Producer David Cluck was in Ferrara, and he picked up the Golden Dragon Award for Best Director for Spurrier. The attractive trophy now occupies a newly installed shelf in Spurrier's Friese-Greene Club in Bangkok. Perhaps more shelves for more trophies will be put up.
Meanwhile, Spurrier says he's submitted the film to the Thai Culture Ministry's ratings/censorship process and awaits word of whether he'll be able to show The Forest in the country where it was made.
And now some news about one of my favorite film festivals that I've never been to – the New York Asian Film Festival. After recent years of programming not so terribly much in the way of Southeast Asian films, the NYAFF has loaded up with a decent selection from the region, including two Thai films, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's Heart Attack (known in Thailand as Freelance .. Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More, ฟรีแลนซ์.. ห้ามป่วย ห้ามพัก ห้ามรักหมอ) and Grace, which was released in January as Awasarn Loke Suay (อวสานโลกสวย).
Heart Attack – that's Nawapol's original and preferred title – is the multi-award-winning comedy-drama about a freelance graphic artist who works too hard and comes down with a rash. He's treated by a young female internist at a public hospital. She is working through her own issues.
A sprawling piece of quirk, Heart Attack humorously comments on many, many aspects of Thai society, and is wholly a Nawapol indie joint, just with the addition of marquee-name stars and marketing muscle from the studio GTH, which broke up toward the end of last year and then reformed (minus one partner) as GDH 559. They will be back in action shortly with a new slate of films.
Grace, an indie effort that was released by Kantana Motion Pictures is a pulpy exploitation story of an Internet idol, played with gusto by Thai indie-film darling Apinya Sakuljareonsuk. She turns murderous when her status as the Thailand's Top Net Idol is threatened by young upstarts. Two versions were supposedly released in Thai cinemas, one as an 18+ that anybody could see and another with the restrictive 20- rating, which you're supposed to show an I.D. to see. I saw the 20- one and I guess it must have really freaked me out, because I never got around to writing a review.
Saipan Apinya, a fierce, hard-working young actress whose break-out role was in Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Ploy, will put in an appearance at the NYAFF, which runs until July 9, so ask her questions if you dare.
Pimpaka Towira, second from left, at the HKIFF Awards Gala with, from left, Lam Kam‐po, Anita Piotrowska and Stephen Teo.
Keith Barclay is editor of the New Zealand film industry publication Screenz. A sponsored journalist covering Filmart, he offers Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal tailored coverage of Filmart, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, the Asian Film Awards and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
As the Hong Kong International Film Festival closed, Thai filmmaker Pimpaka Towira took two awards at the festival's gala night on Saturday.
When Pimpaka's The Island Funeral (มหาสมุทรและสุสาน, Maha Samut Lae Susaan) had its world premiere at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival it was awarded the Asian Future Best Film Award. On Saturday evening in Hong Kong, it added the Fipresci Prize at the Hong Kong fest. The Fipresci Prize, a film-critics' honor presented at several festivals with a strong focus on Asian cinema, promotes Asian filmmaking.
Since its Tokyo premiere The Island Funeral has played a number of festivals and will head to the Buenos Aires Film Festival later this month.
As well as taking the Fipresci Award, Pimpaka picked up a second award in Hong Kong, for her short Prelude to the General (Nimit Luang). Premiered at this year's Berlinale in February, Prelude took the Jury Prize in the HKIFF's short film competition. It is a spin-off project of Pimpaka's upcoming feature The General's Secret. Portuguese director Leonor Teles' Batrachian’s Ballad won the short film competition.
The HKIFF presented awards for three competitive line-ups, Young Cinema, Documentary and Short Films, plus two other juried awards – the Fipresci and Signis awards. All together, the HKIFF presented more than 280 titles from more than 50 countries, selling more than 600,000 tickets.
Actor Jason Young from F. Hilaire presents the Best Documentary award for The Songs of Rice to producer Pimpaka Towira and director-cinematographer Uruphong Raksasad. Nation photo by Rachanon Intharagsa
Freelance .. Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More (ฟรีแลนซ์.. ห้ามป่วย ห้ามพัก ห้ามรักหมอ a.k.a. Heart Attack) is continuing its prize-winning run of Thailand's film and entertainment awards.
On Wednesday, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s hard-working comedy-drama took six prizes in Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards, including Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Supporting Actress.
Another major winner was The Blue Hour (Onthakan, อนธการ), It was the leading nominee with 11 nods. The dark gay thriller, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival last year and was recently issued on DVD in the U.S., won awards for Best Editing, Production Design and Best Score. And director and co-writer Anucha Boonyawatana was given a special prize, the Young Filmmaker Award.
Uruphong Raksasad repeated his success with his documentary The Songs of Rice (เพลงของข้าว, Pleng Khong Kao). He won Best Documentary and Best Cinematography for his poetic portrait of rice cultivation across Thailand, the same prizes he won at the Subhanahongsa Awards. Producer Pimpaka Towira joined him on stage to collect the acrylic trophy.
And another favorite of Thai critics, P'Chai My Hero a.k.a. How to Win at Checkers (Every Time), picked up one prize, best supporting actor for Thira Chutikul, who played the gay older brother of the movie's 11-year-old lead character. The child star Ingkarat Damrongsakkul had won the supporting actor prize at the Subhanahongsas.
The success for Freelance follows a major haul of Golden Swan trophies at the film industry's Subhanahongsa Awards, where it won eight prizes. Freelance, or rather Heart Attack as its known internationally, has also collected prizes on the film festival circuit, winning the ABC Award for the most entertaining film at the recent Osaka Asian Film Festival. The Nation had more on that.
