
• Jarin Pengpanich, Concrete Clouds
• Pramate Charnkrasae, Hong Hoon

FILM EDITING

• Thammarat Sumethsupachok, Pongsakorn Chanchalermchai, The Teacher’s Diary
• Chonlasit Upanigkit, W
• Thawat Siripong, Chiang Khan Story
• Lee Chatametikool, Kamontorn Ekwatanakij, Concrete Clouds
• Thammarat Sumethsupachok,  Thanasak Yanajan, I Fine Thank You Love You

ORIGINAL SONG

• Mai Tang Kan by 25 Hours, The Teacher’s Diary
• Yak Hak by Koo Kaen Band, Phoobao Thai Baan: E-San Indy
• Jaikhwam Samkhan by Musketeer, Love on the Rock
• Golden Shower Bloom by Karen musicians of Klity village, By the River
• Walk You Home from I Fine Thank You Love You

SOUND MIXING

• Kantana Sound Studio, The Teacher’s Diary
• Richard Hocks, Rak Luang Lorn (The Couple)
• Kantana Sound Lab, Timeline
• Kantana Sound Studio, Plae Kao
• Kantana Sound Studio, The Swimmers

ORIGINAL SCORE

• Chatchai Pongprapapan, Timeline
• Hualampong Riddim, The Teacher’s Diary
• Origin Company, Chiang Khan Story
• Piti Kayoonpahn, The Scar
• Hualampong Riddim, I Fine Thank You Love You

ART DIRECTION

• Akradej Kaewkote, The Teacher’s Diary
• Patrick Meesaiyati, Plae Kao
• Khacha Ruanthong, Chiang Khan Love Story
• Ekkarat Homla-or, Concrete Clouds
• Siranat Ratchusanti, Hong Hoon

COSTUME DESIGN

• Suthee Muanwaja, The Teacher’s DIary 
• Siriwan Karnchoochor, Chiang Khan Love Story
• Suthee Muanwaja, I Fine Thank You Love You
• Athit Thriakittiwat, Plae Kao
• Cattleya Paosrijaroen, Concrete Clouds

MAKEUP

• Pichet Wongjansom, The Swimmers
• Panparit Suvanaprakorn, Kyu Kittichon Kunratchol (QFX Work Shop), The Eyes Diary
• Montri Watlaiad, Plae Kao
• Sirirat Jamfa, Hong Hoon

VISUAL EFFECTS

• Exhabition, The Swimmers
• The Post Bangkok, Sming
• The Renegade V Effect, Hong Hoon
• Oriental Post,  The Teacher’s Diary
• Nonzee Nimibutr, Timeline

DOCUMENTARY

• The Master
• Somboon
• By the River

The awards ceremony is set for March 1 at the Thailand Cultural Center, where veteran action star Sombat Metanee will be honored with the Lifetime Achievment Award.

Review: The Eyes Diary

• Directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul
• Starring Focus Jeerakul, Parama Im-anothai, Chonnikarn Natejui, Kittisak Pathommaburana
• Released in Thai cinemas October 30, 2014; rated 15+
• Wise Kwai's rating: 4/5

Chookiat Sakveerakul makes his return to horror with The Eyes Diary (คนเห็นผี, Kon Hen Pee), which blends in elements of romantic drama with the story of a bickering couple whose constant fighting his dire consequences.

Like Chookiat's sophomore feature effort, the thriller 13 Game Sayong (13: Game of Death, remade as 13 Sins), The Eyes Diary is based on a comic book. In this case, it's a Siam Intermedia title by Anek Roikaew. No relation to the Pang brothers' Eye franchise, The Eyes Diary actually feels similar to another Thai horror film, Shutter, including references to a haunted photo and a couple other elements.

But with a fine young cast and a story that slowly builds the tension and scares, The Eyes Diary has plenty to stand on its own.

Parama Im-anothai (It Gets Better) stars as Nott, a college drop-out who works for one of Thailand's rescue squads, those notorious crews of pickup-racing bodysnatchers who retrieve corpses from wrecks and clean up after suicides. He's a somber, brooding fellow who has the macabre habit of keeping souvenirs from the bodies he finds. His latest score is a rubber bracelet off the wrist of a motorbike rider who was ripped in half by a truck and spread like jelly on the highway. His co-worker and closest pal Jon (Kittisak Pathommaburana from Chookiat's Grean Fictions and Home) tries in vain to warn Nott from keeping dead people's stuff, but Nott is stubborn.

Anyway, Nott is haunted by the death of his girlfriend Plaa (Focus Jeerakul), who was killed in a bike wreck as the two were fighting. And her last words, "you'll never see me again", haunt him. He's desperate to find a way to communicate with her on the "other side", hence his predilection for collecting curios from corpses. Eventually, Nott is put in touch with an acquaintance of his old school friends, the young woman Modta (Chonnikarn Natejui), who has also suffered a loss of a loved one but has had some success in getting in touch with them. Also, there's Jon, who seems to have a talent for communicating with the dead.

The scares gradually ramp up. There's all that creepy stuff in John's cabinets, and all the horrifying ghosts, putrefied and gross from their various causes of death.

One thing I appreciated about The Eyes Diary was how it sought to build a universe in which belief in ghosts isn't necessarily taken for granted as it is in other ghost flicks. There's a healthy dose of skepticism among the characters. Perhaps, the biggest non-believer is Nott, who despite all the dead people's junk he collects still can't manage to break through and reach Plaa.

It's a solid cast, but the highlight is the two actresses, borrowed from the GTH stock company. Focus, who made her debut as one of the child stars of Fan Chan in 2003, gives a performance that subtly shifts from sweet and vulnerable to terrifying.

See also:

• The Eyes Diary trailer with English subtitles

So Be It, The Eyes Diary, The Couple open in Thai cinemas

It's a big week for new Thai films in Bangkok cinemas, with the release of three movies.

