For his third directorial effort, the paternal-minded entertainer Pongpat Wachirabanjong shifts to comedy after directing two romantic dramas, Me ... Myself and Happy Birthday.

His latest, Ching Mah Kerd (ชิงหมาเถิด or simply The Dog), has the hijinks of a mismatched trio of hoodlums, teaming the young heartthrob actors Mario Maurer and "Boy" Pakorn Chatborirak with veteran comedian Kohtee Aramboy.

They've somehow become roped into a scheme to kidnap a prize show dog ("I think it's a Pomeranian"). For their troubles, they have a mystery gunman after them.

Kowit Wattanakul also stars, along with young actress "Yok" Nattapaphas Thanathanamaharat making her big-screen debut.

I'm not sure who that mystery gunman is.

There's a trailer at YouTube, embedded below.

Released by Motif+, The Dog is in cinemas on Thursday.



(Poster via NangDee.com)

Hard-core Southeast Asian film enthusiasts will be spoiled for choice this weekend in Bangkok. Not only is the Lav Diaz retrospective continuing, there's a mix of old classics and contemporary Thai features being shown at Paragon Cineplex in "Lae Nung … Long Tai", featuring 10 films made in southern Thailand.

Oldies include 1969's Koh Sawad Hat Sawan (เกาะสวาทหาดสวรรค์, Paradise Island, 1972's Choo (ชู้, The Adulterer) and Euthana Mukdasanit's 1985 classic Butterfly and Flowers (ผีเสื้อและดอกไม้, Peesua lae dokma).

Even among the newer films, there are rarely shown rarities, like Nonzee Nimibutr's sweet 2003 drama OK Baytong. It hit the festival circuit for about a year and was never heard from again, thanks to no English-friendly DVD release.

There is also the historical disaster drama Talumphuk, which I didn't see when it was in cinemas in 2002. And there's a chance to revisit The Tin Mine (มหา'ลัย เหมืองแร่, Maha'lai muang rae), Jira Maligool's lush 2005 historical drama that won awards but washed out at the box office.

How about Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Invisible Waves? Anyone? Well, I liked it.

And, do you want to see the big-screen debut of star Ananda Everingham? It's Anda Gap Fah Sai (อันดากับฟ้าใส, Anda and Fah Sai), a 1997 coming-of-age romantic drama.

Here's the complete schedule:

Friday, August 7

• 17.00, Koh Sawad Hat Sawan (Paradise Island) – This 1969 musical romantic romp stars Sombat Methanee and Aranya Namwong as rival rich-kid coconut plantation farmers. It was shot on Koh Samui long before the arrival of spa resorts, boutique hotels, beer bars and hypermarket chains.
• 20.00, Peesua Lae Dokmai (Butterfly and Flowers) – Directed by Euthana Mukdasanit, this 1985 movie is considered a classic and reflects life in a peaceful Buddhist-Muslim society in a small border town.

Saturday, August 8

• 12.15, Choo (The Adulterer) – This 1972 drama by Piak Poster is about a hermit fisherman (Manop Assawathep) rescuing a young woman and then getting involved in a love triangle. Krung Srivilai also stars.
• 15.00, Yuwachon Taharn Pid Term Pai Rob (Boys Will Be Boys) – Based on a true story of Thai youngsters who were recruited by the Thai military in World War II, Euthana Mukdasanit’s 2000 drama looks at what happened when the Japanese army invaded Chumphon.
• 17.30, OK Baytong – Nonzee Nimibutr’s 2003 sometimes comic drama tells the story of a young man who leaves the monkhood for the first time since childhood to take care of his Muslim niece in a town on the Malaysian border after his sister is killed in a terrorist bombing.
• 20.00 Anda Kab Fah Sai (Anda and Fah Sai) – Ananda Everingham made his big-screen debut in this coming-of-age romantic drama as a young diver in the Andaman. Sinjai Plengpanich and Pongpat Wachirabunjong also star.

Sunday, August 9

• 12.15, Talumphuk – This 2002 disaster drama is set in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1962 when Tropical Storm Harriet struck, destroying all but five houses in a village of 4,000 in Laem Talumphuk..
• 15.00, Maha’lai Muang Rae (The Tin Mine) – Based on the memoirs of writer Archin Panjabhan, Jira Malikool’s historical drama is about a young engineering student who leaves university to work in a tin mine in the Phuket jungle in the 1950s.
• 17.30, Kam Pipaksa Khong Mahasamut (Invisible Waves) – Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s wryly comic 2006 thriller is about a Japanese chef (Tadanobu Asano) who flees from Macau to Phuket after committing a murder.
• 20.00 Wonderful Town - Indie director Aditya Assarat’s award-winning, critically acclaimed romantic drama is set in isolated Takua Pha, Phang Nga, where scars of the tsunami still linger.

The event is organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Film Archive and the Thai Film Foundation. Admission is free. Pick up your ticket either at the cinema or the Living Gallery in Area 2 on Siam Paragon’s third floor one hour before showtime. Call ( 080) 557 9709, (081) 697 5976, and (02) 800 2716.

(Cross-published at Bangkok Cinema Scene)

The Star Entertainment Awards for 2008 were held last night at Siam Paragon, with Happy Birthday the big winner with four awards: best film, best actor for Ananda Everingham, best director for Pongpat Wachirabunjong and best screenplay for Kongdej Jaturanrasamee.

Best actress was Mai Charoenpura for the psychological thriller Memory.

And the best supporting actor and actress prizes were repeats from earlier awards shows: Sorapong Chatree for Ong-Bak 2 and Focus Jirakul for Hormones.