There's also the Kom Chad Luek Awards, an entertainment kudos ceremony put on for 13 years now by Nation Multimedia and covering film, television and music. It awarded Freelance five prizes – Best Film, Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress and Best Actor. Thira Chutikul of P'Chai My Hero got the supporting actor trophy and bouquet while Anucha and The Blue Hour were upset winners in the Best Director category.
Three winning men at the Critics Awards, from left, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and Sunny Suwanmethanon from Freelance and Thira Chutikul of P'Chai My Hero. Nation photo by Rachanon Intharagsa
Best Film: Freelance Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More (Heart Attack)
Best Director: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Freelance
Best Actor: Sunny Suwanmethanon, Freelance
Best Actress: Davika Hoorne, Freelance
Best Supporting Actor: Thira Chutikul, P'Chai My Hero
Best Supporting Actress: Violette Wautier, Freelance
Best Screenplay: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Freelance
Best Editing: Chonlasit Upanigkit and Anuphap Autta, The Blue Hour
Best Cinematography: Uruphong Raksasad, Phleng Khong Khao (The Songs of Rice)
Best Production Design: Phairot Siriwath and Vitune Tulakorn, The Blue Hour
Best Original Score: Chupvit Temnithikul, The Blue Hour
Best Song: Sud Sai Ta from The Down
Best Documentary: The Songs of Rice
Young Filmmaker Award: Anucha Boonyawatana, The Blue Hour
Lifetime Achievement Awards: Marasri Israngkool Na Ayuthaya and Sompong Wongrakthai
Shu Qui won best actress for The Assassin, which won nine prizes in all.
Keith Barclay is editor of the New Zealand film industry publication Screenz. A sponsored journalist covering Filmart, he offers Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal tailored coverage of Filmart, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum and the Asian Film Awards.
Story and photos by Keith Barclay
Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Assassin was a favorite going into the evening, and left the Asian Film Awards with nine awards including Best Picture, Director and Actress.
The film has been a regular awardee at festivals since it premiered at Cannes last year, where Hou took the Best Director award. the winner of the Lifetime Achievement award at the Asian Film Awards two years ago, Hou wasn't present at the AFA ceremony in Macau, although impressively he was the evening's only absent winner.
Thirty-six films from 10 countries had gone into the AFA ceremony clutching 77 nominations for the 15 juried awards. Coming out at the end of the evening, seven titles had won something, with only The Assassin and Hong Kong feature Port of Call left clutching more than one gong.
Speaking before the event, Best Actor winner Lee Hyung-bun was asked about the diversity challenges facing the Academy in America. Lee said, "It's not only African Americans' problem. I think respect should be given to all races."
The only Thai nominee, Waruntorn Paonil, was up for the Newcomer award for her lead performance in Snap but missed out to Jessie Li from Port of Call. On the red carpet, Paonil had a brief chat with the Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal correspondent. She shared that since the premiere of Snap at the Tokyo International Film Festival late last year, she's been strongly focused on her singing, and releasing single "Insomnia", without any film projects in the near future.
While Snap has now completed its theatrical release, a book of behind-the-scenes images and information about the film will be published next month.
Musician-actress Waruntorn Paonil was a best newcomer nominee for Snap.
On the 10th edition of the AFAs, there were more honorary awards presented than usual. While they're not competitive, the selections contributed to a sense that the region's three major players hold a pretty tight grip on the trophies. Including the honorary gongs only one of over 20 awards went to someone from beyond China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan and South Korea.
Korean actress Clara Lee, named a Rising Star the previous evening by the AFAA, hosted the awards.
Begun in 2007 by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Asian Film Awards is now run by the Asian Film Awards Academy, founded by three of the region's major festivals – Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Here are the winners:
Best film: The Assassin
Best director: Hou Hsiao-hsien, The Assassin
Best screenplay: Jia Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart (France/Japan/China)
Best actor: Lee Byung-hun, Inside Men (South Korea)
Best actress: Shu Qi, The Assassin
Best newcomer: Jessie Li, Port of Call (Hong Kong)
Best supporting actor: Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore (France/Japan)
Best supporting actress: Zhou Yun, The Assassin
Best production design: Hwarng Wern-Ying, The Assassin
Best costume design: Lee Ji-yeon, Shim Hyun-seob, The Throne (South Korea)
Best original music: Lim Giong, The Assassin
Best sound: Chu Shih-Yi, Tu Duu-Chih, Wu Shu-Yao, The Assassin
Best visual effects: Prasad Sutar,Bajirao Mastani (India)
Best editing: Port of Call (Hong Kong)
Best cinematography: Mark Lee Ping-Bing, The Assassin (Hong Kong/China/Taiwan)
Lifetime achievement award: Kirin Kiki and Yuen Wo-ping
Asian Box Office Award: Monster Hunt, directed by Raman Hui (China)
Rising Stars: Clara Lee (South Korea) and Pakho Chau (Hong Kong)
New Generation: Yoo Ah-in (South Korea)
Outstanding Contribution to Asian Cinema: Li Qian-kuan (China)
AFA 10th Anniversary Special Award: Feng Xiaogang (China)
Japanese actress Kirin Kiki received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lee Chatametikool, right, hands over the White Light Post-Production Award to makers of the Vietnamese film The Third Wife.
Keith Barclay is editor of the New Zealand film industry publication Screenz. A sponsored journalist covering Filmart, he offers Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal tailored coverage of Filmart, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum and the Asian Film Awards.
Story and photo by Keith Barclay
The 14th edition of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) handed out 14 awards, although not to 14 filmmakers as a number of projects got to visit the stage more than once.
Thai Director Rooth Tang's March April May didn't win an award, but that didn't make the event a failure for him. Bangkok post-production facility White Light sponsored one of the awards, which was won by Vietnamese director Nguyen Phuong Anh's The Third Wife. Nguyen's project also won the headline HAF award.
