Selection committee also announced for Southeast Asian projects lab.
Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (Seafic), the script development initiative that launched earlier this year, has joined forces with France’s Produire au Sud producer training workshop.
The move will merge Seafic’s nine-month script development programme with Produire au Sud’s long-running producers’ workshop in Bangkok.
Titled Seafic x Pas, the pact will consolidate both programme’s calls for entries.
The five projects eventually selected for Seafic will be automatically be enrolled in Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia workshop.
The directors and screenwriter will also attend Seafic’s script development lab, while in parallel the producers of those same projects shall attend Produire au Sud, held at he Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.
Previously held annually in Bangkok in November, Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia lab will now move to Chiang Mai, Thailand and will run concurrently with Seafic’s first session (Oct 23-...
Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (Seafic), the script development initiative that launched earlier this year, has joined forces with France’s Produire au Sud producer training workshop.
The move will merge Seafic’s nine-month script development programme with Produire au Sud’s long-running producers’ workshop in Bangkok.
Titled Seafic x Pas, the pact will consolidate both programme’s calls for entries.
The five projects eventually selected for Seafic will be automatically be enrolled in Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia workshop.
The directors and screenwriter will also attend Seafic’s script development lab, while in parallel the producers of those same projects shall attend Produire au Sud, held at he Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.
Previously held annually in Bangkok in November, Produire au Sud’s Southeast Asia lab will now move to Chiang Mai, Thailand and will run concurrently with Seafic’s first session (Oct 23-...
- 7/7/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Directors include Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho.Scroll down for full list
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including films from directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors...
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including films from directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors...
- 8/19/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Directors include Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho.
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors include July Jung, the [link=nm...
Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.
Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.
The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.
Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.
The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.
Korean directors include July Jung, the [link=nm...
- 8/19/2014
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Get ready for a deluge of Cannes news, kids. It was bound to start sooner or later, right? First up is a bevy of new horror titles coming at us from Thailand’s Five Star Production. Read on for all the details you need.
Screen Daily is reporting that Thailand’s Five Star Production has picked up worldwide rights to horror thriller Hong Hoon (pictured right and below).
The film is a contemporary take on a Thai folk tale, directed by Kulp Kaljareuk and starring Ananda Everingham and Thai actress and model Rattanarat “Ploy” Aurthaveekul. The story revolves around a woman who believes she lost her father in an accident, but is approached by a stranger who explains that he died because he had a wax figure made of himself. The Thai belief that such figures should never be made until after death has been explored in several radio dramas,...
Screen Daily is reporting that Thailand’s Five Star Production has picked up worldwide rights to horror thriller Hong Hoon (pictured right and below).
The film is a contemporary take on a Thai folk tale, directed by Kulp Kaljareuk and starring Ananda Everingham and Thai actress and model Rattanarat “Ploy” Aurthaveekul. The story revolves around a woman who believes she lost her father in an accident, but is approached by a stranger who explains that he died because he had a wax figure made of himself. The Thai belief that such figures should never be made until after death has been explored in several radio dramas,...
- 5/14/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Exclusive: Thailand’s Five Star Production has picked up worldwide rights to horror thriller Hong Hoon.
The film is a contemporary take on a Thai folk tale, directed by Kulp Kaljareuk and starring Ananda Everingham and Thai actress and model Rattanarat “Ploy” Aurthaveekul.
The story revolves around a woman who believes she lost her father in an accident, but is approached by a stranger who explains that he died because he had a wax figure made of himself.
The Thai belief that such figures should never be made until after death has been explored in several radio dramas, TV series and films.
A member of the third generation of the family that runs the Kantana studios group, Kaljareuk also heads production subsidiary Kantana Motion Pictures. He previously produced short film Loop (2009), starring Everingham, and is making his feature directing debut with Hong Hoon.
According to Five Star, the film is a darker and more stylised spin on...
The film is a contemporary take on a Thai folk tale, directed by Kulp Kaljareuk and starring Ananda Everingham and Thai actress and model Rattanarat “Ploy” Aurthaveekul.
The story revolves around a woman who believes she lost her father in an accident, but is approached by a stranger who explains that he died because he had a wax figure made of himself.
The Thai belief that such figures should never be made until after death has been explored in several radio dramas, TV series and films.