Here's a list of awards and nominees:


Best Film

• Winner: Happy Birthday
• Wonderful Town
• Rak/Sam/Sao
• Ong-Bak 2
• 4Bia

Best Screenplay

• Winner: Happy Birthday
• Wonderful Town
• Rak/Sam/Sao
• 4Bia
• Sabaidee Luang Prabang

Best Actor

• Winner: Ananda Everingham for Happy Birthday
• “Pe” Arak Amornsupasiri for Rak/Sam/Sao
• Tony Jaa for Ong-Bak 2
• Joey Boy for Luang Pee Teng 2
• “Tui” Kiatkamol Latha for Handle Me With Care (Kod)

Best Actress

• Winner: Mai Charoenpura for Memory
• Chayanan Manomaisantiphap for Happy Birthday
• "Jeeja" Yanin Vismistananda for Chocolate
• “Koy” Ratchawin Wongviriya for Rak/Sam/Sao
• Jarunee Suksawat for Queens of Langkasuka

Best Supporting Actor

• Winner: Sorapong Chatree for Ong-Bak 2
• Pongpat Wachirabunjong for Chocolate
• Santisuk Promsiri for Boonchu 9
• Kiat Kitcharoen for Dream Team
• Eak Oree for Queens of Langkasuka

Best Supporting Actress

• Winner: Focus Jirakul for Hormones (Pidterm Yai Huajai Wawun)
• Jintara Sukapat for Boonchu 9
• Noon Siraphun Wattanajinda for Neung Jai Dieow Gan (Where the Miracle Happens)
• “Peak” Patarasaya Krousuwansiri for Rak/Sam/Sao
• Naowarat Yuktanan for Sapai Bareu (Ghost-in-Law)

Best Director

• Winner: Pongpat Wachirabunjong for Happy Birthday
• Nonzee Nimibutr for Queens of Langkasuka
• Tony Jaa for Ong-Bak 2
• Songyos Sugmakanan for Hormones
• Yuthlert Sippapak for Rak/Sam/Sao

Best Costume

• Winner: Queens of Langkasuka

Best Makeup

• Winner: 4Bia

Best Soundtrack

• Winner: Hormones

The Honorary award went to veteran actor Seetao Petrajayrin.

"Media Darling" awards went to singer-actor Film Rattapoom Tokongsrub and actress ”Aff” Taksaorn Paksukcharean

Awards are also given for television and music. Lyn's Lakorns has the full rundown.

(Via Lyn's Lakorns, Kapook, Sanook, Wikipedia Thailand)

Ananda Everingham's turn as an amnesiac man who falls in love with the woman who ran him over with her car in 2007's Me ... Myself (ขอให้รักจงเจริญ, Khaw hai rak jong jaroen) is now in the final lineup of the Terracotta Far East Film Festival in London.

Directed by Pongpat Wachirabunjong and also starring Chayanan Manomaisantiphap -- the same team that reunited for last year's Happy Birthday -- Me ... Myself is in addition to the previously announced Muay Thai Chaiya.

The Terracotta Far East Film Festival runs from May 21 to 24 at the Prince Charles Cinema.

(Via Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow)

Hot off its win at the Subhanahongsa Awards, Aditya Assarat's indie romantic drama Wonderful Town is the leading nominee for the Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards. With nine nods, it's nominated in nearly all of the 11 categories, including best picture, best director, best screenplay and best actress.

Other leading nominees are Songyos Sugmakanan's teen romance Hormones (Pidterm Yai Huajai Wawun) with seven, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee's three-armed romance Handle Me With Care (Kod), the GTH horror omnibus 4Bia and RS Film's kiddie tug-of-war sports comedy Dream Team with six and the indie psychological thriller The 8th Day with four.

Actor Ananda Everingham is a double nominee for best actor for Happy Birthday and Saibaidee Luang Prabang, the Thai-Laotian co-production that was ignored by the Thai film industry's Subanahongsa Awards. His co-star, Laotian actress Khamly Philavong, is among the best-actress nominees.

And actor-director Pongpat Wachirabungjong is nominated for best director for his sophomore helming effort Happy Birthday and for his supporting role as the bad guy in Chocolate.

Here's the list of nominees:

Best picture

• Handle Me With Care
• Dream Team
• Hormones
• 4Bia
• Wonderful Town

Best director

• Kittikorn Liasirikun (Dream Team)
• Kondej Jaturanrasamee (Handle Me With Care0
• Songyos Sugmakanan (Hormones)
• Pongpat Wachirabunjong (Happy Birthday
• Aditya Assarat (Wonderful Town)

Best actor

• Kiat Kitjaroen (Dream Team)
• Kiatkamol Latha (Handle Me With Care)
• Ananda Everingham (Happy Birthday and Sabaidee Luang Prabang)
• Arak Amornsupasiri (Rak/Sam/Sao)

Best actress

• Khamly Philavong (Sabaidee Luang Prabang)
• Chayanan Manomaisantiphab (Happy Birthday)
• Maneerat Kamuan (4Bia)
• Wasana Chalakorn (The 8th Day)
• Anchalee Saisoontorn (Wonderful Town)

Best supporting actor

• Dul Yamboongring (Wonderful Town)
• Pongpat Wachirabunjong (Chocolate)
• Ratchu Surachalas (Hormones)
• Supakorn Kitsuwan (Art of the Devil 3)
• Sorapong Chatree (Ong-Bak 2)

Best supporting actress

• "Jacqueline" Natradaa Apithananon (Queens of Langkasuka)
• Focus Jirakul (Hormones)
• Sakon Ratwonoorai (Dream Team)
• Sirin Horwang (E-Tim Tai Nae)
• Amara Siripong (Chocolate)

Best screenplay

• Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Handle Me With Care)
• Kittikorn Liasirikun and Suthipon Taptim (Dream Team)
• Songyos Sugmakanan, Omrapon Paendintong, Montra Koomwon, Thonchai Sailor, Praisaywit Wijitpawan and Nitit Napityasoontin (Hormones)
• Yongyooth Thongkongtoon, Eaksit Thairaat, Paween Purijitpanya, Banjong Pisanthanakun (4Bia)
• Aditya Assarat (Wonderful Town)

Best cinematography

• Naripon Chokanapitak (Handle Me With Care)
• Somchai Leenanurak (The 8th Day)
• Suttipong Kongtong (Sabaidee Luang Prabang)
• Niramon Ross (4Bia)
• Umpornpol Yugala (Wonderful Town)

Best editing

• Kittikorn Liasirikun (Dream Team)
• Sasikarn Suwansuthi and Nithiwat Tharathorn (Hormones)
• Vitcha Gojiew, Thammarat Sumethasupphachok, Paween Purijitpanya, Surawut Tungkharak (4Bia)
• Saravuth Nakajad and Thanapat Taweesuk (Ong-Bak 2)
• Lee Chatametikool (Wonderful Town)

Best score

• Hualumphong Riddim and Wichon Watanasap (Handle Me With Care)
• Banana Team (Hormones)
• Kaiwan Kulavadhanothai (The 8th Day)
• Chartchai Pongprapapan (Queens of Langkasuka)
• Koichi Shimizu and Zai Kuning (Wonderful Town)

Best art direction

• Ek Iamchuen, Bunphot Ngamkum, Rach-chanon Kayanngan, Suprasit Putakham, Wikrom Jenpanus (Queens of Langkasuka)
• Supachai Sangsingsai (The 8th Day)
• Arkadech Kaewkot, Wuttinan Sujaritpong, Sophon Pulsawat, Prachawin Prechgrod and Kanuang Dumgaew (4Bia)
• Suprasit Putakham and Bunphot Ngamkum (Ong-Bak 2)
• Karanyapas Khamsil (Wonderful Town)

I am especially pleased to see a nomination for Maneerat, who did a great job in Happiness, the Hitchcockian first segment of 4Bia.