HAF received a record 350+ project submissions, naming 31 from 15 countries and regions for this year's edition. Not all projects are eligible for consideration for all prizes, but the value of the awards was almost HK$1.5 million in cash and in-kind services.
Organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, the event saw the festival's former vice chair return for a second year running. Taiwanese actress, director and producer Sylvia Chang last year opened the HKIFF with Murmurs of the Heart. This year, René Liu's Lieutenant Yi, produced by Chang, took HAF's Wanda Film Award.
Other well-known filmmakers visiting the podium were Filipino Lav Diaz, whose A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery recently won a Silver Bear at the Berlinale. In Hong Kong, Diaz's project When the Waves are Gone took HAF's Paris Coproduction Village Award, which will send him back to Europe for the Champs-Elysèes Film Festival's project market.
Three projects took two awards each. Wang Bing's Hong Kong-China documentary project Border Bride took the Fushan award for development and G2D award for post; Wen Muye's China project Dying to Survive took the Artention incubator and iQIYI special awards.
Film financing forum/project market HAF (14 – 16 March), ran as part of the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo, which also includes FILMART (14 – 17 March), and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (21 March – 4 April).
The HAF Awards were presented 16 March in Hong Kong. The winners were:
HAF Awards
Presented by Create Hong Kong, Hong Kong Film Development Fund and the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). Two cash awards of HK$150,000 (approx. US$19,350)
Hong Kong project award: Vampire Diary, Director Anthony Yan and Hang Chiu, Producer Ha Yu and Mani Man
Hong Kong International project award: The Third Wife (working title), Director Nguyen Phuong Anh, Producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, Vietnam
iQIYI Special Award
Cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,900) to encourage and support young film talents from Chinese speaking territories
Dying to Survive, Director Wen Muye, Producer Ning Hao, China
HAF/Fox Chinese Film Development Award
Cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,900) to encourage the development of Chinese-language cinema
Brothers, Director Jong Yu, Producer Jin Ong and Roland Lee, Malaysia
HAF Script Development Fund
Cash award of US$10,000 (approx. HK$77,500) to encourage Chinese-language scripts
Heavy Craving, Writer/Director Pei-Ju Hsieh, Producer Jing Wang
Wanda Film Award
Cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,900) to a Chinese-language feature film project for its originality and creativity
Lieutenant Yi, Director René Liu, Producer Sylvia Chang and Patricia Cheng Lai-chan, Taiwan
Fushan Documentary Award
Cash award of HK$100,000 (approx. US$12,900) for development of a documentary feature
Border Bride, Director WANG Bing, Producer Isabelle GLACHANT, Hong Kong, China
Wouter Barendrecht Award
Cash award of HK$50,000 (approx. US$6,450), dedicated to the memory of the late Wouter Barendrecht, one of the founders of HAF and Fortissimo Films
Inking a Last Masterpiece, Director Uchijima Usuke, Producer Kawabata Kohei, Japan
The Artention Film Award
Cash award of HK$50,000 (approx. US$6,450) to encourage projects that exhibit high artistic and commercial potential. Winner will also receive priority entry into Artention Film Incubator
Dying to Survive, Director Wen Muye, Producer Ning Hao, China
Paris Coproduction Village Award
In-kind award of Euro 4,000 (approx. HK$36,000) for a round-trip ticket to participate in the Paris Coproduction Village of Champs-Elysèes Film Festival 2016
When the Waves are Gone, Director Lav Diaz, Producer Bianca Balbuena and Bradley Liew, The Philippines
Network of Asian Fantastic Films Award
In-kind award of US$2,700 (approx. HK$20,900) for a round-trip ticket and hotel accommodation to the filmmaker whose project is selected for NAFF
Hypnotize the Jury, Director Paul Sze Pak-lam and Kenneth Lai Siu-kwan, Producer Tin Kai-man, Hong Kong
Wutianming Post Production Award
In-kind award of RMB 300,000 (approx. HK$350,400) for a selected HAF Chinese project to receive post-production services at Wutianming's post-production base in Tianjin
Lhamo and Skalbe, Director Sonthar Gyal, Producer Sonam Rinchen Gyal, China
White Light Post-Production Award
In-kind award of US$15,000 (approx. HK$116,200) for post-production services by White Light Studio in Bangkok
The Third Wife (working title), Director Nguyen Phuong Anh, Producer Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, Vietnam
G2D Post-Production Award
In-kind award of US$10,000 (approx.HK$77,500) for post-production works at G2D in Bangkok
Border Bride, Director Wang Bing, Producer Isabelle Glachant, Hong Kong, China
Subhanahongsa winners, from left, Best Supporting Actress Violette Wautier, Best Actor Sunny Suwanmethanon, Best Actress Davika Hoorne, Best Director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit of Freelance and Best Supporting Actor Ingkarat Damrongsakkul of P’Chai My Hero. Nation photo by Chalinee Thirasupa.
Like pimples on its main character's back, more trophies are popping up for Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and Freelance Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More (Heart Attack).
The indie writer-director's first directorial effort with a big studio swept up most of the prizes at the 25th Subhanahongsa Awards, the Thailand National Film Association Awards or Golden Swan Awards, which are Thailand's industry equivalent of the Oscars.
Freelance won best film and best director. Sunny Suwanmethanon was named best actor for his role as a freelance graphic artist who works so hard he comes down with a rash. Davika Hoorne took the best actress prize for her turn as the achingly lonely young resident physician at a public hospital who treats Sunny's overworked worker. And Violette Wautier took the supporting actress prize for her disarmingly droll turn as Sunny's character's graphic-arts agent and best friend.
Freelance also took the prizes for best editing (by up-and-coming young filmmaker Chonlasit Upanigkit, who also edited Nawapol's Mary Is Happy and 36, and was a double nominee this year for editing The Blue Hour).