Among the crop is the latest from Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, his documentary So Be It. And, owing to Halloween, there's two horror films, The Eyes Diary, which sees Chookiat Sakveerakul returning to his horror roots, and The Couple, the sophomore release of the indie-film shingle Talent 1.

In So Be It (A-Wang, เอวัง), two very different boys – a poor hilltribe youngster and a half-Thai reality-TV star – ordain as novice Buddhist monks. The half-Thai, half-farang kid William was featured on the TrueVisions’ reality series Plook Panya Dharma Novice, which followed the daily lives of novice monks. After his stint on the series, he returns to the temple on his own to continue his studies into the Buddhist faith. Meanwhile, there's Bundit, a Karen boy whose family is too poor to afford schooling. So he's sent to the Buddhist boarding school, but is uncomfortable and tries to leave.

The third indie-film effort by Kongdej, So Be It premiered at the recent Busan International Film Festival, which had supported the project through the Asian Cinema Fund. Variety gave it a good review. The Nation has more about it today. It's at House on RCA. Check out the trailer below.

The Eyes Diary (คนเห็นผี, Kon Hen Pee), directed by Chukiat, stars Parama Im-anothai as a young guy whose girlfriend (Focus Jeerakul) dies in a motorbike wreck after they had a fight. He’s desperate to communicate with her "on the other side", so he seeks help from a young woman (Chonnikarn Natejui) who's had a similar experience.

Not to be confused with the Pang brothers' Eye franchise, The Eyes Diary marks a return to horror by Chookiat, who has garnered much acclaim for his sprawling family and friendship dramas like The Love of Siam and last year's Grean Fictions. But he got his start with thrillers, such as his 2004 horror Pisaj and the twisting 2006 thriller 13 Game Sayong, which was recently remade by Hollywood as 13 Sins.
There's an English-subtitled trailer already.

In The Couple (รัก ลวง หลอน, Rak Luang Lon), a newlywed bride is possessed by the evil spirit of her sister-in-law. Sucha Manaying, Pitchaya Nithipisarnkul and Mali Coates star.

This is the second feature from Talent 1, which made its bow last year with the well-received thriller Last Summer. The indie film label is run by producer Ladawan Ratanadilokchai, who takes a different approach to her films. She had a hand in the script, with help from indie filmmaking talents Kongdej Jaturanrasmee (who also has So Be It opening at House this week), Pimpaka Towira and Sivaroj Kongsakul.

Village of Hope, By the River, 13 Sins in Thai cinemas

There are two interesting limited releases of indie films in Bangkok cinemas today, plus a pair of wider releases, including a Hollywood remake of a Thai film.

The indie efforts are the black-and-white rural drama Village of Hope and the documentary By the River. The remake is 13 Sins – Hollywood's long-in-the-works treatment of 2006's 13 Game Sayong. And there's a special-effects-laden fantasy, Spirits War.

At the Lido in Siam Square, Boonsong "Sueb" Nakphoo has another hardscrabble story of contemporary rural life in his native rural Sukhothai Province – Village of Hope (วังพิกุล, Wangphikul) – a sequel to his 2010 effort Poor People the Great.

In between those two films, Boonsong did the ambitious Four Stations, a 2012 compilation of four short stories by noted Thai authors. It won a jury prize at last year's Deauville Asian Film Festival.

With Village of Hope, which premiered at last year's Mumbai Film Festival, Boonsong further hones his craft, presenting the succinct tale in black and white. The story follows Sorn, a somber young soldier on leave who returns home to Wangphikul. He feels ill-at-ease as he reaquaints himself to the village’s slow pace and the struggles of his impoverished relatives, who all live in a tight-knit collection of rustic wooden houses. Boyhood has slipped away and the reality of adulthood is looming for young Sorn.

Village of Hope screens at 6.30 nightly until May 14 at the Lido in Siam Square, with post-screening talks by the director and his crew.

Check out the trailer, embedded below.

By the River (สายน้ำติดเชื้อ, Sai Nam Tid Shoer) is screening at the SF World Cinema at CentralWorld and at the SFX Maya Chiang Mai, with shows at around 4 and 8 daily.

Directed by Nontawat Numbenchapol, who follows up his Thai-Cambodian border doc Boundary, By the River looks at the hardships in a Karen village in Kanchanaburi where lead mining has contaminated the creek that used to be the community's lifeblood.

Concentrating mainly on the villagers, the film only briefly refers to the legal wrangling over the Klity Creek case, which stretched on for more than a decade. Though a verdict last year ordered a clean-up, it's going to be a massive effort, covering some 19 kilometers of waterway. It doesn't seem like the damage will ever be truly undone.

Nontawat recently returned to the village to stage a special outdoor screening for the residents.

Worth mentioning at this point is an effort to bring clean water to the village being undertaken by the Enlawthai Foundation.

By the River won a special mention at last year’s Locarno Film Festival and also screened at the 11th World Film Festival of Bangkok. It's been picked up by the new Thai indie outfit Mosquito Films Distribution and was part of the recent ChopShots festival in Jakarta.

Shows are at 4 and 8 daily at SFW CentralWorld and SFX Maya Chiang Mai. Check out the trailer, embedded below.

13 Sins comes eight years after there was first word of a Hollywood remake of 2006's 13 Beloved. The slick, tension-filled drama had Terrence Sukosol Clapp as a down-on-his luck band-instrument salesman receiving a series of mysterious phone calls promising him increasing rewards for completing 13 increasingly sinister and dangerous tasks. Also called 13 Game Sayong and 13: Game of Death, the original film was directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul and was based on a comic by Eakasit Thairatana.

Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) directs this new version, which at one time bore the title Angry Little God. Mark Webber stars as the salesman, with Devon Graye, Tom Bower, Rutina Wesley, Pruit Taylor Vince and Ron Perlman. Critical reception is surprisingly even, with some critics actually liking it. I wonder if they ever saw the original? Meanwhile, I wonder if Chookiat's stuck-in-development-hell sequel 14 Beyond will ever materialize?

Finally, there's a new mainstream-industry Thai film this week, Spirits War (ไพรดิบ, Prai Dib). It's a special-effects-laden fantasy starring Akara Amarttayakul as a spirit hunter contending with demons and evil priests. Pisut Praesangeam, who earlier this year did She Devil (รักเราเขย่าขวัญ, Rak Rao Khayao Khwan) and the 2008 comedy Super Hap, directs.

Oh what the heck. Here's the trailer.

Hi-Jaa! Where is he now? Plus Protector 2 in U.S, TYG2 in China

Better not let your elephant see you tinkling those ivories. Via Tony Jaa Official Facebook page

This is another installment of the occasional feature of this blog that catches up on news of Tony Jaa.

Tony Jaa recently wrapped a globetrot that took him to Hollywood, where he schmoozed with celebrities, and to Switzerland, where he performed handstands in a ritzy hotel lobby.

After a brief stop back home in Thailand, he jetted off again to start production on his Hong Kong action debut, SPL II, which will see him clashing with Wu Jing. Pou-Soi Cheang directs this sequel-in-name-only to 2005's SPL, which was directed by Wilson Yip, who's now producing. Original SPL leading man Simon Yam also stars.

You can follow all of Jaa's moves on his official Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Tom-Yum-Goong 2 opened over the weekend in select U.S. cinemas as The Protector 2. Reviews aren't pretty. They include the New York Times, Village Voice, New York Daily News, the AV Club and The Hollywood Reporter. A number of them say it's his "comeback" following his controversial "meltdown" during filming of Ong-Bak 2 and Ong-Bak 3, but really it's his swansong with studio Sahamongkol, which he left in the midst of making TYG2 during a contract dispute.

Now he's on to the next phase of his career, as an international action star and man of mystery.

Still, Sahamongkol is wringing Tom-Yum-Goong 2 for all it's worth, with a "wide release" recently in China – some 2,500 screens, the biggest yet for a Thai film. The Nation's Soopsip had more details about that, including a red-carpet appearance by Jaa's co-stars, Jeeja Yanin and Rhatha Pho-ngam.

A Blu-ray release for The Protector 2 is set for July 29.

Finally, it's the early 2000s again as Tony Jaa gets a mention in the newly reconstituted Kaiju Shakedown, the blog by Asian film raconteur Grady Hendrix. Now at home at Film Comment, Hendrix looks back at all the main figures of Thai cinema's boom days of the late '90s and early aughts, wondering "where are they now?"

Jaa, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Ekachai Uekrongtham, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Chookiat Sakveerakul and Nonzee Nimibutr – they've all been right here, steadily working. Just one of the stalwarts of the New Thai Cinema Movement mentioned – Wisit Sasanatieng – has faded from view. Perhaps Wisit could get his long-gestating Muay Thai biopic Suriya out of development hell with help from Jaa and a host of international backers?

Rhatha Pho-ngam and Jeeja Yanin on the Beijing film fest red carpet for the Chinese premiere of Tom-Yum-Goong 2.

Pee Mak, Tang Wong share prizes from Director Association

Team Tang Wong.

Banjong and assistants
Siwawut Sewatanon and
Chutigan Seechomphu.

The record-setting blockbuster Pee Mak Phra Khanong split prizes with the acclaimed indie comedy-drama Tang Wong in the fourth Thai Film Director Association Awards.

In an informal ceremony on Tuesday night, the Best Picture prize went to Tang Wong, directed by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, with runner-up going to Pee Mak directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun.

Banjong then took the prize for Best Director, with Kongdej as the runner-up.

Pee Mak, a romantic-comedy send-up of the century-old Mae Nak Phra Khanong ghost story, shattered box-office records last year with estimated earnings of around 1 billion baht. It was produced by leading studio GTH and had been nominated for several prizes at both the Subhanahongsa Awards and the Bangkok Critics Assembly.

Tang Wong, a low-budget indie effort by Kongdej, satirized Thai culture with a story of four working-class Bangkok teenage boys who have to learn a traditional dance in return for their prayers at a spirit-house shrine being answered. It has won several awards, including Best Picture and Best Director at the industry’s Subhanahongsas and from the Bangkok Critics.

The Thai Film Director Association also recognized assistant directors – an important position on film crews that is largely unsung. This year’s prize went to the team of assistants on Pee Mak – Veerachai Yaikwawong, Siwawut Sewatanon and Chutigan Seechomphu.

On Tang Wong, the assistant directors were Aekpatt Jomkoh, Tippawan Narintorn and Sebastian Kratzer.

Other nominees were Grean Fictions by Chookiat Sakveerakul, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and Love Syndrome by Pantham Thongsang. There's a showreel of all the nominees.

Banjong Kosalwat was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. His films include the 1985 crime drama Nuanchawee, which he also wrote. It starred Apichart Halumjiek with actress Sinjai Plengpanich in the title role. Other films include 1987’s Sai Nam Mai Lai Klub, See-Oui Sae Ng and 1996’s Khoo Kam 2.

Along with the awards, Thai Film Director Association president “Golf” Tanwarin Sukkhapisit ended her term and handed over leadership to Bhandit Thongdee. His films include the 2011 musicial biopic Pumpuang, the 2006 martial-arts drama Mercury Man, the 2003 horror The Unborn and the 2002 musical comedy Monpleng Luk Thung FM.

Bhandit Thongdee is elected president.

(Cross-published in The Nation)

Hi-Jaa! The Protector 2 streams, SPL 2 now even better with Yam

In case you missed it, this is a new occasional feature of the blog, in which I catch up on news of Tony Jaa.