The awards body was apparently having trouble raising cash to hold a presentation ceremony, according to an item in Daily Xpress last Thursday. But funding was found and the awards show is set for March 11 at the Siam City Hotel.

(Via Deknang, Daily Xpress)

Among the surprises in the crop of nominees for the 2008 Subhanahongsa Awards are a couple of indie films, with Wonderful Town and The 8th Day tied as the leading nominees, each named in eight categories.

Also surprising: the troubled and polarizing Ong-Bak 2 is nominated for eight awards in seven categories, including best actor for Tony Jaa.

Aditya Assarat is among the nominees for best director and best screenplay for Wonderful Town, which is also named one of the best pictures, and is named for cinematography, sound, score and art direction.

Wasana Chalakorn, who played a mentally disturbed old woman in the indie black-and-white psychological thriller The 8th Day is up for best actress, and her co-stars, Thanavet Siriwattanakul, is up for best actor and young Jennie Oprasert is a best supporting actress nominee. The 8th Day also scores nominations for cinematography, editing, score, art direction and make-up.

Dul Yaambunying, who played the menacing gangster brother in Wonderful Town, is up for supporting actor honors.

Another leading nominee is Happy Birthday with seven nods, including best picture, best director for Pongpat Wachirabunjong, best actress for Chayanan Manomaisantiphab and best actor for Ananda Everingham (he was in three other Thai movies last year -- Memory, The Coffin and Queens of Langkasuka, all listed below -- but was only nominated for Happy Birthday).

Also, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee earns two nods for best-screenplay -- for Happy Birthday and his own film, the loopy romance Handle Me With Care, which is up for five awards, also including best picture, best director and best actor (Kiatkamol Latha).

Other top nominees include Yuthlert Sippapak's weepy romance Rak/Sam/Sao with six nominations, including best picture, best director, best screenplay and best actor (Pae Arak) and actress (Ratchawin Wongviriya, the short-haired one). The GTH horror anthology 4bia has four nominations, including best picture and best screenplay.

The choice of Tony Jaa for best actor is surprising because of the incredible lack of range he showed in his role -- his vengeful character was all angry, all the time. But it's his first nomination for the Subhanahongsa, and he had an epic struggle to make his film, so maybe the awards body thought he was due some recognition. The more expressive Natdanai Kongthong, who played Jaa's character as a boy, earns a best-supporting actor nod.

Sahamongkol's "sister" action feature, Chocolate is getting recognition too. "Jeeja" Yanin Vismitananda is nominated as best actress for her film debut, and her mother in the film, Amara Sripong, is among the best-supporting-actress nominees.

This is also unusual, I think, because ordinarily the awards eschew action-genre movies in favor of romantic dramas and big historical epics. So not only indies, but action movies are gaining legitimacy in the industry's eyes.

Ong-Bak 2 has another nominee in the supporting-actor category -- veteran actor Sorapong Chatree. He's a favorite for the prize since he's nominated twice -- for his turn as a cud-chewing bandit leader in Ong-Bak 2 and as a dual-personality wizard hermit in Queens of the Langkasuka.

There are many, many awards shows for the entertainment industry in Thailand -- so many that I lose track of them all. But it's the Subhanahongsa Awards that are recognized as "the Thai Oscars". Also known as the Thailand National Film Awards, they are given by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, the same group that makes Thailand's submission to the Academy Awards.

Ordinarily, the awards are very focused on the industry, so the inclusion of the indies Wonderful Town and The 8th Day is a step towards recognizing the true breadth and diversity of Thai cinema.

Here's the complete list of nominees:

Best Picture

• Handle Me With Care (Kod)
• Rak/Sam/Sao (The Last Moment)
• 4Bia (See Phrang)
• Happy Birthday
• Wonderful Town

Best Director

• Kongdej Jaturanrasami (Handle Me With Care)
• Pongpat Wachirabunjong (Happy Birthday)
• Yuthlert Sippapak (Rak/Sam/Sao)
• Kittikorn Leosirikul (Dream Team)
• Aditya Assarat (Wonderful Town)

Best Actor

• Kiatkamol Latha (Handle Me With Care)
• "Tony Jaa" Phanom Yeerum (Ong-Bak 2)
• Arak Amornsupasiri (Rak/Sam/Sao)
• Ananda Everingham (Happy Birthday)
• Thanavet Siriwattanakul (The 8th Day)

Best Actress

• Ratchawin Wongviriya (Rak/Sam/Sao)
• Mai Charoenpura (Memory or Rak Lorn)
• Chayanan Manomaisantiphab (Happy Birthday)
• Yanin Vismitananda (Chocolate)
• Wasana Chalakorn (The 8th Day)

Best Supporting Actor

• Sun Khumpirannon (Memory)
• Sorapong Chatree (Queens of Langkasuka and Ong-Bak 2)
• Natdanai Kongthong (Ong Bak 2)
• Dul Yaambunying (Wonderful Town)

Best Supporting Actress

• Amara Sripong (Chocolate )
  
• Focus Jeerakul (Hormones or Pidterm Yai Huajai Wawun)
• "Cris" Sirin Horwang (E-Tim Tai Nae)
• Siraphan Wattanajinda (Where the Miracle Happens or Nuengjai Diaw Kan))
• Jennie Oprasert (The 8th Day)

Best Screenplay

• Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Handle Me With Care and Happy Birthday)
• Yuthlert Sippapak (Rak/Sam/Sao)
• Aditaya Assarat (Wonderful Town)
• GTH team (4Bia)

Best Cinematography

• The Coffin (Long Tor Tai)
• Where the Miracle Happens
• Happy Birthday
• Wonderful Town
• The 8th Day