But the screenplay prize was split between Freelance and another leading nominee and critical favorite, indie writer-director Kongdej Jaturanrasmee's Snap.
The tie was the likely result of an experimental new voting system instituted for the awards by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand. The Nation has more on that.
Snap also won for Recording and Sound Mixing (by Sarawut Phantha and Akrichalerm Kalayanamitr) and Art Direction by Rasiguet Sookkarn (another up-and-coming young filmmaker).
Another leading nominee was the indie coming-of-age comedy-drama How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) a.k.a. P'Chai My Hero. It won the supporting actor trophy for the remarkable performance by child actor Ingkarat Damrongsakkul, who was essentially playing the lead.
And much-deserved kudos were given to Uruphong Raksasad for The Songs of Rice, which won best documentary and, of course, best cinematography.
Another winner was the teen horror thriller Runpee, which shared the best song prize and won for visual effects. The movie marked the return to the industry by veteran director Wisit Sasanatieng.
Here's the list of winners:
Best Film: Freelance Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More
Best Director: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Freelance
Best Actor: Sunny Suwanmethanon, Freelance
Best Actress: Davika Hoorne, Freelance
Best Supporting Actor: Ingkarat Damrongsakkul, P’Chai My Hero
Best Supporting Actress: Violette Wautier Freelance
Best Screenplay: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Snap, and Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Freelance
Best Film Editing: Chonlasit Upanigkit, Freelance
Best Cinematography: Uruphong Raksasad, Phleng Khong Khao (The Songs of Rice)
Best Recording and Sound Mixing: Sarawut Phantha, Akrichalerm Kalayanamitr, Snap
Best Art Direction: Rasiguet Sookkarn, Snap
Best Original Score: Hualampong Riddim, Freelance
Best Song: Ther Dern Khao Ma from Runpee and Sud Sai Ta from The Down
Best Documentary: The Songs of Rice
Best Costume Design: Sukanya Maruangpradit, F Hiliare
Best Make Up Effects: Methaphan Pitithunyapat, Phi Ha Ayothaya
Best Visual Effects: Alternat Studio, Runpee
Best Documentary: Songs of Rice
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jaroen "See Thao" Petchjaroen
The winners of the Thai Film Director Assocation. Photo via TFDA, used by permission.
The Thai Film Director Association (สมาคมผู้กำกับภาพยนตร์ไทย) points the way when it comes to film awards in Thailand, officially kicking off the Kingdom's film-kudos season last Sunday by awarding five of its prizes – best film, best director, best actor, best actress and best supporting actress – to Freelance.
Writer-director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and actress Davika Hoorne were among the figures on hand to grab the attractive trophy, which is in the shape of the TFDA logo, a hand with a pointing finger.
Other prizes in the sixth edition of the TFDA Awards went to May Who? – the last feature from GTH before it broke up and reformed as GDH 559 – and Snap.
Runner-up certificates included the indie brotherhood drama How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) for best film and Kongdej Jaturanrasmee was awarded runner-up best director for his indie romance Snap.
The indie thriller The Blue Hour (Onthakarn), the M-Thirtynine comedy Miss Happy and Sahamongkol's giant snake drama Mae Bia also collected certificates.
In addition, the TFDA also recognizes the best assistant directors, with the crews from Freelance and Snap getting pats on their backs. For Nawapol, they were first assistant directof Parama Malakul Na Ayutthaya and second Ad Therawit Srisiri. Kongdej's team were 1st AD Pipat Jomkoh with Tippawan Narintorn and Kanachat Limthammahisorn as 2nd and 3rd AD.
Here's the list of other winners:
Best Film: Heart Attack (Freelance)
Runner-up best film: How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) a.k.a. P'Chai My Hero)
Best Director: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Heart Attack (Freelance)
Runner-up best director: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Snap
Best Actor: Sunny Suwanmethanon, Heart Attack
Runner-up best actor: Toni Rakkaen, Snap
Best Actress: Davika Hoorne, Heart Attack (Freelance)
Runner-up best actress: Sutatta Udomsilp, May Nhai (May Who?)
Best Supporting Actor: Thanapob Leeratanakajorn May Nhai (May Who?)
Runner-up best supporting actors: "Ben" Chalatit Tantiwut, Miss Happy (Paa Happy She Taa Yuh and Oabnithi Wiwattanawarang, The Blue Hour
Best Supporting Actress: Violette Wautier, Heart Attack (Freelance)
Runner-up best supporting actress: Arpa Pawilai (Mae Bia)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jazzsiam (Silhouette of God a.k.a. Kon Song Jao)
Hollywood's awards season is over, with the awarding of the Oscars on Sunday night. But now the Thai film scene is gearing up for its own onslaught of trophies, with nominees listed for two major awards, the industry's own Subhanahongsa Awards (รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์), put on by the Federation of Film Associations of Thailand, and the Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards (ชมรมวิจารณ์บันเทิง).
The Subhanahongsa Golden Swan trophies will be given out on March 13 at the Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre in Siam Square One, while the Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards will held on March 23 at the Royal Thai Army Club.
Ready for this? Here are the nominees for both awards.
25th Thailand National Film Assocation Awards nominees
Best Film
Snap
P’Chai My Hero
Freelance Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More
Arpatti
Onthakan
Best Director
Josh Kim, P’Chai My Hero
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Freelance
Anucha Boonyawatana, The Blue Hour
Chayanop Boonpakob, May Nhai
Best Actor
Sunny Suwanmethanon, Freelance
Toni Rakkaen, Snap
Thiti Mahayotharak, May Nhai?