Tom-Yum-Goong 2, Jaa's martial-arts swansong with his former studio Sahamongkol Film International, is [link to Amazon removed per DMCA takedown notice – I don't have time to deal with this bullshit Magnolia, so thanks for nothing].

Even though folks are pleased to see Jaa in action, reception is generally along the lines of "Tony Jaa loses fight with CGI".

Fans are more excited about Jaa's upcoming projects, such as Skin Trade, his action drama with Dolph Lundgren, Ron Perlman, Michael Jai White and Selina Jade.

The guys at Twitch, having seen Jaa's sneak peek at Skin Trade, were raving, noting that the director – Ekachai Uekrongtham of Beautiful Boxer fame – makes a big difference. They go on to lambast TYG and Ong-Bak helmer Prachya Pinkaew, and they make fair points, especially about the godawful Elephant White. I think Prachya has a better track record and more promising future as a producer – taking a supporting, mentoring role behind more distinctive directorial voices, such as Panna Rittikrai, Chookiat Sakveerakul and Tanwarin Sukkhapisit.

Back to news of Tony Jaa – you can follow his official updates on Facebook – work is continuing on Skin Trade and he'll also soon resume production on Fast and Furious 7. Much of that and more is covered in an interview with Asian Movie Pulse.

Also coming up is Jaa's Hong Kong debut SPL II, the sequel-in-name-only to the 2005 knock-down-drag-out that had Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung whacking each other with golf clubs. Neither of those two have been mentioned for the sequel, which stars Wu Jing. But Senh Duong's Movies With Butter notes that original SPL star Simon Yam will join the cast along with Max Zhang, the baddie from Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster. Soi Cheang (Accident, Motorway, The Monkey King) directs, taking over for Wilson Yip, who is still aboard as producer. Senh's still holding out hope for a Donnie cameo.

Youth in spotlight as Bangkok Critics nominate Pee Mak, Tang Wong and Mary Is Happy

The Bangkok Critics Assembly (ชมรมวิจารณ์บันเทิง) is bowing to the domination of youth in the past year's Thai films, creating a new award for young filmmakers and giving the bulk of the nominations for its Critics' Awards to teen-oriented movies, Pee Mak Phra Khanong, Tang Wong and Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy.

The three films were also the top nominees at the recent Subhanahongsa Awards, and the Bangkok Critics' selection largely mirrors the Thai film industry's biggest trophy parade.

The teenybopper ghost romance Pee Mak Phra Khanong and the teen dramas Tang Wong and Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy each have nine nominations, including best picture, director, acting and screenplay.

At the Subhanahongsas, the low-budget indie dramas Tang Wong and Mary came away the big winners, leaving the big-studio box-office record-holder Pee Mak with just one prize.

Other leading nominees in the Critics' Awards include the teen drama Grean Fictions with seven nods, including best picture, director and screenplay. The teen ghost thriller Last Summer, the rom-com Love Syndrome, the older-woman-young man romance Prayoke Sanya Rak and the docu-drama Karaoke Girl each have four nominations. The wartime romance Koo Kam and the teen slasher Thongsuk 13 each have three.

Although the industry-organized Subhanahongsas have started to give more recognition to indie films in recent years, the Bangkok Critics have traditionally been more receptive to the low-budget art-house features that make it big on the festival circuit, and have been particularly keen on any documentaries that make it to Thai cinemas. Though oddly, the political documentary Paradoxocracy, which was nominated at the Subhanahongsas, is left off the list.

Anyway, current trends are reflected most this year in a new category, Best Young Filmmaker, honoring a crop of first-time feature directors. Nominees include Nontawat Numbenchapol, who is also up for best director with his Thai-Cambodian border doc Boundary. Twin sisters Wanwaew and Waewwan Hongwiwat are nominated for Wish Us Luck, which documented their monthlong train journey from England to Thailand. Bongkot Kongmalai, whose acting credits go back to her late teens with 2000's Bang Rajan, made her feature directorial debut with co-director Wiroj Srisithsereeamorn on Angels (Nang Fah). Palatpon Mingpornpichit is a nominee for Prayoke Sanya Rak, which is also nominated for best actor and actress and song. Visra Vichit-Vadakan is named for Karaoke Girl, which is also nominated for best actress, cinematography and song. And MR Chalermchatri Yukol, son of MC Chatrichalerm Yukol, is recognized for his feature debut The Cop (Sarawat Mah Baa).

The Critics’ Awards will be presented at 6pm on March 26 at the Royal Thai Army Club.

Best Picture

• Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Grean Fictions
• Tang Wong
• Love Syndrome Rak Ngo Ngo

Director

• Banjong Pisunthanakun, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Chookiat Sakveerakul, Grean Fictions
• Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Tang Wong
• Nontawat Numbenchapol, Boundary

Actor

• Nadech Kugimiya, Khoo Kam
• Pattadon Janngern, Grean Fictions
• Krissada Sukosol Clapp, Pawnshop
• Mario Maurer, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Setthapong Phiangpor, Prayoke Sanya Rak

Actress

• Keerati Mahaphrukpong, Love Syndrome
• Lalita Panyopas, Prayoke Sanya Rak
• Patcha Poonpiriya, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Sa Sitthijan, Karaoke Girl
• Suthata Udomsilp, Last Summer

Supporting Actor

• Auttarut Kongrasri, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Nutthasit Kotimanuswanich, Tang Wong
• Kittisak Pathomburana, Grean Fictions
• Jirayu La-ongmanee, Last Summer
• Arak Amornsupasiri, Young Bao

Supporting Actress

• Chonnikan Netjui, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Natharat Lekha, Tang Wong
• Titirat Rojsangrat, Love Syndrome
• Wanida Termthanaporn, Grean Fictions
• Sucha Manaying, Hashima Project