Best Editing

• Chocolate
• 4Bia
• The Coffin
• Ong-Bak 2
• The 8th Day

Best Sound

• Queens of Langkasuka
• Ong-Bak 2
• The Coffin
• Nak
• Wonderful Town

Best Song

• "Jab Mue Chan" (Handle Me With Care)
• "Klom Luk" (Nak)
• "Fun Waan Eye Joob" (4 Romances)
• "Yang Noi" (Hormones)

Best Score

• The 8th Day
• Nak
• Queens of Langkasuka
• Happy Birthday
• Wonderful Town

Best Art Direction

• Queens of Langkasuka
• Ong-Bak 2
• Chocolate
• Wonderful Town
• The 8th Day

Best Costume Design

• Queens of Langkasuka
• Ong-Bak 2
• E-Tim Tai Nae
• Rak/Sam/Sao
• Hormones

Best Make-up

• Ong-Bak 2
• Queens of Langkasuka
• Art of the Devil 3 (Long Khong 2)
• The 8th Day
• Coming Soon (Programme Na Winyarn Arkhad)

Best Visual Effects

• Queens of Langkasuka
• 4Bia
• The Coffin
• Long Khong 2
• First Flight (Rak Siam Thao Faa)

There will also be a new special honor award this year, with archivist Dome Sukwong, founder of National Film Archive, as its first recipient.

The awards ceremony takes place on February 22 at Thailand Cultural Centre.

(Via Daily Xpress)

Happy Birthday, Mono Film's new romantic drama by director Pongpat Wachirabunjong with stars Ananda Everingham and Chayanan Manomaisantiphap, was the No. 1 movie in Thailand over the weekend.

Box Office Mojo has the numbers.

It earned around 19.98 million baht, about double the earnings of the second-place finisher, Luc Besson's Transporter 3.

Both Happy Birthday and Transporter 3 were released in Thai cinemas for a sneak preview run the week before, so the gross-to-date earnings likely reflect that.

The previous week's top two films, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Ong-Bak 2 were at No. 3 and 4 respectively. Pale, sharp-toothed teenagers in Twilight remain in the top 5.

I have reviewed Happy Birthday (I actually liked it, I think) and there is feedback coming in now at Enjoy Thai Movies.

• Directed by Pongpat Wachirabunjong
• Story by Pongpat Wachirabunjong; screenplay Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
• Starring Ananda Everingham and Chayanan Manomaisantiphap
• Released in Thai cinemas on December 18, 2008
• Rating: 4/5

Breezy, entertaining romantic comedy and right-to-die issues mix deliriously in Happy Birthday (แฮปปี้ เบิร์ดเดย์).

Veteran actor Pongpat Wachirabunjong, making his sophomore directorial effort for Mono Film, assembles much the same team from his 2007 debut, Me ... Myself, with leading man Ananda Everingham again paired with actress Chayanan Manomaisantiphap. The story is by Pongpat, with seasoned pro Kongdej Jaturanrasamee again providing the screenplay. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Apichatpong Weerasethakul's go-to lensman) is back to capture everything from jawdropping vistas to intimate close ups that are equally awe inspiring.

The story is about a travel photographer named Then (Ananda), who tries to buy an old travel book but finds that it has been written in. He then arranges to have it left on the shelf, and writes his own note on a page, chiding the vandal. The note finds its mark - a pen-flipping young woman - who writes a note back to Then. They trade barbs at first, but the back-and-forth notes ("updates", she calls them) become friendlier and more helpful. Then tries staking out the shelf, hoping to catch his penpal red-handed, but has no luck. Then, while eating at a little-known backroads eatery that he had suggested in the travel book, he overhears a pretty female tour guide (Chayanan) talking about how she found the restaurant by trading notes in travel guide. Her name is Pao, and from that point on, Then works hard at wooing her.

Their relationship is sweet and innocent, and fun to watch. It's a very different Ananda Everingham from what has been seen in the horror films and thrillers. For once, he gets to be a regular guy, playing it cool and smooth as he tries to get a girl - though later on Ananda gets to switch into his usual mode of being a wide-eyed man under duress. Chayanan is smart, confident and just a little bit haughty, playing the typical hard-to-get good girl. They travel the countryside in Then's old orange Volkswagen Beetle.



Then tragedy strikes. One Then's birthday, Pao is coming to meet him. She gives a phone call to let him know she is on her way. Then can see her car out the window of the restaurant he is sitting in. But as her car moves into the intersection, one of Bangkok's notorious green minibuses plows into it, crushing the driver's side. A musical birthday card is left open, playing a music-box version of "Happy Birthday". Pao is in a coma.

Pao's parents at first aren't willing to let their brain-dead daughter go, so they leave her on life support. When their money starts running short, Then volunteers to take responsibility, and the girl's mom and dad let him. The comatose Pao is moved into Then's house. What follows is a psychological drama, as Then becomes increasingly obsessive about caring for Pao -- trying to prove he is worthy of her love. But when Pao's parents witness Then taking care of their daughter's feminine hygiene needs -- as well as dressing her up and parading her around the city, taking her to department stores and the movies -- well, enough is enough.

There are still a few twists and turns as the story follows Then and his plight. There are flashbacks to their brief, but happy courtship, as well as a futuristic flash forward.

And, even if it is prettified and idealized with good-looking stars and glossy photography, Happy Birthday is a sensitive primer on the right-to die-issue, which has started to get a public airing in Thailand in the last couple of years.



See also:

• Happy Birthday official website

Related posts:

• Happy Birthday comes early

In an apparent move to grab the eyes of holiday-season shoppers, Happy Birthday opened over the weekend for a nightly sneak-preview run in Bangkok cinemas before its planned wide release on Thursday (December 18). Perhaps studio Mono Film is hoping to get a jump on the popular Jason Statham action series Transporter 3, which also opens this week.

The romantic melodrama is the sophomore directorial effort by Pongpat Wachirabunjong, the action film tough guy who gets into warm-fuzzy mode when he goes to work as a writer-director for Mono. A follow up to 2007's acclaimed Me ... Myself, Pongpat is again working with Ananda Everingham.

Instead of playing a gay transvestite cabaret dancer, Ananda is again playing a photographer -- his third turn as a shutterbug after Shutter and Sabaidee Luang Prabang. Working on a travel book, he becomes close to writer Pao. She's played by Chayanan Manomaisantiphap, Ananda's co-star from Me ... Myself.