Atthaphan Poonsawas, Onthakan
Thira Chutikul, P’Chai My Hero
Best Actress
Davika Hoorne, Freelance
Ploy Sornnarin, Arpatti
Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul, 2538 Alter Ma Jive
Waruntorn Paonil, Snap
Sutatta Udomsilp, May Nhai
Best Supporting Actor
Krisana Panpeng, Snap
Torpong Chantabubpha, Freelance
Ingkarat Damrongsakkul, P’Chai My Hero
Thanapop Leeratanakajorn, May Nhai
Obnithi Wiwatanawarang Onthakan
Sorapong Chatree, Arpatti
Best Supporting Actress
Duangjai Hiransri, Onthakan
Nareekul ketprapakorn, May Nhai
Pympan Chalayanacupt, Arpatti
Violette Wautier, Freelance
Arpa Phawilai, Mae Bia
Best Screenplay
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, Snap
Josh Kim, P’Chai My Hero
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Freelance
Anucha Boonyawatana and Wasuthep Ketpetch, Onthakan
Chayanop Boonpakob, Vasuthorn Piyarom, Nottapon Boonprakob, Thodsapon Thiptinnakor, May Nhai
Best Editing
Kamontorn Ekwatanakij, P’Chai My Hero
Chonlasit Upanigkit, Freelance
Panayu Kunvanlee, May Nhai
Chonlasit Upanigkit and Anuphap Autta, The Blue Hour
Kamontorn Ekwatanakij and Manussa Worrasingh, Snap
Best Cinematography
Charnkit Chamnivikaipong, F Hiliare
Uruphong Raksasad, Phleng Khong Khao (The Songs of Rice)
Niramol Ross, Freelance
Chaiyaphruk Chalermpornpanich and Kamonphan Ngewthong, Onthakan
She’s joined the seasonal migration of Thai indie filmmakers, who each winter fly to such frigid northern cities as Rotterdam, Berlin and Goteborg, Sweden, where they are mated with funding, awards and critical acclaim. They then return to Thailand, where they further propagate the species.
In addition to the Bright Future section at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Pimpaka will show The Island Funeral in Goteborg, where it is in competition for the Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award. Like Tokyo’s Asian Future Award, the Bergman prize is for filmmakers making their first or second feature, and Island Funeral, which is Pimpaka’s second drama film and has been eight years in the making, definitely qualifies. The Goteborg fest runs until February 8.
Starring Actors’ Studio-trained Heen Sasithorn, The Island Funeral is a road movie, covering the journey of a young Bangkok woman and her friends into the heart of Thailand’s restive Deep South.
Pimpaka might also be on the road to the Berlin International Film Festival, where to prove she has enough love in her heart to spread around, she has Prelude to the General, a short that that is spun from one of her many spinning plates, a work-in-progress feature called The General’s Secret (Kam Lub Khong Nai Phol), which she offered at the Thai Pitch in Cannes in 2013.
Perhaps she’ll stop by the Berlinale Talents Campus, where she’s a 2005 alumnae, and run into a few young filmmakers who look up to her as a mentor, including Thai indie director Sorayos “Minimal” Prapapan and Korean-American director Josh Kim, who broke into the Thai film industry last year with his debut feature How to Win at Checkers (Every Time), which garnered much acclaim when it premiered in Berlin last year. The Berlin fest runs from February 11 to 21.
Back in Rotterdam, Thai producer-director Anocha Suwichakornpong has arrived after a flight delayed by a psychotic passenger and a dented aircraft door kept her on the ground overnight in Warsaw. She’s there to be part of the jury for the Hivos Tiger Awards, of which she’s a past winner, for “Mundane History” in 2010. Rotterdam has been most kind to Thai films in past years, with other winners being Aditya Assarat with Wonderful Town in 2008, Sivaroj Kongsakul with Eternity in 2011 and Jakrawal Nilthamrong's Vanishing Point last year.
Among the entries to gander at this year will be Motel Mist, the debut feature of Prabda Yoon. A SEA Write Award-winning novelist, Prabda is best known in the movie world as the screenwriter of Pen-ek Ratanruang’s trippy 2003 classic Last Life in the Universe. His Motel Mist appears to be another existential freak-out, luridly taking place in the rooms of the Motel Mistress, an alien-looking love motel in Bangkok.
“Motel Mist was a film born out of a mixture of inspiration and frustration, but it was completed with great trust and support from a group of talented and devoted lovers of the cinematic art,” Prabda says in a press release from Thai film distributor Mosquito Films. “The film is about ‘otherness’ and ‘dislocation’ but the experience of making it has ironically given me the sense of acceptance and belonging. It’s been a very delightful and meaningful exercise.”
And if that’s not enough wonderful Thai weirdness for Rotterdam festival-goers, they can feast eyes on Painting with History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 3, a short film by artist Korakrit Arunanondchai that blends denim, drones and body paint. A crocodile is in the mix as well.
There's another Thai film in Rotterdam as well, but I will refrain from naming it.
In other festival news, director Tom Waller is continuing to win awards with his 2014 feature The Last Executioner, a biopic of Thai prison guard and executioner Chavoret Jaruboon. At the Dhaka International Film Festival recently, Waller was awarded Best Director, while Executioner leading man Vithaya Pansringarm shared the Best Actor prize with Iraqi’s Mahmoud Abu Abbas, who won for Samt Al Rai (Silence of the Shepherd), a slow-burn thriller by Raad Moshatat.
The Last Executioner was notably snubbed for the Thai film industry’s Subhanahongsa Awards last year, but won screenplay and best picture in the Surasawadee Awards, the long-running movie honors that’s also known as the Tukata Tong or Golden Doll Awards.
There is much more to report on the festival scene. Please be patient while I slowly catch up.
Sorayos Prapapan at the premiere of Vanishing Point at the Laem Thong Theatre in Klong Toey, Bangkok. Photo via Vanishing Point.