A member of the third generation of the family that runs the Kantana studios group, Kaljareuk also heads production subsidiary Kantana Motion Pictures. He previously produced short film Loop (2009), starring Everingham, and is making his feature directing debut with Hong Hoon.
According to Five Star, the film is a darker and more stylised spin on...
- 5/14/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The Thailand International Film Destination Festival wrapped on April 29, with awards presented to the winners of the Amazing Thailand Film Challenge.
The short film competition involves 112 filmmakers, both students and professionals, flying to Thailand to make a short film in seven days.
The New Talent Award for Best Film went to Man by Charlotte Rabate and Chananun Chotrungroj, while Return Of The Golden Lily, directed by Takashi Hirose and Magnus Orn Thors, won the Experienced Vision Award for Best Film.
Launched last year, the festival aims to showcase Thailand as an international shooting destination, and also featured screenings of films that have shot in Thailand such as Peter Fudakowski’s Secret Sharer, Roy Alfred Jr’s Glory Days and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
Awards also went to guests for their contributions to Thailand’s international film industry, including producer Daemon Hillin (A Stranger In Paradise), production designer James Newport (Bangkok Dangerous) and actresses [link=nm...
The short film competition involves 112 filmmakers, both students and professionals, flying to Thailand to make a short film in seven days.
The New Talent Award for Best Film went to Man by Charlotte Rabate and Chananun Chotrungroj, while Return Of The Golden Lily, directed by Takashi Hirose and Magnus Orn Thors, won the Experienced Vision Award for Best Film.
Launched last year, the festival aims to showcase Thailand as an international shooting destination, and also featured screenings of films that have shot in Thailand such as Peter Fudakowski’s Secret Sharer, Roy Alfred Jr’s Glory Days and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
Awards also went to guests for their contributions to Thailand’s international film industry, including producer Daemon Hillin (A Stranger In Paradise), production designer James Newport (Bangkok Dangerous) and actresses [link=nm...
- 5/2/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Drama will reunite director with Headshot producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon and is set to star Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak.
Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang is reuniting with his Headshot producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon on drama Samui Song, set to star Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak.
Chermarn will play an actress who is worried by her foreign husband’s growing obsession with a cult-like religious sect and its charasmatic leader, the Holy One. A mysterious stranger offers to rid her of her problem, but she ends up taking drastic measures to escape falling under the influence of the Holy One.
The cult leader will be played by Vithaya “Pu” Pansringarm, who recently starred in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives. Chermarn has credits including The Love Of Siam, Eternity and a supporting role in Pen-ek’s 2003 Last Life In The Universe.
Despite Samui Song’s dark themes, Pen-ek and Phathanavirangoon describe it as less serious than award-winning 2012 noir thriller Headshot.
“Using Hitchcock...
Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang is reuniting with his Headshot producer Raymond Phathanavirangoon on drama Samui Song, set to star Chermarn “Ploy” Boonyasak.
Chermarn will play an actress who is worried by her foreign husband’s growing obsession with a cult-like religious sect and its charasmatic leader, the Holy One. A mysterious stranger offers to rid her of her problem, but she ends up taking drastic measures to escape falling under the influence of the Holy One.
The cult leader will be played by Vithaya “Pu” Pansringarm, who recently starred in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives. Chermarn has credits including The Love Of Siam, Eternity and a supporting role in Pen-ek’s 2003 Last Life In The Universe.
Despite Samui Song’s dark themes, Pen-ek and Phathanavirangoon describe it as less serious than award-winning 2012 noir thriller Headshot.
“Using Hitchcock...
- 3/25/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Head wounds are unpredictable. One person might endure grievous trauma to the noggin and display no ill effects, while a seemingly minor knock on the dome can drop someone else into a coma for years. So I don't find it difficult at all to accept the idea that a man who survives being shot in the head might find that he sees everything upside-down. That's part of the basic conceit of Headshot, a cops and gangsters thriller from Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang in which a cop experiences exactly that sort of shooting and aftermath, and then tries to deal with the aftermath. I've been following the slow reveal of images and video from Headshot ever since the first materials premiered on Twitch [1]. A couple of trailers showed up there over the past months, and we never ran them. The English-subtitled one is cropping up once more this week, likely thanks...