The pair travel the Thai countryside in probably the coolest-looking Volkswagen Beetle on film since Herbie the Love Bug. The two vow to stay together until do them part. But then Pao's car is totalled by one of Bangkok's notorious green buses. With Pao in a coma, Ten proves he is a man of his word.

The trailer from YouTube, is embedded below.

Ekachai Uekrongtham's The Coffin -- opening next week in Thailand -- has been selected for the competition at the International Film Festival of India, which runs from November 22 to December 2 in Goa.

Three other Thai films have also been selected for the festival: Muay Thai Chaiya, First Flight and Chocolate.

All the films will be making their Indian premieres, says Bangkok-based film maven Lekha Shankar, who says she's helping to program the package of Thai films.

The competition has a total purse of US$175,000.

Ekachai's Beautiful Boxer was a winner of the festival's second-place Silver Peacock in 2004.

Another Thai winner at Goa was Pongpat Wachirabunjong, who picked up a Silver Peacock for Most Promising Director at last year's fest for Me ... Myself. Lekha says she's hoping to add actor Pongpat's sophomore directorial effort Happy Birthday to the fest. It's due out in Thailand on October 23.

Organizers are hoping to see Coffin director Ekachai and star Ananda Everingham attend, as well Muay Thai Chaiya star Akara "Gof" Amarttayakul.

(Thanks Lekha!)

Chocolate was set to be released on DVD in Hong Kong this week, and it was originally thought that English subtitles were part of the deal. Now the English subs are off the table, likely due to pressure from an American licensee.

The latest Thai martial arts and stunt extravaganza from the Ong-Bak/Tom Yum Goong team, Chocolate now looks to be following the same pattern as the two Tony Jaa films, which were notoriously difficult to obtain with English subtitles until they were released in the States. And by then, both were compromised versions, Ong-Bak having been re-scored and Tom Yum Goong being cut, having dialogue changed in the subtitles and renamed The Protector.

In the case of Tom Yum Goong, The Weinstein Company handled the North American release. And TWC was involved with the production of Chocolate, going so far as to ask for the change of a major character -- bringing in Pongpat Wachirabunjong to play No 8 after another actor had already been filmed for the role. This led to a script rewrite and some major reshoots. Then for some reason, the U.S. deal hit some snags, Twitch has hinted. Perhaps now it's back on.

The Hong Kong release of Chocolate is still happening, but now it will only have Chinese subtitles. No English subtitles.

I think at this point, I will give up and just get the Thai DVD. At 169 baht, it won't break me, and I can then watch new star Jeeja whirl her way through an acre or so of bad guys. Hit fast forward to the next sequence.

See also:

• Chocolate censored in Singapore
  
• Jeeja hints at romance
  
• Singapore loads up on Chocolate
  
• Chocolate out on DVD in Thailand, coming to theaters in Singapore
  
• Jeeja profile
  
• Chocolate rated Category IIB in Hong Kong
  
• Chocolate ready to begin international onslaught
  
• Three more Jeeja clips
  
• Chocolate star on the talk show circuit: The clips
  
• Chocolate on Valentine's Day
  
• Bittersweet Chocolate
• Weinsteins gobble up Chocolate
• Another bite of Chocolate, other Thai films at the European Film Market
• Review: Chocolate
  
• Chocolate: The press premiere
  
• Chocolate star has a new name, but just call her Jeeja
  
• Chocolate website goes live, really
• Chocolate star on the talk show circuit
• Chocolate release date moved up to February 6, going head-to-head with Stephen Chow's CJ7
• Chocolate: The comic book
• Promo reel for Chocolate

(Thanks Logboy)

This year's Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, features a generous portion of Thai films in just about every flavor: horror, action, romantic drama and a bit of comedy.

The festival opens on April 18 with back-to-back screenings of Hideo Nakata's Death Note films: Death Note, Death Note: The Last Name and the spin-off sequel, L change the WorLd (which was filmed in Thailand, and features a Thai character and a One-Two-GO 747 jumbo jet from Thailand).

First up on April 19 is Kongdej Jaturanrasamee's Handle Me With Care, making its European premiere. This romantic comedy and road movie is about a three-armed man who forms an uneasy relationship with a large breasted young woman. It looks to be headed on a run of festivals after screening last month in Hong Kong.

The award-winning boxing drama Muay Thai Chaiya will be featured in a midnight showing the night of April 19.

Pongpat Wachrabungjong's directorial debut, Me ... Myself, starring Ananda Everingham, makes its European premiere on April 21.

Horror Day in Udine is April 23, and what a lineup there is from Thailand: Five Star's puzzling The Screen at Kamchanod, the slick and bloody Body from GMM Tai Hub and Sahamongkol's emergent cult hit, Sick Nurses.

Closing out the Thai selection on April 25 will be the heartfelt, award-winning teen romantic drama, The Love of Siam, with writer-director Chukiat Sakweerakul in attendance for the European premiere.

Other films of note include action-packed American-Vietnamese martial arts film The Rebel starring Tom Yum Goong's Johnny Nguyen -- a hit at last year's Bangkok International Film Festival -- Oxide Pang's solo offering The Detective, starring Aaron Kwok, and Quickie Express from Indonesia.

(Thanks Lea!)

Hong Kong will be the first stop for Chocolate as it begins its round of overseas commercial releases. It will open there next month, according to a story by Agence-France Presse.

Distributors in Japan, Singapore and South Korea have already signed up for the film, too, and U.S. rights were secured long ago by The Weinstein Company.

As the makers of Chocolate and its petite star Yanin "Jeeja" Wismitananda look ahead to promoting the film internationally, they are strengthening their ties to the Tony Jaa brand, with Jeeja saying she was "under the tutelage of Jaa." She is quoted by AFP as saying:

Yes, people compare me to [Tony Jaa] a lot, but I would like to set things straight. I am not as good as he is. He is my trainer, and I'm just his student. I have all the respect in the world for him."

Director Prachya Pinkaew reveals more about the origins of Chocolate, offering a glimpse of foreign involvement from the very beginning.

It was after the international box office success of Tony Jaa's Ong-Bak and Tom Yum Goong that "foreign distributors asked if I had a female actress who could star in an action film," Prachya is quoted as saying by AFP. "So the search began."