Screenplay

• Nontra Kumwong, Chantawit Thanasewee and Banjong Pisunthanakun, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chookiat Sakveerakul and Niwaruj Teekaphowan, Grean Fictions
• Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Tang Wong
• Manachaya Panitsarn, Worakorn Virakun, Virasinee Raungprchaubkun, Kimhan Kanchanasomjai and Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, Love Syndrome

Film Editing

• Thammarat Sumethsupachok, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chonlasit Upanigkit, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Manussa Warasingha and Kamonthorn Ekwattanakit, Tang Wong
• Chookiat Sakveerakul and Jirasak Jakrawan, Grean Fictions
• Chalermsak Klangjaroen, Adirek Watleela and Taweewat Wantha, Thongsuk 13

Cinematography

• Narupon Chokkanapitak, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Sayompoo Mukdeeprom, Last Summer
• Pairach Khumwan, Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy
• Sandi Sissel and Chananan Choterungroj, Karaoke Girl
• MR Umpornpol Yugala, Saran Srisingchai, Tang Wong

Art Direction

• Akradej Kaewkote, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Rasiguet Sookkarn, Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy
• Rasiguet Sookkarn, Tang Wong
• Warakorn Poonsawas, Thongsuk 13

Original Score

• Chatchai Pongprapapan and Hualampong Riddim, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chatchai Pongprapapan, Jan Dara: The Finale
• Somsiri Sangkaew, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Chaibandit Peuchponsub, Apichai Tragoolpadetgrai and Yellow Fang, Tang Wong
• Giant Wave, Thongsuk 13

Original Song

• "Sao Karaoke", Kampee Sangthong, Karaoke Girl
• "Hideko", Yusuke Namikawa and Wichaya Wattanasap, Khoo Kam
• "Yuewya", Cin Thosaporn Achawanantakul, Last Summer
• "Chan Rak Ther", Rerkchai Paungpetch and Chansa Mettapan, Fud Jung To
• "Khem Nalika", Kunlapon Samsen and Warat Prasertlab, Prayoke Sanya Rak

Young Filmmaker Award

• Wanwaew and Waewwan Hongwiwat, Wish Us Luck (Khor Hai Rao Chokdee)
• Bongkoj Khongmalai and Wiroj Srisithsereeamorn, Nang Fah
• Palatpon Mingpornpichit, Prayoke Sanya Rak
• Nontawat Numbenchapol, Boundary
• MR Chalermchatri Yukol, Sarawat Mah Baa
• Visra Vichit-Vadakan. Karaoke Girl

Box Office Award – Pee Mak Phra Khanong

Lifetime Achievement Award – Pitsamai Wilaisak

(Via The Nation)

Pee Mak leads nominees in 23rd Subhanahongsa Awards

The record-breaking box-office smash Pee Mak Phra Khanong continues its domination into awards season, leading the Thai film industry's biggest trophy parade, the Thailand National Film Association Awards, a.k.a. the Subhanahongsa Awards (รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์) or Golden Swans, with nominations in 13 out of 15 categories, including best picture, director, screenplay and lead actress.

Critically acclaimed indie films, the teen dramas Tang Wong and Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy scored 10 nods each, including best picture, director and screenplay. And the epic studio teen comedy-drama, Grean Fictions, also has 10 nods, including best picture, director and screenplay.

Nominated writer-directors are Banjong Pisunthanakun for Pee Mak, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit for Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, Kongdej Jaturanrasmee for Tang Wong and Chookiat Sakveerakul for Grean Fictions.

Celebrated director Pen-ek Ratanaruang is nominated along with Pasakorn Pramoolwong for their political documentary Paradoxocracy, which has three nods, including best picture.

But it's teen movies that rule, including the schoolgirl ghost tale Last Summer with six nods.

The wartime romance Koo Kam had five nominations, including best actor for soap hunk Nadech Kugimiya, one of a large crop of teen and twentysomething stars and starlets this year. Young leading man Pattadon "Fiat" Jan-ngern is nominated for his debut role in Grean Fictions and former child star Jirayu La-ongmanee is a nominee for Last Summer.

Actress nominees include Pee Mak's Davika Hoorne, troubled teenager Suthata Udomsilp and the Mary Is Happy pair of Patcha Poonpiriya and Chonnikan Netjui.

A notable snub was Mario Maurer, who went unrecognized for his turn as the title characters in both Pee Mak and in Jan Dara: The Finale.

Pee Mak has 15 nominations in all, including supporting-actor nods for three of the four bumbling friends of Mak.

Other nominees include the romantic comedy Love Syndrome, the teen slasher Thongsuk 13, the Japanese haunted-island yarn Hashima Project, the cabaret-dancer drama Nang Fah and Tony Jaa's martial-arts actioner Tom-Yum-Goong 2, all with two nods apiece.

The nominations are the result of a new voting process instituted by Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand president Visute Poolvoralaks. Dubbed "R+O", the "referee plus open" system aimed to involve some 1,500 members of the film industry, who would vote on the various categories they had expertise in. About half that number voted, with many excusing themselves from the process because they hadn't seen all the films. The "referee" element had the usual industry jury vetting the "open" portion of the voting and carrying most of the weight as the finalist nominees were named.

A story in The Nation today explains more.

The 23rd Subhanahongsa Awards (informally the "Thai Oscars") will be handed out on February 23 at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Pattaya.