Sorayos Prapapan, an indie filmmaker who has made short films and has served on the crews of many indie features, has received a boost from the Rotterdam festival's Hubert Bals Fund for what could be his directorial feature debut, Arnold Is a Model Student.
Announced yesterday by the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Sorayos' Arnold is among winners in the Hubert Bals Fund's Fall 2015 selection round for the Script and Project Development Grant.
Sorayos, a graduate in film and photography from Thammasat University, has made critically acclaimed short films, among them the domestic-worker drama Boonrerm and the satiric Auntie Maam Has Never Had a Passport. Along with his short films, he has been a fixture on the festival and workshop circuit in recent years, attending Generation Campus 2013 in Moscow and the Asian Film Academy 2013 in Busan, among others.
He was a production assistant on Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Cannes Palme d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and has been a sound department hand on other films, including Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's 36. He also worked on Jakrawal Nilthamrong's Rotterdam prize-winner Vanishing Point, for which he did foley work.
Presenters Sofie Formica and Anthony Chen at the ninth Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane. Photo courtesy of APSA.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's much-acclaimed latest feature Cemetery of Splendour (รักที่ขอนแก่น, Rak Ti Khon Kaen) was named best feature film at the ninth Asia Pacific Screen Awards on Thursday night in Brisbane.
It's the second time a Thai film has won an award at the APSAs, an Australia-based ceremony that was first held in 2007. The awards recognize and promote cinematic excellence and cultural diversity of the world’s fastest-growing film region, which comprises 70 countries and areas, 4.5 billion people and is responsible for half of the world’s film output. In 2015, 39 films from 22 Asia Pacific countries and areas received APSA nominations.
Thailand's previous APSA winner was Uruphong Raksasad's Agrarian Utopia, which won the Unesco Award in 2009. A third Thai film, the documentary Citizen Juling, was also a nominee in 2009.
Cemetery of Splendour premiered to much acclaim in the Un Certain Regard section of this year's Cannes Film Festival. It has been a fixture on the circuit since then, with appearances that include the London film fest and the Pancevo Film Festival, where it shared the Lighthouse Award with Flotel Europa.
Closest Splendour is coming to Thailand this year appears to be the Singapore International Film Festival. Prospects for a Thai screening are uncertain or even unlikely, according to variousinterviews with the director.
Pimpaka Towira with her Asian Future Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Photo via The Nation.
Though she's been making films since the late 1990s, it's taken awhile for the men in charge of world cinema to get around to recognizing Pimpaka Towira, who was honored over the weekend at the Tokyo International Film Festival with the Asian Future Award for her new film The Island Funeral (มหาสมุทรและสุสาน, Maha Samut Lae Susaan).
Of course, Pimpaka has also been kept quite busy over the years making short films, producing films by other directors, lending her expertise to workshops and serving as a festival programmer, juror and panelist. The award for her new film seems quite overdue, but is still most welcome.
"I am so excited right now. The film took so many years to complete. I'd like to thank the Tokyo International Film Festival and all the crew and the actors who made the big effort until we could finish this project," Pimpaka said in her acceptance speech.
The film tells the story of Laila, a Muslim woman from Bangkok who travels to Pattani to meet her long lost aunt. "I was not sure initially as my film was different from other films, but the feedback from the audience was very nice," Pimpaka said later in an interview. After One Night Husband, which premiered in the Forum Section of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2003, she had to put in a lot of effort to make her second feature.
"During the production stages, I was not sure if this film was good enough. I had to revise the editing so many times. The award proves that at least the jury and the audience saw something in this film," said Pimpaka, whose film was praised by the jury for showing the landscape and politics of the country with strong cinematic language. The jury members were Olivier Pere, managing director of Arte France Cinema, Jacob Wong of the Hong Kong International Film Festival and Tatsushi Omori, director of the critically acclaimed Japanese film The Ravine of Goodbye.
Shot partially in Pattani with 16mm film, The Island Funeral went through a lot of problems and was almost left unfinished. "At one point, I didn’t feel like I wanted to finish the project. There were lots of problems, from myself, from the source of funding, and what happened around me, but in the end I made a decision to finish the film even though the result was unforeseeable."
The Island Funeralpremiered in Tokyo alongside another new Thai film, Kongdej Jaturanrasmee's Snap, which will open the upcoming 13th World Film Festival of Bangkok. Folks in Thailand will have to wait awhile for The Island Funeral though. Pimpaka and her team plan to tour the festival circuit for the next year or so, building up more anticipation for the film's eventual Thai release. There's more about the film in another article in The Nation.
Elsewhere in the festival world, the short film That Day of the Month was among the prize winners at the 19th edition of Queer Lisboa, which was held in September. Thanks to a Facebook reader for sending me the tip about this one.
Directed by Jirassaya Wongsutin, That Day of the Monthwas named the Queer Lisboa's best short film, winning a 1,500-euro prize and Portugal's RTP2 public TV channel picking up broadcast rights. Jirassaya had previously won the White Elephant Award for student films at last year's Thai Short Film and Video Festival.
Finally, here's news of an upcoming Thai film screening overseas – Bangkok in Motion, a short directed by Bangkok-based filmmaker Jimmie Wing – has been selected for the Toronto International Short Film Festival, which runs from November 11 to 13. It's a smoothly rolling portrait of Bangkok, shot from the perspective of a disabled cameraman in a wheelchair.
I found out about this one because Jimmie saw me at a film event, and actually walked over and spoke to me. He told me that his short film was going to be in the film festival in Toronto. So now I've reported that news here. Funny how that works.