Here's more from the AFP story:

The girl of his dreams had dark skin, a solid body and exotic looks. His plan was to sell the sex appeal of this strong yet feminine character and he hoped to find someone like Zhang Ziyi, Chinese star of Memoirs of a Geisha.

"But then we got Jeeja, who has no sex appeal at all," he said. "So we had to come up with something to compensate for that."

No sex appeal? At all? Let me pause for a moment and ponder that.

Okay. I'm back. More on foreign involvement: I've heard that The Weinstein Company asked for changes to Chocolate after it was essentially completed. The Weinsteins asked that perennial heavy Pongpat Wachirabunjong be brought in to play chief villain No. 8, after another actor, Sakda Pattaseema, had been cast and had filmed his scenes. They also asked that 13 Beloved director Chukiat Sakweerakul be brought in as a script doctor to write new dialogue. With Pongpat as the new No. 8, the scenes involving the character were reshot.

While the Weinsteins have often been criticized for their changes to films, here is a case where they were able to get directly involved and tell the filmmakers what they wanted, and from the accounts I've heard, they made it a better film.

So with that tidbit, I'm wondering just who those "foreign distributors" were who asked for a Thai female action vehicle in the first place.

Solidifying the Thai action brand, and perfecting a formula are also behind Chocolate. Prachya has more on that in the AFP story:

Real stunts are what international markets are after," said the director. "Films like this cannot be remade, because it requires personal skills to give viewers a sense of reality."

"When making this film, I made both local and international audiences my targets," he said. "I know what they like to see."

More information:

• Three more Jeeja clips
  
• Chocolate star on the talk show circuit: The clips
  
• Chocolate on Valentine's Day
  
• Bittersweet Chocolate
• Weinsteins gobble up Chocolate
• Another bite of Chocolate, other Thai films at the European Film Market
• Review: Chocolate
  
• Chocolate: The press premiere
  
• Chocolate star has a new name, but just call her Jeeja
  
• Chocolate website goes live, really
• Chocolate star on the talk show circuit
• Chocolate release date moved up to February 6, going head-to-head with Stephen Chow's CJ7
• Chocolate: The comic book
• Promo reel for Chocolate

It's funny. It's cute. It's English subtitled. And, it's censored.

The DVD of last year's sleeper-hit romantic-comedy Me ... Myself is already hitting the bargain bins in Thailand, a move no doubt hastened by the fact that the DVD is published by Rose Media and Entertainment, the only Thai distributor I know of that self-censors its films.

Me ... Myself is the story of a transvestite gay cabaret dancer (Ananda Everingham) who is robbed of his identification and then struck by a car driven by a young woman (Chayanan Manomaisantiphap). The amnesiac man is then taken in and cared for by the woman, and they fall in love, which raises some interesting issues about sexuality and choices. The film is directed by action star and singer Pongpat Wachirabunjong, and based on a story he came up with, with a screenplay by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee.

Even at the low, low bargain-bin price of 59 baht (around US$2), Me ... Myself is still a questionable purchase because it is marred by censorship.

The worst of it is some blinkered pixellation of a nude Ananda Everingham. Never mind that the original film tastefully captured a profile of the fearless Ananda sitting like Rodin's "Thinker", and then when he stood up, his private parts were below the frame, or covered by his hands and a bowl he comically grabbed. But that wasn't good enough for the goody two-shoes at Rose Media.

There are scenes involving alcohol and drinking in Me ... Myself (including drunken karaoke caterwauling by the stars of an old hit song by none other than Pongpat himself), and for those, Rose thankfully does not try to pixellate out the bottles and glasses as is done on Thai television, but Rose does add a line of text to the frame to say "Drinking is bad." On other films, Rose will run anti-smoking messages and messages warning of the dangers of guns. A free Rose DVD of Johnnie To's Exiled came my way, and I had to stop watching it because the moralising messages were so out of hand.

Rose Media is the only DVD distributor in Thailand that I know of that practices this censorship. None of the other local distributors do, and this includes J-Bics, EVS and United Home Entertainment. Just Rose. I'm not sure why.

Anyway, it's unfortunate. Because Rose is the distributor for Mono Film, the only Thai studio that still includes English subtitles with its DVD releases.

Their latest release is Fighting Beat, much of which takes place in a bar where alcohol flows freely. I can see the warning messages already. If I decide to revisit Fighting Beat via DVD, it will only be after it shows up the bargain bins and even then, maybe not at all.

More information:

• Frequently asked questions about Thai films on DVD
• 2007 in Thai cinema: Thai films on DVD
• Review: Me ... Myself

The Subhanahongsa Awards nominees have been announced, and the top film is The Love of Siam, which has 17 nominations. The action-packed 1970s-set boxing drama Muay Thai Chaiya has 12. The slasher-horror thriller Body #19 has nine, while the homosexual romantic crime thriller Bangkok Love Story has eight nominations.

The Love of Siam, a gay teenage romantic family drama written and directed by Chukiat Sakweerakul has already won awards from Bioscope magazine, Kom Chad Luek and Starpics. It was heavily tipped to be the top nominee for the Subhanahongsas, which are given by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand and are characterized as Thailand's Oscars.

The Love of Siam is named in the top categories for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. It has also been nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Director, Best Sound, Best Song (two entries) and Best Score.

Notably, Chukiat doubles up on Best Screenplay nods, not only being nominated for The Love of Siam but also for Body #19, which he co-wrote with comic-book writer Ekasit Thairat. The same pair had collaborated on 2006's acclaimed psychological thriller, 13 Beloved.

Aside from The Love of Siam, Muay Thai Chaiya and Body #19, the Best Picture category is rounded out by the schoolboy documentary Final Score and the amnesiac transvestite comedy drama Me ... Myself.

For Best Director honors Chukiat faces competition from Pen-ek Ratanaruang who directed the marital drama Ploy. Pen-ek has always been overlooked for these awards. Newcomer nominees are Kongkiat Komsiri, who made his solo directorial debut with Muay Thai Chaiya and veteran actor Pongpat Wachirabanjong who made his directorial debut with Me ... Myself. Soraya Nakhasuwan made her feature film bow with Final Score.

Possibly the heaviest competition is seen in the Best Actress category, which this year boasts a number of veteran leading ladies: Sinjai Plengpanich for The Love of Siam, Lalita Panyopas Sasiprapha for Ploy, Marsha Wattanapanich for Alone, Woranuch Wongsawan for Perng Mang the Haunted Drum and Suwajanee Chaimusik for Seven Days to Leave My Wife.