- 10/27/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
#11. Headshot Director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang Cast: Nopachai “Peter” Jayanama, Sirin “Cris” Horwang, Chanokporn “Dream” Sayoungkul, Apisit “Joey Boy” Opasaimlikit, Krerkkiat Punpiputt Distributor: Rights Available Buzz: I've been keeping tabs on Ratanaruang oeuvre since 99's 6ixtynin9 and while his most recent work (2007's Ploy and 2009's Nymph) only wetted my appetite, I've got a feeling that Toronto programmers will serve a full plate with this number shot from the perspective of the film's lead. With dp Chankit Chamnivikaipong once again onboard, we can at least expect this to visually deliver. The Gist: Adapted from the novel Fon Tok Kuen Fa (Rain Falling Up The Sky) by award-winning writer Win Leowarin, this tells the story of a hitman (Nopachai Jayanama) who wakes up after a two-month coma to find that he literally sees everything upside down (and so does the point of view of the camera). He tries to quit his job, but...
- 9/3/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Fresh off its announcement as part of the Vanguard lineup at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, Twitch has a batch of new stills plus the first look at the official poster for Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's Headshot.Widely hailed as the return to the sort of smart, genre oriented fare that marked his early career, Headshot is a character driven crime noir from the director of Last Life In The Universe, Invisible Waves and Ploy.Present-day Thailand is rife with corruption. Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician and framed from a crime he did not commit. Disillusioned and vengeful, he is soon recruited to become a hitman for a shadowy group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But one day,...
- 8/3/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Time for a quick break from the news coming out of Cannes. With the emphasis on quick, here's a bit on what's going on elsewhere.
First, on the film journal front, Midnight Eye's posted three new reviews and a feature by Mark Player, "Post-Human Nightmares: The World of Japanese Cyberpunk Cinema." The new Offscreen features pieces on Luis Buñuel, Jesús Franco, Wristcutters: A Love Story, A Single Man and 3D. Word from Catherine Grant: "The second issue of the new Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism has just been posted online, with a wonderful looking Lang dossier, a fine tribute to the late Robin Wood, which takes the form of seven of his rarest pieces from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. And there's more besides on Susan Hayward and Vincente Minnelli." Speaking of Lang, you'll want to see David Bordwell's latest entry on how Lang shifts our alignment and...
First, on the film journal front, Midnight Eye's posted three new reviews and a feature by Mark Player, "Post-Human Nightmares: The World of Japanese Cyberpunk Cinema." The new Offscreen features pieces on Luis Buñuel, Jesús Franco, Wristcutters: A Love Story, A Single Man and 3D. Word from Catherine Grant: "The second issue of the new Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism has just been posted online, with a wonderful looking Lang dossier, a fine tribute to the late Robin Wood, which takes the form of seven of his rarest pieces from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. And there's more besides on Susan Hayward and Vincente Minnelli." Speaking of Lang, you'll want to see David Bordwell's latest entry on how Lang shifts our alignment and...
- 5/16/2011
- MUBI
#35. Headshot Director/Writer: Pen-ek RatanaruangProducers: Pawas Sawatchaiyamet and Raymond PhathanavirangoonDistributor: Rights Available. The Gist: Adapted from the novel Fon Tok Kuen Fa (Rain Falling Up The Sky) by award-winning writer Win Leowarin, this tells the story of a hitman (Nopachai Jayanama) who wakes up after a two-month coma to find that he literally sees everything upside down. He tries to quit his job, but the past starts to catch up with him.....(more) Cast: Nopachai Jayanama and Cris Horwang List Worthy Reasons...: Despite not being big on his last pair Ploy and Nymph as we mentioned before, we damn well love the concept of shooting from the perspective of the film's lead and with dp Chankit Chamnivikaipong once again onboard we expect this to visually deliver. Release Date/Status?: Somewhere in post-production, Ratanaruang (a Cannes regular) will be back in May...but the big question is which section will it fall in?...
- 1/14/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Exciting news from the Pen-Ek Ratanaruang camp with word that his return to the noir tinged style where he first made his name is now in production and evidently looking good enough that it's already picked up distribution in France.
Titled Headshot we've got the first still from the picture above and here's the official sales announcement with additional details about the film:
Wild Side Goes For Ratanaruang's 'Headshot'
A return to the crime thriller genre by one of Thailand's most acclaimed directors
Bangkok, December 16th 2010 - Headshot, the latest project by renowned Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (6IXTYNIN9, Last Life In The Universe, Ploy), has been acquired by distributor Wild Side for distribution in France. The film is currently in production.