BEST PICTURE

• Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Grean Fictions
• Tang Wong
• Prachatipathai (Paradoxocracy)

DIRECTOR

• Banjong Pisunthanakun, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Chookiat Sakveerakul, Grean Fictions
• Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Tang Wong
• Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Pasakorn Pramoolwong, Paradoxocracy

SCREENPLAY

• Nontra Kumwong, Chantawit Thanasewee and Banjong Pisunthanakun, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chookiat Sakveerakul and Niwaruj Teekaphowan, Grean Fictions
• Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, Tang Wong
• Manachaya Panitsarn, Worakorn Virakun, Virasinee Raungprchaubkun, Kimhan Kanchanasomjai and Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, Love Syndrome

ACTOR

• Nadech Kugimiya, Koo Kam
• Pattadon Jan-ngern, Grean Fictions
• Chinawut Indracusin, Thongsuk 13
• Jirayu La-ongmanee, Last Summer
• Phakhin Khamwilaisak, Love Syndrome

ACTRESS

• Davika Hoorne, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Lalita Panyopas, Prayoke Sanya Rak
• Patcha Poonpiriya, Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy
• Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, Hashima Project
• Suthata Udomsilp, Last Summer

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Pongsathorn Jongwilas, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Nattapong Chartpong, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Auttarut Kongrasri, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chaiyapol Julien Poupart, Jan Dara: The Finale
• Nutthasit Kotimanuswanich, Tang Wong

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Bongkot Kongmalai, Nang Fah (Angels)
• Ratha Pho-ngam, Nang Fah (Angels)
• Chonnikan Netjui, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Laknara Piatha, Grean Fictions
• Jenjira Jamniansri, Grean Fictions

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Narupon Chokkanapitak, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Sayompoo Mukdeeprom, Last Summer
• Pairach Khumwan, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Panom Promchat, Jan Dara: The Finale
• MR Umpornpol Yugala and Saran Srisingchai, Tang Wong

FILM EDITING

• Thammarat Sumethsupachok, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chonlasit Upanigkit, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Max Tersch, Paradoxocracy
• Manussa Warasingha and Kamonthorn Ekwattanakit, Tang Wong
• Chookiat Sakveerakul and Jirasak Jakrawan, Grean Fictions

RECORDING AND SOUND MIXING

• Kantana Sound Studio, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Ram Indra Sound Mixing Studio, Tom-Yum-Goong 2
• Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr, Paisit Panpruegsachart and Teekhadet Vucharadhanin, Tang Wong
• Jettapol Khan, Body Slam Nang Len
• Kantana Sound Studio, Grean Fictions

ORIGINAL SONG

• Sao Karaoke, Namfon Pakdee, Karaoke Girl
• Hideko, Yusuke Namikawa, Koo Kam
• Yuewya, Cin Thosaporn Achawanantakul, Last Summer
• Young Bao, Carabao
• Dad Lom Fon, Sua Krong Band, Grean Fictions

ORIGINAL SCORE

• Chatchai Pongprapapan and Hualampong Riddim, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Chatchai Pongprapapan, Jan Dara: The Finale
• Somsiri Sangkaew, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Chaibandit Peuchponsub, Apichai Tragoolpadetgrai and Yellow Fang, Tang Wong
• Hualampong Riddim and Wichaya Wattanasab, Last Summer

ART DIRECTION

• Akradej Kaewkote, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Patrick Meesaiyati, Jan Dara: The Finale
• Rasiguet Sookkarn, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy
• Rasiguet Sookkarn, Tang Wong
• Sarid Noomahan, Grean Fictions

COSTUME DESIGN

• Suthee Muanwaja, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Vorathon Krisanakalin, Koo Kam
• Athit Thriakittiwat, Jan Dara: The Finale
• Cattleya Paosrijaroen, Tang Wong
• Peem Umaree, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy

MAKEUP

• Pichet Wongjansom, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Amarit Chokprecha and Metapan Pitithanyapat, Last Summer
• Montri Watlaiad, Jan Dara: The Finale
• Montri Watlaiad, Koo Kam

VISUAL EFFECTS

• Oriental Post, Pee Mak Phra Khanong
• Sasee Company, Thongsuk 13
• Color Boy Film, Post Service, The Common Is, Aiyara Animation and Studio, Weative Studio and Kittipong Umplord, Koo Kam
• Surreal and Thossaporn Poonnart, Tom-Yum-Goong 2
• Kantana Post Production, Hashima Project

LPFF 2013 reviews: Grean Fictions, What's So Special About Rina?, Huk Aum Lum

Grean Fictions (เกรียนฟิคชั่น) – I somehow missed Grean Fictions when it was in Thai cinemas back in April. But I think it was probably better seen on the big outdoor screen in Luang Prabang than in some random cookie-cutter Bangkok mall multiplex.

The latest opus from Love of Siam director Chookiat Sakveerakul, Grean Fictions (the title is probably best translated as "punk fiction") is the sprawling, shaggy-dog tale of Chiang Mai schoolboys who upload their prank-filled phone-cam video clips to YouTube. But with a 133-minute running time that covers three years, there is much, much more to the story than that, with the focus on Chookiat's frequent touchstones of friendship, family ties and belonging. It was marketed as a teen comedy, but isn't.

The story centers on Tee and his crush on the school's prettiest, most virtuous girl, Ploydao, a diva in the drama club. A conflict between them develops when they act in one production. Later, Tee is betrayed, and feels angry. His home life is dysfunctional, and he runs away, falling asleep on the train and ending up in Pattaya with no money and no phone. He is taken under the wing of Mone, a biker dude with dyed blond hair. He brings Tee to dance with him in a Pattaya male strip club. Later, they join a comedy troupe. As the months pass, Tee's friends from school wonder what has happened to him.

The cast is particularly strong, with Pattadon "Fiat" Jan-ngern making an endearing screen debut as Tee and Kittisak "Jack" Patomburana as Mone. Wanida "Gybzy" Termthanaporn and her cut-off jeans shorts are lovingly captured. She's the wonderfully conflicted character Tip whose role in the film is hard to describe without ruining it for you. And Boriboon Chanreuang is a fun as the boys' goofball teacher who runs the film club. He has a thing for Tip that never really goes anywhere. Also, keep your eyes out for a barely recognizable Love of Siam star Witwisit Hiranyawongkul in a scene-stealing unbilled turn as a Pattaya gangster.

