News

Netflix Thailand is adding a rags-to-riches series exec produced by the team behind How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and a feel-good movie about snow sculpting to a nine-strong originals slate for 2025.

The streamer has unveiled one new series, one returner and six movies. As revealed last week, it is also putting a February 27 launch date on its upcoming series Dalah: Death and the Flowers.

The slate comes at a delicate time for Netflix Thailand, which this week saw originals chief Yongyoot Thongkongtoon exit for “personal reasons,” according to trade title Content Asia.

On the series front comes Mad Unicorn and the returning faith and finance drama The Believers. Mad Unicorn is from Thai studio Gdh 559 and is notable as the series directorial debut of Nottapon Boonprakob, a writer for One for the Road. Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak, who were behind the megahit film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,...

Continuing its run of slate launches globally, Netflix unveiled new Indonesian originals premiering on its platform this year.

The streamer is working on its first collaboration with director and comedian Ernest Prakasa, titled The Actor (Lupa Daratan). The comedy-drama film is about an egocentric actor who is on the cusp of landing the lead role in a prestige biopic, but suddenly finds himself stripped of his acting abilities. The film stars Vino G. Bastian, Agus Kuncoro and Dea Panendra.

Netflix will also launch its first zombie film from Indonesia, The Elixir, from accomplished horror director Kimo Stamboel. Previously announced with the working title of Abadi Nan Jaya, the film tells the story of a potion that ends up triggering a zombie outbreak due to the ambition of a herbal medicine company’s owner. The Elixir stars Donny Damara, Mikha Tambayong, Eva Celia, Dimas Anggara, Kiki Narendra and Marthino Lio.

The...

Four features and two series include the latest from award-winning director Wisit Sasanatieng.

Netflix has announced its first ever slate of original features and series from Thailand, directed by a string of award-winning filmmakers and produced by powerhouse studios Gdh and Gmm.

The films include The Murderer, directed by Wisit Sasanatieng, which marks the streaming platform’s first feature in the northeastern Thai dialect. It stars popular Thai comedian Mum Jokmok as a policeman who investigates whether an English man has killed his Thai in-laws.

Wisit is known for titles such as Western homage Tears Of The Black Tiger, which...

International streaming company Netflix has unveiled six new titles representing its first wide-ranging slate of content from Thailand.

Its four films and two series span the comedy, suspense and comedy drama genres and hail from six different local production firms – Gmm Studios, International, Gdh, Song Sound Productions, Transformation Films, 18 Tanwa and Jungka Bangkok. Significantly, too, they are sourced from established directors or producers.

Writer-director Prueksa Amaruji’s dark comedy film “Lost Lotteries” is produced by Ekachai Uekrongtham and will stream from mid-November.

Writer-producer Kongdej Jaturanrasmee and veteran indie producer Soros Sukhum are behind director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri’s “Hunger,” a family drama with food as its central theme. It stars Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, aka Aok Bap, the breakout star of “Bad Genius” and a former Talent to Watch, selected by Variety and the International Film Festival & Awards Macao.

Veteran director Wisit Sasanatieng (“Tears of the Black Tiger”) is directing “The Murderer,...

Netflix is broadening its original content output from Thailand, a country with a history of punching above its weight with original genre filmmaking, TV production and creative advertising.

Netflix has produced and released a smattering of individual originals from Thailand over the past few years — including reality series The Stranded and crime thriller Bangkok Breaking — but the lineup unveiled by the streamer at a glitzy event in Bangkok Tuesday evening represents its first full Thai slate. The slate includes four films and two series.

“From broad comedy to twisty thrillers, this is our most diverse lineup of titles to date in Thailand,” said Netflix’s director of content for Thailand, Yongyoot Thongkongtoon.

“While we explore class disparity in culinary film Hunger, pay homage to itinerant mobile film troupes in Mon Rak Nak Pak and follow the emotional journey of strangers pretending to be a family in Analog Squad,...

Streaming giant shakes up senior team in its fastest growing region.

Netflix has reshuffled its creative leadership team in Asia Pacific with South Korean executive Minyoung Kim appointed to oversee operations across the region, excluding India.

Asia Pacific is the steaming giant’s second-largest territory in terms of paid subscription growth.