Produced by Local Color Films, whose previous productions include Wisit Sasanatieng's Red Eagle and the omnibus Sawasdee Bangkok, Headshot is a modern film noir adapted from the novel...
Titled Headshot we've got the first still from the picture above and here's the official sales announcement with additional details about the film:
Wild Side Goes For Ratanaruang's 'Headshot'
A return to the crime thriller genre by one of Thailand's most acclaimed directors
Bangkok, December 16th 2010 - Headshot, the latest project by renowned Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang (6IXTYNIN9, Last Life In The Universe, Ploy), has been acquired by distributor Wild Side for distribution in France. The film is currently in production.
Produced by Local Color Films, whose previous productions include Wisit Sasanatieng's Red Eagle and the omnibus Sawasdee Bangkok, Headshot is a modern film noir adapted from the novel...
- 12/16/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Thai film was celebrated in Cannes last year with when Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul won the Palme D'or with Uncle Boonmee, and next May Cannes should be seeing the other prolific Thai director in Pen-ek Ratanaruang. Currently filming Headshot, French distributor Wild Side Films has picked up the film, which further indicates that a Cannes premiere is very likely. Nopachai Jayanama, who starred in Ratanaruang's Nymph, will be cast alongside an actress going by the name of Cris Horwang. Pawas Sawatchaiyamet and Raymond Phathanavirangoon are producing. Gist: Adapted from the novel Fon Tok Kuen Fa (Rain Falling Up The Sky) by award-winning writer Win Leowarin, this tells the story of a hitman (Nopachai Jayanama) who wakes up after a two-month coma to find that he literally sees everything upside down. He tries to quit his job, but the past starts to catch up with him. Worth Noting: Ratanaruang is what we call a Cannes regular.
- 12/16/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
[A little while back, Toronto International Film Festival programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon checked in to share a list of his most anticipated titles of 2009 and now he’s coming back to us with a series of quick looks at his selections for the big festival and why he feels they are important films. Up first is the latest from Pen-Ek Ratanaruang!]
Hi all, after my last article about my most anticipated 2009 titles (in which, unfortunately, only 5 of them actually made 2009), I’m back to introduce some of the films I have programmed this year at the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s a particularly strong year for Asian cinema, and overall I’m very happy with the films I have chosen.
The first film I’d like to introduce is Nymph by Pen-ek Ratanaruang. It has already been reviewed here (by none other than Todd himself), but the version that will be showing in Toronto is not the Cannes version. Instead, Tiff will be screening the international premiere of the Director’s Cut version of the film, which is a full 15 minutes shorter than the Cannes cut. Other changes include the addition of a soundtrack and a color-corrected print, among others. Some say that the new version moves faster, but I...
Hi all, after my last article about my most anticipated 2009 titles (in which, unfortunately, only 5 of them actually made 2009), I’m back to introduce some of the films I have programmed this year at the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s a particularly strong year for Asian cinema, and overall I’m very happy with the films I have chosen.
The first film I’d like to introduce is Nymph by Pen-ek Ratanaruang. It has already been reviewed here (by none other than Todd himself), but the version that will be showing in Toronto is not the Cannes version. Instead, Tiff will be screening the international premiere of the Director’s Cut version of the film, which is a full 15 minutes shorter than the Cannes cut. Other changes include the addition of a soundtrack and a color-corrected print, among others. Some say that the new version moves faster, but I...
- 8/17/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
In my opinion Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s supernaturally tinged drama Nymph bears roughly the same relationship to his previous film Ploy as his Invisible Waves did to Last Life In The Universe. Both Last Life and Ploy marked first forays into a new style of film, forays quickly followed up by second movements meant - at least in part - to push deeper into that style of film making, with several key elements and the basic style of shooting repeated. But, unfortunately, the second shot at the new style in both Invisible Waves and Nymph is just simply not as successful as the first steps were.
- 5/20/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
Hawaii International Film Festival
HONOLULU -- Romantic jealousy leads to vicious suspicion in Ploy, Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang's follow-up to Invisible Waves, as a couple attempt to come to terms with the remnants of their faltering relationship.