Among the surprises was six nominations for Perng Mang the Haunted Drum, which was in and out of cinemas while I was out of Thailand in April. It's a horror film produced by Phranakorn, and has actually been released on English-subtitled DVD in Singapore.

Other films nominated that I didn't see are the romantic comedies Seven Days to Leave My Wife and Seven Days 24 Hours, the tranvestite slapstick fest Kung Fu Tootsie and the ghost story, The House.

One disappointment for me was no nominations for The Sperm, which I thought deserved a mention for Special Effects, or something. Gore hounds will want to check out the Special Effects nominees. They are all horror or action thrillers, including Sick Nurses, which I despised so much I actually have respect for now. I'm also a surprised that the King Naresuan films weren't nominated, not even for best costumes. I guess that Naresuan II was submitted for the Oscars was good enough for the Federation.

The winners will be announced on February 17 at the Siam Niramit Theatre in Bangkok. Hopefully this year the presenters will be tastefully dressed.

Here is the complete list of nominees:

Best Picture

• The Love of Siam (Rak Hang Siam)
• Final Score (365 Wan Tam Tid Cheewit Dek Ent)
• Me...Myself (Khor Hai Rak Jong Jaroen)
• Muay Thai Chaiya
• Body #19 (Sop #19)

Best Director

• Chukiat Sakweerakul (The Love of Siam)
• Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Ploy)
• Kongkiat Komsiri (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Pongpat Wachirabanjong (Me ... Myself)
• Soraya Nakhasuwan (Final Score)

Best Screenplay

• Chukiat Sakweerakul (Love of Siam)
• Umpira Wongthamma (The Life of Buddha)
• Poj Anon (Phuean Koo Rak Mueng Wa or Bangkok Love Story)
• Kongkiat Komsiri (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Chukiat Sakweerakul and Ekasit Thairat (Body #19)

Best Actor

• Arak Amornsupasiri (Body #19)
• Ananda Everingham (Me ... Myself)
• Rattanaballang Tohsawat (Bangkok Love Story)
• Witwisit Hirunwongkul (Love of Siam)
• Akara Amarttayakul (Muay Thai Chaiya)

Best Actress

• Sinjai Plengpanich (The Love of Siam)
• Marsha Wattanapanich (Faed or Alone)
• Lalita Sasiprapha (Ploy)
• Worranuch Wongsawan (Perng Mang the Haunted Drum)
• Suwajanee Chaimusik (Seven Days to Leave My Wife)

Best Supporting Actor

• Songsit Rungnopakunsri (The Love of Siam)
• Chetwut Watcharakun (Rak Na 24 Chuamong or Seven Days 24 Hours)
• Komsan Nanthajit (Baan Pheesing or The House)
• Chaiwat Tongsaeng (Bangkok Love Story)
• Sonthaya Chitmanee (Muay Thai Chaiya)

Best Supporting Actress

• Uthumporn Silaphan (Bangkok Love Story)
• Chermarn Boonyasak (The Love of Siam)
• Sangthong Kate-Uthong (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Kanya Rattanapetch (The Love of Siam)
• Apinya Sakuljaroensuk (Ploy)

Best Cinematography

• Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Chankit Chamnivikaipong (Ploy)
• Tiwa Methaisong (Bangkok Love Story)
• Somboon Phopitakkul (Body #19)
• Jitti Ueanorakarnkij (The Love of Siam)

Best Editing

• Sunit Asawanikul (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Chatchai Katenut and Saranee Wongphan (Final Score)
• Vijja Kojew and Thammarat Sumethasupphachocke (Alone)
• Paween Phurijitpanya, Boonsak Wattanawisit and Surawut Tungkharak (Body #19)
• Chookiat Sakweerakul and Lee Chatametikool (The Love of Siam)

Best Sound

• Ram Indra Sound Recording Studio (Muay Thai Chaiya, The Love of Siam and Ploy - three nominations)
• Kantana Laboratory (Bangkok Love Story and Body #19 - two nominations)

Best Song

• "Parinippan" (The Life of Buddha)
• "Sin Siang Perng Mang" (Perng Mang the Haunted Drum)
• "Suan Nueng Khong Chan" (Alone)
• "Kan Lae Kan" (The Love of Siam)
• "Kuen Un Pen Nirund" (The Love of Siam)

Best Score

• Giant Wave (Perng Mang the Haunted Drum and Bangkok Love Story - two nominations)
• Chatchai Pongpraphaphan (Alone)
• Kaiwal Kulwattanothai (The Life of Buddha)
• Kitti Krueamanee (The Love of Siam)

Best Art Director

• Natsiri Setthakarnvijit (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Guru Team (Bangkok Love Story)
• Komkrit Chaknum (Body #19)
• Witaya Chaimongkol (Alone)
• Phisute Pariwattanakij (The Love of Siam)

Best Costume Designer

• Chatchai Chaiyon (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Nirachara Wannalai (Tud Soo Fud or Kung Fu Tootsie)
• Phra Nakorn Team (Perng Mang the Haunted Drum)
• Visa Kongka (Ploy)
• Ekasit Meprasertkul (The Love of Siam)

Best Make-up

• Rarin Soongsood-iam (Me ... Myself)
• Amarit Chokepreecha (Muay Thai Chaiya)
• Siwakorn Sookalangkarn (Body #19)
• Chawalit Siridejmongkolkul (Perng Mang the Haunted Drum)
• Witaya Deerattrakul (Opapatika)

Best Special Effects

• Sura-ek Thongpetch, Weera Sae-ueng, Julien Van Soenacker and Joaquin Nontserrat (Body #19)
• Sawate Eknarong (Perng Mang the Haunted Drum)
• Oriental Post (Alone)
• Triple X CG (Sick Nurses and Opapatika - two nominations)

(Via The Nation and Deknang)

Ahead of next month's opening of his new romantic drama Kod (Handle Me With Care), writer-director Kongdej Jaturanrasamee talked with the Bangkok Post's Kong Rithdee, for an interview in yesterday's Real Time section.

Kongdej is a sought-after "script doctor", one of the few in the Thai film industry. He did the screenplay for Tony Jaa's Tom Yum Goong ("without him the film would have been even worse," says Kong), last year's amnesiac transgender drama Me ... Myself and the adaptation of the hit comic book Noo Hin: The Movie. But it was his work on 2004's The Letter, the smash-hit Thai remake of the Korean weeper Pyeon ji, that sealed his reputation.