Thanks to the kids being in the drama club, there are many musical sequences, with the multi-talented Chookiat and his Studio Commuan team again showing off their songwriting abilities. They include Snow White and the Huntsman: The Musical. Given the popularity of Thai musical theater in Bangkok, perhaps Chookiat ought to consider making it for real. (4/5)

What's So Special About Rina? (Ada Apa Dengan Rina) – Brunei, an oil-rich Muslim-majority sultanate on the island of Borneo, is little known to folks in the film circle because very few films have been made there. What's So Special About Rina? should change that.  Directed by Harlif Haji Mohamad and Farid Azlan Ghani and produced by Harlif's wife Nurain Abdullah (she's actually Thai, originally hailing from Khon Kaen), What's So Special About Rina? firmly puts Brunei on the filmmaking map, allowing the Luang Prabang Film Festival to have a historic first with entries from all 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It's the first feature film from Brunei since 1968 and the very first in the native Brunei Malay dialect.

Another thing that most folks probably don't know about Brunei is that Bruneians can be funny, and What's So Special About Rina? is flat-out hilarious. The stylish romance comedy centers on a sad-sack advertising man named Hakim (Syukri Mahari) and his ladies-man roommate Faisal (an irrepressible Tauffek Ilyas). Hitting 30, the pressure is on Hakim to finally get married. Man-on-the-street interviews (okay, there are nice Muslim ladies as well) affirm what everyone in Brunei society thinks. "Oh, you're 30? When are you going to get a nice girl and settle down", etc., etc.

Shaven-headed smoothie Faisal, ever the player, somehow convinces Hakim that he is destined to marry a woman named Rina. And wouldn't you know it, the next day, a new marketing manager joins the firm. Her name? It's Rina (Dayangku Moniri Pengiran Mohiddin), of course. The pair do end up working closely together, and it seems Hakim's destiny will come true.

Meanwhile Faisal falls for a pretty waitress named Trini but must compete for her affections with a rotund Elvis impersonator. This leads to the two men competing on a TV talent show that's a showcase for Faisal's talent as a dangdut singer. That's the popular Indian-flavored Indonesian music genre that gets toes tapping.

Reflective moments lead to many fantasy asides, and at times it's hard to tell fantasy from reality. There are also animated flourishes, such as Rina blowing cartoon flowers. Another scene has a guy's eyes popping out of a pair of binoculars, Tex Avery style.

Harliff Haji Mohamad says his biggest influence was perhaps the Farrelly Brothers' comedy There's Something About Mary, and the riotous humor is much the same, though obviously without all the gross-out stuff. He and his wife run Regal Blue Production and have been working in television for more than 10 years. Having tackled their first feature film, and made fans with an easygoing comedy, they next plan to to do drama. And they say other filmmakers in Brunei have been encouraged by the success of Rina, which had sell-out runs in local cinemas and won an award at an Asean film fest earlier this year. (4/5)

Huk Aum Lum – Commercial filmmaking has only recently emerged in Laos, and the results have been hit and miss with mostly misses. But one outfit that has demonstrated its reliability to produce quality work is the young folks behind Lao New Wave Cinema.

The enjoyable country comedy Huk Aum Lum is their second feature. It follows Anysay Keola's At the Horizon, the first Lao thriller.

Directed by Phanumad Disattha (Anysay is still behind the scenes, taking a credit as editor), Huk Aum Lum follows the exploits of a famous singer (Athisak "Sacky" Ratanawong) when he returns to his rural home village and tries to woo back his old girlfriend (Phailinda Philavan). It's the kind of hayseed humor that Lao people have been laughing at for years, only they were all Thai films from the likes of Isaan comedians Mum Jokmok and Thep Pho-ngam. With Huk AUm Lum, everything clicks into place, with polished production values.

Huk Aum Lum has proven be a great experiment for Lao New Wave Cinema. After its run in Laos' one or two working cinemas, they tried a number of distribution platforms. It's been a huge challenge because Laos has no official film distribution channels – the only way to buy film DVDs is from pirate dealers. They released a low-cost DVD in a plastic sleeve just like the pirated discs, but vendors balked because the price was slightly higher than pirated movies. So they had to put it in a plastic DVD box. There's also a special edition DVD, with various extras. They even did a Vimeo on Demand release, hoping to capture the overseas Laos market, but it fared poorly. Turns out the older Lao overseas folk are more used to old-fashioned soap operas, and younger Laotian expats have been so thoroughly Westernized they weren't buying either. Huk Aum Lum was also released in Thailand, but wasn't heavily marketed, so it didn't do as well as they expected. (3/5)

Brunei enters the picture at Luang Prabang Film Festival

In a historic first, all 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be represented at next weekend’s Luang Prabang Film Festival, which has completed its schedule.

With all the other Asean countries involved in filmmaking – Laos stepped up production in just the past few years – only Brunei has been left out of the spotlight.

But now the sultanate on the island of Borneo has produced its first feature film since 1968 – Ada Apa Dengan Rina, aka What’s So Special About Rina?

“This is the first time we have ever been able to showcase films from all of the Asean countries, as Brunei never had anything to submit,” festival director Gabriel Kuperman says.

Rina, the first feature in the Brunei Malay dialect, is a romantic comedy about a 30-year-old man named Faisal who is still searching for his true love. Turns out the perfect girl is a work colleague, but winning Rina’s heart won’t be easy.

Featuring an all-Brunei cast and crew, Ada Apa Dengan Rina was shown Brunei cinemas in February. It also screened at this year’s Asean International Film Festival and Awards in Kuching, Malaysia, and won a special jury prize.

Directed by Harlif Haji Mohamad and Farid Azlan Ghani, it’s among the highlights of the Luang Prabang Film Festival’s screenings at the Amantaka, a five-star hotel that is back as the festival’s daytime venue.