Factoring in critical support and Ratanaruang's Asian auteur cachet, this 2007 Cannes Directors' Fortnight selection should be assured a healthy fest run and with savvy marketing could see modest success in niche markets.
Wit (Pornwut Sarasin) and his wife Dang (Lalita Panyopas) return to Bangkok after seven years in the U.S. to attend a funeral, taking a hotel room to rest up after their red-eye flight. Wit goes down to the lobby bar to buy a pack of cigarettes, where he encounters Ploy (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk), a waif-like young woman waiting to meet her mother later that day at the hotel. Their casual conversation reveals they share the same hometown, prompting Wit to offer Ploy the use of his room to shower and relax.
Dang, trying to get some sleep, is none too happy to meet Wit's new friend. Although she acts polite to Ploy, Dang quietly tells Wit to get rid of the girl. Their tense conversation indicates that all is not well after Wit refuses to ask Ploy to leave. Later, when Dang tries to discuss their deteriorating relationship, Wit avoids divulging too much about his feelings, prompting her to accuse him of infidelity.
In a parallel story line, hotel bartender Nut (Ananda Everingham) engages housekeeping maid Tum (Phornthip Papanai) in a steamy erotic encounter, setting up a telling contrast to the aridity of Wit and Dang's marriage.
Dang clearly feels threatened by the possibility that Wit might be attracted to Ploy, prompting a violent dream about smothering the girl to death. Upset by her disturbing fantasies and argument with Wit, Dang retreats to the hotel lobby, leaving Wit and Ploy alone as she embarks on a questionable assignation of her own.
Ratanaruang's unhurried pace gradually ratchets up the tension in this charged scenario by obscuring his characters' motivations and manipulating the narrative with telling dream sequences that reveal their ulterior intentions. Chankit Chamnivikaipong returns as cinematographer, conjuring a twilit lighting design that evocatively infers the early morning time frame and the characters' sleep-deprived state, while Ratanaruang's carefully plotted camera moves and deliberate framing emphasize their isolation and disconnectedness.
PLOY
Five Star Production Co. and Fortissimo Films in association with the Film Factory
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Producer: Rewat Vorarat
Executive producer: Charoen Iamphungporn
Cinematographer: Chankit Chamnivikaipong
Production designers: Saksiri Chantarangsri, Wittaya Chaimongkol
Music: Hualampong Riddim, Koichi Shimizu
Editor: Patamanadda Yukol
Cast:
Dang: Lalita Panyopas
Wit: Pornwut Sarasin
Ploy: Apinya Sakuljaroensuk
Tum: Phornthip Papanai
Nut: Ananda Everingham
Running time --107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
HONOLULU -- Romantic jealousy leads to vicious suspicion in Ploy, Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang's follow-up to Invisible Waves, as a couple attempt to come to terms with the remnants of their faltering relationship.
Factoring in critical support and Ratanaruang's Asian auteur cachet, this 2007 Cannes Directors' Fortnight selection should be assured a healthy fest run and with savvy marketing could see modest success in niche markets.
Wit (Pornwut Sarasin) and his wife Dang (Lalita Panyopas) return to Bangkok after seven years in the U.S. to attend a funeral, taking a hotel room to rest up after their red-eye flight. Wit goes down to the lobby bar to buy a pack of cigarettes, where he encounters Ploy (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk), a waif-like young woman waiting to meet her mother later that day at the hotel. Their casual conversation reveals they share the same hometown, prompting Wit to offer Ploy the use of his room to shower and relax.
Dang, trying to get some sleep, is none too happy to meet Wit's new friend. Although she acts polite to Ploy, Dang quietly tells Wit to get rid of the girl. Their tense conversation indicates that all is not well after Wit refuses to ask Ploy to leave. Later, when Dang tries to discuss their deteriorating relationship, Wit avoids divulging too much about his feelings, prompting her to accuse him of infidelity.
In a parallel story line, hotel bartender Nut (Ananda Everingham) engages housekeeping maid Tum (Phornthip Papanai) in a steamy erotic encounter, setting up a telling contrast to the aridity of Wit and Dang's marriage.
Dang clearly feels threatened by the possibility that Wit might be attracted to Ploy, prompting a violent dream about smothering the girl to death. Upset by her disturbing fantasies and argument with Wit, Dang retreats to the hotel lobby, leaving Wit and Ploy alone as she embarks on a questionable assignation of her own.