He tells Kong:

I wouldn't call myself a romantic person. Some of the romantic films I wrote happened to become successful with the audience - it started with The Letter - and people got this perception of me as someone who's an expert in love stories. But actually, I always see something else in the scripts I write. I see, for example, our search for security in life or the struggle to find our place on earth.

Aside from Handle Me With Care, Kongdej's other projects include the screenplay for Nonzee Nimibutr's upcoming seaborne fantasy, Queen of Langkasuka, and he's writing the sophomore directorial effort by Me ... Myself's Pongpat Wajirabunjong, a story of a dying woman called Happy Birthday.

It's been his own films where his central theme - the human struggle - really comes through. These are Sayew and the woefully underseen Midnight My Love.

Handle Me With Care is about a man (Kiatkamol Latha) with two left arms who's tired of trying to figure out what to do with the extra appendage and the misery it brings. So he hits the road, looking for a place to cut that third arm off.

Along the way, he meets Na, a woman who attracts a lot of unwanted attention because of her large breasts. She is played by curvy actress Supaksorn Chaimongkol, who's been cast in plenty of cheesecake roles, such as Chai Lai's Angels, Navy Boys and Andaman Girl. I last saw her in Mike B.'s stuntfest, Brave, and somewhere beneath the skin wig she wore when she was playing a Buddhist nun, well, I thought there was more there than meets the eye.

Back to Kong's story. In talking to the scriptwriter, Kong hits on themes he covered in a story elsewhere in Friday's Real Time, about the Thailand Script Project, and what it's like being a screenwriter in the Thai film industry. It ain't what it's cracked up to be. Kong explains:

To become a professional screenplay writer in Thailand is something of a feat in itself given the peculiar fact that a screenplay is probably the most undervalued element in the Thai filmmaking process. The lack of trusted and inspired writers means most filmmakers take on the dual role of writer/director, and while some of them carry their projects to success, the majority of poor-quality Thai films are the result of bad scripts. Film studios, meanwhile, decide to invest in movies based on genre (horror and comedy are priorities) and marketability (stars and hype factor) rather than quality or the originality of the scripts.

In others, writers are not properly respected. Written words are not as revered as visuals, or the ability to create visuals. This is a symptom of an immature film industry. As the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike show that scribes hold certain negotiating power with big studios, Thai screenwriters are often seen as dispensable.

Handle Me With Care opens in Thailand cinemas on February 21.

More information:

• Trailers for Handle Me With Care, Soul's Code
• More about Kod, a.k.a. Handle Me With Care
• Official site

(Photo credit: Via Deknang forum; Kongdej Jaturanrasamee with his Best Screenplay Award from the 2006 Deauville Asian Film Festival.)

In the year's first issue of Real Time in the Bangkok Post today, Kong Rithdee offered up his own views of the tumultuous past year for Thai cinema and a fearful look at the coming year. Thai cinema is facing the dual threats of a new film act that looks set to further hinder independent filmmakers and a "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" government that will likely embrace the media-muzzling, lawsuit-happy ways of its predecessor before the coup.

There's hope though, says Kong:

It will be interesting to see how daredevil indie filmmakers will react to the control-freak new Film Act - and the rise of the Samak Sundaravej government. It's even possible that at this very moment, someone somewhere is scheming to make a movie berating the new bill. If culture depends on the binary opposites of action and reaction to survive, the tight control and Right-leaning administration might actually foster an environment of new creativity.

Another encouraging development is the new Bangkok Museum of Modern Art near Siam Square. It is expected to open around April and have a space for film screenings. Long in the works, this project was initially doomed during Samak Sundaravej's tenure as governor of Bangkok. He wanted to turn it into a parking lot.

Speaking film screenings, a continuing theme that Kong has hammered on more vigorously this year is the business of the multiplex cinema chains, and their tendency to dictate what viewers "must see", screening the latest Hollywood fluff on every screen and promoting the films on huge displays in the lobbies and billboards around the city. Meanwhile, smaller films and most Thai films barely receive any promotion. Kong suggests a quota system similar to Korea, but I don't like the spirit of a move like that and feel it won't really benefit filmgoers.

Anyway, Kong also offers a look at some of the Thai films to be released in 2008, including many that I missed in my roundup for 2008.

An obvious one is of course, Red Eagle. This is a reboot of a 1950s and '60s Thai film series about a masked crime fighter. Wisit Sasanatieng is directing, with Ananda Everingham starring, which I knew about. Production starts in March. What I was missing was a possible release date. Kong says it might be released as soon as August.

Other big names to watch for:

• Songyos Sugmakanan (Dorm) is making a romantic drama transliterated as Pid Term Yai, Hua Jai Wawoon (literally Anxious Heart of Summer Break).
• Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Sayew, Midnight My Love) offers something called Kod "about a three-armed man and a big-bosomed girl".
• Jira Maligool - After the disastrous performance of his well-meaning drama The Tin Mine, the producer-director returns with Murder in the Kitchen, based on a short story by MR Kukrit Pramoj.
• Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom (Shutter, Alone), Yongyuth Thongkongtoon (Iron Ladies, Metrosexual) and Paween Purijitpanya (Body) are making a four-part horror anthology called 4 Prang.
• Pongpat Wachirabunjong - The perennial bad-guy character actor hopes to follow up on the success of his directorial debut Me ... Myself with Happy Birthday, about a girl in a coma.
• Ekachai Uekrongtham - The Beautiful Boxer and Pleasure Factory director directs Ananda Everingham in The Coffin.
• Yuthlert Sippapak - The Buppha Rahtree director is doing Rak Sam Sao, a comedy about a triangular romance between college friends.

There are some independent releases mentioned: Agrarian Utopia, a rice-farming documentary by Urupong Raksasat; Aditya Assarat's Wonderful Town, a romantic drama set in post-tsunami Phuket, and Like Real Love, a new short film by Graceland's Anocha Suwichakornpong (due to premiere at Rotterdam). Also, Pimpaka Towira's political documentary, The Truth be Told, is being touted for a wider release in 2008. It played last year at the inaugural Digital Forum.

Also one to look out for will be The Happiness of Kati, directed by Genwai Thongdeenok, based on the 2006 S.E.A. Write Award-winning novel by Ngarmpun Vejjajiva.