The autumn film festival season is upon us, with Thai films highlighted in Busan, Tokyo and Taipei. I also have an item from late in the summer, of an award in Rio.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul will of course be taking part in that. He's among the festival's "Top 10 directors" and was also among the experts polled for the fest's "Asian Cinema 100", listing the 100 best Asian films of all time. The top 10 (actually 11) will screen at the fest.
And Apichatpong's latest feature, Cemetery of Splendour will screen at Busan as part of the Window on Asian Cinema. Splendour has been on a tear since taking the Cannes Film Festival by storm back in May, recently playing in Toronto and in New York.
Apichatpong also contributed to a new collection of short films for the Busan fest, Color of Asia – Masters, along with Naomi Kawase, Wang Xiaoshuai and Im Sang-soo. Apichatpong's short is called Vapour, "a lyrical piece absent of any dialogue". There's a trailer embedded below.
Busan also highlights newer talents with another shorts compilation, Color of Asia – Newcomers. Up-and-coming indie filmmaker Phuttiphong Aroonpheng is behind the segment titled Ferris Wheel, about a migrant-worker mother and her son attending a rural carnival and encountering a creepy stranger in a monkey costume. Again, there's a trailer for that one, and it's embedded below.
Beyond Splendour and the short films, Busan also has a couple of Thai documentaries. There is Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's talking-head parade The Master, which has Thai film luminaries reminiscing about Mr. Van, the guy who briefly ruled Bangkok's pirate-movie scene in the days before bittorrent. It was shopped at last year's Asian Project Market.
Aditya Assarat also looks into the Thai movie-going scene with The Scala, a 52-minute piece about Bangkok's endangered landmark Scala cinema. The link on the BIFF website sent me in a circle back to the homepage, so I turned to the director for help. He provided me with a PDF that details the Power of Asian Cinema project of the Korean Broadcast System and the Busan fest, which brought together 10 Asian directors to make documentaries for South Korean TV. All 10 will be shown during the festival. Aditya's short recalls his memories of the Scala. Here's the synopsis:
I always like to watch movies at The Scala. It reminds me of my childhood when all the cinemas in Bangkok were standalone cinemas. At the time, I never thought it was anything special. But now that I am older, I have become nostalgic. There are many things about it I wanted to document: the staff, who are all old now, the space, which is very beautiful, and the ideal, of movie-watching as a special event. In a way, The Scala is similar to all of us who persevere, despite the difficulties, to celebrate cinema in the way we remember it to be.
The Scala opened its doors in 1970. It had one thousand seats and every night, they were filled. In those days, going to the movies was something special. The cinema was a place where people got dressed up, went on dates, and fell in love. But today, everything has changed. There is a multiplex in every mall and the young generation watch movies on their phone. But at The Scala, time has stood still. The cinema is still run by many of the same staff who have been there from the beginning. It is now the last remaining standalone cinema left in Bangkok. And soon, its time will come to an end too.
Next up is the Tokyo International Film Festival, which has two world premieres of Thai films, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee's Snap and Pimpaka Towira's The Island Funeral (มหาสมุทรและสุสาน, Maha Samut Lae Susaan).
Part of Tokyo fest's main competition, Snap is a romantic drama produced by TrueVisions and is set against a period of martial law in Thailand. It stars newcomer actress Waruntorn Paonil as a young woman returning to her hometown for a friend's wedding. The wedding photographer (Toni Rakkaen) turns out to be a young man from her past.
Pimpaka's long-awaited second dramatic feature The Island Funeral is in the Asian Future program. A road drama, it features a screenplay by film critic and documentary filmmaker Kong Rithdee. Check out the trailer, embedded below.
Moving on to Taipei, there's the Golden Horse International Film Festival, which will open with Distance, an omnibus feature put together by Singapore's Anthony Chen, who made the Cannes' Camera d'Or winner Ilo Ilo. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Distance stars Taiwanese actors Chen Bolin and Yo Yang alongside Hong Kong star Paul Chun. "The experimental drama sees Chen play three separate roles in each of three stories, separately helmed by Xin Yukun, Tan Shijie and Sivaroj Kongsakul. The directors hail, respectively, from China, Singapore and Thailand."
Finally, here's some award news, which a reader gave me a tip on – Night Watch, a short film by Danaya Chulphuthiphong won the Special Jury Prize at the Fronteira Festival in Rio de Janeiro in August. According to a review, the experimental short takes place during a coup d'etat and the unrest that accompanies it, as seen from scenes on the streets and through television images. Danaya previously served as a cinematographer on Endless, Nameless, which was the top-prize winner at last year's Thai Short Film and Video Festival..
And so ends my second "Festival festival!" round-up of festival news. Thai filmmakers, if you have film in an upcoming festival or won an award somewhere, please feel free to let me know.
As announced today in a press release by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, Checkers was picked by an eight-member committee that considered films released in Thai cinemas from October 1, 2014 to September 30 of this year.
Aside from Checkers, other titles that were pondered were the current hit romantic comedy Freelance, the just-released literary-classic adaptation Mae Bia (แม่เบี้ย, a.k.a. The Snake), the gay psychological thriller The Blue Hour (Onthakan, อนธการ), the time-travel comedy 2538 Alter Ma Jive (2538 อัลเทอร์มาจีบ) and the Catholic schoolteacher biographical drama F. Hilaire (ฟ.ฮีแลร์).
However, after much debate and analysis by the committee, it was decided that Checkers "transcended" the other choices, said Weerasak Kowsurat, the committee chairman.
The debut feature by Korean-American director Josh Kim, How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) is adapted from Sightseeing, the short story collection of noted Thai-American author Rattawut Lapcharoensap. The comedy-drama, set against the backdrop of class conflict in Thai society, centers on 11-year-old Oat, a poor orphan raised by his openly gay older brother Ek and their superstitious aunt. With Ek facing the upcoming military draft lottery, Oat takes a big risk to ensure his brother will not be conscripted.