Ratanaruang's unhurried pace gradually ratchets up the tension in this charged scenario by obscuring his characters' motivations and manipulating the narrative with telling dream sequences that reveal their ulterior intentions. Chankit Chamnivikaipong returns as cinematographer, conjuring a twilit lighting design that evocatively infers the early morning time frame and the characters' sleep-deprived state, while Ratanaruang's carefully plotted camera moves and deliberate framing emphasize their isolation and disconnectedness.
PLOY
Five Star Production Co. and Fortissimo Films in association with the Film Factory
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Producer: Rewat Vorarat
Executive producer: Charoen Iamphungporn
Cinematographer: Chankit Chamnivikaipong
Production designers: Saksiri Chantarangsri, Wittaya Chaimongkol
Music: Hualampong Riddim, Koichi Shimizu
Editor: Patamanadda Yukol
Cast:
Dang: Lalita Panyopas
Wit: Pornwut Sarasin
Ploy: Apinya Sakuljaroensuk
Tum: Phornthip Papanai
Nut: Ananda Everingham
Running time --107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MADRID -- Those who missed out on Pascal Ferran's Lady Chatterley at Berlin, Anton Corbijn's Control at Cannes or Etger Keret and Shira Geffen's Camera d'Or-winning Jellyfish will have another chance to see them at the 55th San Sebastian International Film Festival, organizers said Thursday.
The films will join five others from previous festivals in the Zabaltegi-Pearls section. Zabaltegi-Pearls will compete for the TCM Audience Award, which carries a 70,000 ($94,930) for the importer of the winning film. A second prize of 35,000 will go to the European film obtaining the most votes from the audience at the end of each screening.
Barbet Schroeder's Terror's Advocate, Nadine Labaki's Lebanese beauty salon-centered Caramel, Frank Oz's family drama Death at a Funeral, Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Ploy and Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" round out the showcase's slate.
Zabaltegi-Pearls also will offer special screenings of Carlos Saura's music-based Fados, screening in Toronto; a restored version of Richard Lester's Beatles movie Help; and Lou Reed's Berlin, Schnabel's tribute to Lou Reed's 2005 live performance of his mythical album.
The films will join five others from previous festivals in the Zabaltegi-Pearls section. Zabaltegi-Pearls will compete for the TCM Audience Award, which carries a 70,000 ($94,930) for the importer of the winning film. A second prize of 35,000 will go to the European film obtaining the most votes from the audience at the end of each screening.
Barbet Schroeder's Terror's Advocate, Nadine Labaki's Lebanese beauty salon-centered Caramel, Frank Oz's family drama Death at a Funeral, Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Ploy and Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" round out the showcase's slate.
Zabaltegi-Pearls also will offer special screenings of Carlos Saura's music-based Fados, screening in Toronto; a restored version of Richard Lester's Beatles movie Help; and Lou Reed's Berlin, Schnabel's tribute to Lou Reed's 2005 live performance of his mythical album.
- 8/24/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Day 7: There are all kinds of media at Cannes – the worst ones are those pesky photographers. You can spot them everywhere – don’t get in their way or they will mow you down as was the fact yesterday when Brad (here for Ocean’s 13) and Angelina came to promote her latest film and some clown nearly broke my foot. I figure that I’d pass on seeing on A Mighty Heart even though I find Winterbottom one of the more interesting directors out there. It’ll be out in less than a month from now. Surprisingly, yesterday's 8:30 screening for Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park proved to be a good bet. There is a shape to the film and it’s a nice mix of cinematic style and use of narrative. I believe this is his second film with Christopher Doyle – the two together make for a good team.
- 5/22/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Sunday was a day where many folks in the media relaxed and where a collage of films form celebrated Cannes filmmakers was a nice change of pace. It started off in the early a.m. again with Chacun son cinema– a collection of 3-minute short films that surprisingly, make the grade. My favorite comes from the hands of Lars von Trier who basically sets up a little story about him sitting next to an annoying audience member who talks during the screening of a film (Manderlay). The punchline is the moment where the annoying man asks Lars “what he does for a living”. Without giving away the specifics of how he responds he basically does what everyone at some moment of their lives wished they could do to the annoying person sitting next to them while trying to watch a film. Delicious. A quick trot over to the Noga
- 5/21/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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