There were persistant technical problems with the daytime screenings last year, but Kuperman says it’ll be better this year with the movies projected from a file on a hard drive that will be looked after by the festival staff. It should be a vast improvement over the previous unreliable method, which involved a balky DVD player attached to a TV and no one around to fix things when it broke, which was often.

What Kuperman is really excited about is the number of filmmakers and celebrities who will be coming to the festival.

“More than half of our feature-length films will have filmmakers in attendance, more than we have ever had,” he says.

Among them will be Thailand’s Chookiat Sakveerakul, who has two films in the fest, the teen comedy Grean Fictions, which is showing in the home of the festival’s now-iconic blue plastic chairs – the big outdoor screen in the 1,000-person-capacity Handicraft Market. It’s where the popular crowd-pleasing films are shown. Meanwhile, Chookiat’s three-segment family drama Home, which covers several thorny topics, will be featured indoors, where the audience is smaller, with around 40 seats.

Joining Chookiat on his Lao sojourn will be his Love of Siam star Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, who also appears in Home, and Kittisak Phatomburana from Home and Grean Fictions.

Chookiat will take part in “Distribution Methods in Southeast Asia”, talking about getting his films out there with Indonesian director Dwi Sujanti Nugraheni, whose documentary Denok and Gareng is featured this year. Others panellists will be Lao director Anysay Keola, Hong Kong film critic Clarence Tsui and Vietnamese producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc.

Another panel talk will cover a subject that's near and dear to the hearts of Southeast Asian film folk, “Fund-raising for Low-Budget Filmmaking”, with Thailand’s Nontawat Numbenchapol taking part. His Thai-Cambodian border documentary Boundary is another “indoor” movie. Others joining the talk will be Filipino critic Oggs Cruz, Vietnamese director Siu Pham, whose Here ... or There? is showing, Cambodian producer Fatily Sa and Lao filmmaker Vannapone Sittirath.

And Phil Jablon, the American scholar behind the Southeast Asia Movie Theatre Project, will show his photos and give a talk about the cultural significance of saving what remains of the region’s landmark single-screen cinemas, such as the Scala in Bangkok.

The world premieres of two Lao movies take centerstage at this year’s fest. The boxing drama Big Heart directed by Mattiphob Douangmyxay is the opening film. The other is I Love Savanh by Bounthong Nhotmanhkong, about a Japanese expat falling for a traditional cloth weaver.

Another intriguing title is 13.00 Sunday, a Thai-Lao mystery by Bis Srikasem and Pume Peerabun, about a hospital where deaths occur at exactly an hour after noon on Sundays. Not taking any chances, the festival is screening it outdoors at 9pm on a Tuesday.

Thai films are always a big hit with the Luang Prabang crowd. Among them will be the lively comedy-drama Tang Wong, which will give folks in the Handicraft Market a chance to laugh at how Bangkok schoolboys can’t master a traditional dance. Director Kongdej Jaturanrasamee will be on hand for that, and he’ll take questions after an indoor screening of another of his films, the weird and subversive pyscho-drama P-047.

Another Thai pick for the outdoor screen is Karaoke Girl, with director Visra Vichet-Vadakan on hand to see the response to her hybrid documentary-drama about a young woman caught up in the seedy (but beautifully filmed) world of Bangkok’s hostess bar scene.

In all, there’s 28 features, screening from 10am indoors and then two outdoor shows each night from 7, along with live performances.

If that’s not enough, the festival’s centre offers dozens upon dozens more films, including a “best of” programme from the Vientianale shorts fest and documentaries from Indonesia’s Chopshots. And nearly a dozen more venues around town are also showing films as a sidebar to the fest.

The Luang Prabang Film Festival runs from December 7 to 11. All screenings and activities are free and open to the public. For more details, see www.LPFilmFest.org or Facebook.com/lpfilmfest.

Also, check out the festival teaser, embedded below.



(Cross-published in The Nation)

Lao premieres, Home, Boundary and River Changes Course among highlights at 2013 Luang Prabang fest

With his lineup released last week, Luang Prabang Film Festival director Gabriel Kuperman revealed a few of his highlights in an article in The Nation today. Here's the details:

The opening film will be Big Heart, directed by Laos' Mattiphob Douangmyxay. It's about a young boxer overcoming personal obstacles while falling in love.

The other Lao premiere will be I Love Savanh by Bounthong Nhotmanhkong. It's about a Japanese expat working in southern Laos and taking romantic interest in a weaver.

"These impressive titles are the feature film debuts for both directors, and both show incredible promise for the filmmakers," Kuperman says.

Other highlights are two films by acclaimed Love of Siam director Chookiat Sakveerakul. He's expected be on hand to present his award-winning Chiang Mai-set drama Home as well as his teen comedy Grean Fictions.

Noted Thai indie filmmaker Nontawat Numbenchapol will also be there, showing his documentary Boundary, covering the Thai-Cambodian border dispute around the Preah Vihear temple.

More views from across the border come from Cambodian genocide survivor and activist Youk Chhang, who will present A River Changes Course, which won the World Cinema Jury Prize at this year's Sundance festival. Directed by Kalyanee Mam and produced by Chhang's Documentation Centre Cambodia, it's a look at how the country's ancient culture and fragile environment is being devastated by globalisation.

And from Vietnam, Thi Nhung Mello-Pham will present Here ... or There? At age 65, she's made her debut feature, a semi-autobiographical drama about a Vietnamese woman who retires with her European husband to a remote Vietnamese fishing village.

Also peppered in there as possibilities for the main screen are Pen-ek Ratanaruang's hitman thriller Headshot (though with its gun-toting monk maybe not on the main screen), Visra Vichet-Vadakan's Karaoke Girl and a two-pack from Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, P-047, which I'm not sure what they'll make of in Laos, and his more-accessible teen drama Tang Wong.

The Luang Prabang Film Festival runs from December 7 to 11.