Checkers premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and has made the rounds on the circuit. It was given the Thai title of P'Chai My Hero (literally My Brother, My Hero) for local release in July. It was produced by an international consortium of filmmakers from Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and the US, including Thai director-producer Anocha Suwichakornpong.
The film federation's selection has a notable omission from this year's festival circuit, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Cemetery of Splendour, which has garnered much acclaim since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and more recently in Toronto. However, it has not yet been released in Thailand. Apichatpong's previous feature, the 2010 Cannes Palme d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, was submitted for the 83rd Academy Awards.
The Last Executioner, the independent biographical drama about the last marksman to dispatch death-row prisoners with a firearm in Thailand's prisons, continues to make its way around the festival circuit and win awards.
In Manila, The Last Executioner (เพชฌฆาต, Petchakat) is taking part in the Asean Skies section of the World Premiere Film Festival. The regional line-up also has the oddball Japanese-Thai production Hand in the Glove as well as entries from Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Even Laos has an entry, with the four-director omnibus Vientiane in Love. The WPFF continues until July 7.
For the Suan Dusit Thai Movie Poster Awards, put on by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, The Last Executioner got the top prize for its striking image of lead actor Vithaya Pansringarm taking deadly aim with a rifle.
Other movie posters recognized were the gibberish GTH romantic comedy I Fine ... Thank You ... Love You (ไอฟาย..แต๊งกิ้ว..เลิฟยู้), Poj Arnon's Wai Peng Nakleng Kha San (วัยเป้งง นักเลงขาสั้น, Dangerous Boys), which is filled with schoolboys in shortpants, and The Unreasonable Man (ไม่รู้.มันคืออะไร.แต่ชอบ), the indie drama starring "Tao" Somchai Kemklad as a barber that had a limited release in Bangkok last year.
Directed by Tom Waller, The Last Executioner will next screen in Ireland, at the Galway Film Fleadh, on July 10, with Waller himself in attendance. Check the Facebook events page for more details.
From left, Don Linder, Tom Waller, Katrina Grose and Vithaya Pansringarm from The Last Exectioner, winner of the best picture and best screenplay prizes. Photo courtesy of Tom Waller.
Snubbed by the Thai film industry's Subhanahongsa Awards, the cast and crew of The Last Executioner were feeling vindicated last night after winning best picture and screenplay at the 30th Surasawadee Awards (รางวัลพระสุรัสวดี) at the Thailand Cultural Center.
Put on by the Thai Entertainment Reporters Association, the long-running movie kudos also gave floral bouquets to The Teacher's Diary (คิดถึงวิทยา, Kid Tueng Wittaya) and I Fine ... Thank You ... Love You (ไอฟาย..แต๊งกิ้ว..เลิฟยู้). The actual awards, the Tukkata Tong (Golden Doll) statuettes, will be given out later in the year in royally appointed ceremonies.
Directed by Tom Waller and produced by Handmade Distribution, Tiger Entertainment and De Warrenne Pictures, The Last Executioner (เพชฌฆาต, Petchakat) had been nominated in six categories, including best director, best actor for "Pu" Vithaya Pansringarm, score by Olivier Lliboutry and costumes by Panyawan Nimjareanpong. The fact-based biographical screenplay by Don Linder and Katrina Grose recounted the moral and spiritual struggles of Thai prison guard Chavoret Jaruboon, who executed 55 death-row inmates with his rifle. He was the last to carry out the deadly deed with a firearm before the prison system switched to lethal injection. But he also was haunted by bad karma, which took on the form of various characters, such as David Asavonond's "spirit". The cast also included Penpak Sirikul, Jaran "See Tao" Petcharoen and Somdet Kaew-ler.
The Teachers' Diary was the leading nominee with 15 nods. In addition to best director for Nithiwat Taratorn, the GTH romantic drama about star-crossed teachers at a floating rural schoolhouse was also awarded for cinematography and art direction.
Another GTH picture, the English-tutoring rom-com I Fine ... Thank You ... Love You took the top acting prizes. It starred "Ice" Preechaya Pongthananikorn as a celebrity English-language tutor who agrees to teach a boorish factory worker (leading man Sunny Suwanmethinon) who wants to win back his U.S.-based ex-girlfriend. It had received three nominations, and in addition to the actor trophies, it was also honored for being the top-grossing Thai film of 2014.
Other honors went to the indie financial-crisis drama Concrete Clouds (ภวังค์รัก, Phawang Rak), which had 11 nominations. Apinya Sakuljaroensuk took the supporting actress prize for her brave turn as a young woman who has a fling with a woefully naive guy in a neighboring 1997 Bangkok apartment. Writer-director Lee Chatametikool was among a host of folks receiving special honors.
The supporting actor prize went to Pichaya Nitipaisankul from the Phranakorn horror omnibus Tai Hong Tai Hian (ตายโหงตายเฮี้ยน), in which he played a former monk haunted by an ex-girlfriend. The gory Tai Hong Tai Hian (I'll call it Die a Violent Death 2) also won for hair and makeup.
Three documentaries were among the honorees: The Master, about influential Bangkok bootleg video king Van VDO, with best editing; Somboon, about an elderly husband caring for his chronically ailing wife, with best song, and By the River (สายน้ำติดเชื้อ, Sai Nam Tid Shoer), about a Karen village devastated by lead-mining waste, with best score by the Karen musicians.
Animation and 3D movies were also recognized, with the animated The Story of Mahajanaka (พระมหา ชนก) winning the honor for films paying tribute to His Majesty the King. The devotional fantasy is based on a story written by His Majesty. And Five Star Production's horror omnibus 3AM 3D Part 2 was noted for its special effects and sound.