Kim was formerly vice president of content for Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand where she expanded Netflix’s remit to invest $500m in Korean TV series and films in 2021.

Since joining Netflix in 2016, she has spearheaded the streamer’s Korean content growth with series such as Kingdom,...

The Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) returns for its 32nd edition from 25th November to 5th December 2021, with a call for entries for Feature Films from Asian and Short Films from Southeast Asian, as well as a call for applications for the Southeast Asian Film Lab and Youth Jury & Critics Programme. For the first time ever, Sgiff will have an open call for applications for its Southeast Asian Producers Network Programme this year. Since its inception in 2017, participants were invited to be part of the Southeast Asian Producers Network.

Under Sgiff’s Film Academy, the region’s first holistic training initiative for Southeast Asian film talents, the Southeast Asian Producers Network was a by-invitation-only programme that identified producers from the region to share their wealth of knowledge and information with one another in an open exchange of ideas. The network is a platform for further dialogue and opportunities for collaboration.

Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, the Thai film director who enjoys a cult international following, says the film industry in his native Thailand is not in healthy condition. His critique emerged this week as part of a freewheeling in-conversation event at the Singapore International Film Festival.

“In Thailand, in terms of the movie business, it is not healthy enough,” said Thongkongtoon. “The cost of making movies every day is getting higher and higher, but the number of admissions, compared to the price, is getting lower. The size of the Thai market is not enough. We have to push Thai content to reach a global standard of storytelling to expand the market.”

Thongkongtoon said that good films will still survive the current period of digital disruption. “Because of the digital disrupt, people have changed their lifestyles, their habits. Now they want something fast, convenient, anytime, anywhere,” he said. The filmmaker said that going to...

The Silver Screen Awards will have four films by women filmmakers in competition.

The 29th Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) announced its full line-up today, with 103 films from 44 countries, and the launch of a new Sgiff Film Fund.

The new funding scheme aims to nurture up-and-coming Southeast Asian filmmakers through two grants. The Tan Ean Kiam Foundation – Sgiff Southeast Asian - Documentary Grant will support four mid-length or feature projects annually, with a cash amount of S$25,000 each, while the Sgiff South East Asian – Short Film Grant will support two short films annually, with a cash amount of S$4,000 and...

Thai production house Gdh 559 is launching its inaugural slate with Banjong Pisanthanakun’s anticipated romance.

Banjong Pisanthanakun’s One Day is set to open on Sept 1 as the first title from the debut slate of new Thai production house Gdh 559, following the breakup of Gmm Tai Hub (Gth) last year.

The highly-anticipated romance film reunites Banjong with his leading man and co-screenwriter Chantavit “Ter” Dhanasevi (Hello Stranger).

The story follows Ter’s character who risks everything to be with his dream girl for just one day by pretending to be her boyfriend after she suffers temporary memory loss.

TV actress Nittha “Mew” Jirayungyurn makes her big screen debut in the film, which was mainly shot on location in Hokkaido, Japan.

Another upcoming Gdh title is New Year’s Gift, which is scheduled for release on Dec 1. The feel-good romantic drama is a three-part omnibus directed by Jira Maligool (The Tin Mine), Nithiwat Tharatorn (The Teacher’s Diary...

The 35th edition of Hawaii International Film Festival (Hiff) recently announced their Audience Award winners. Throughout the festival, ballots were distributed for the screenings of every eligible film. Audiences voted on their favorite narrative feature, documentary feature and short film.

The audience award for Best Narrative Feature went to "Kitarajanipon," a feature comprised of four short films directed by four leading Thai directors. Each film was inspired by the songs from His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej’s (also known as King Rama IX) royal songbook, which threads each film together into one feature presentation. "The Singers" directed by Nonzee Nimibutr, "Smiles" by Wallop Prasopphol, "Falling Rain" by Parkpoom Wongpoom, and "Star" by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon artfully reinterpret the profound meaning and philosophy behind the monarch’s songs.

The audience award for Best Documentary Feature went to"Tyrus," directed by Pamela Tom. The film tells the unlikely story of the 104-year old artist Tyrus Wong, reveals the significant impact Wong has made in the world of art and animation while telling the dramatic and little known story of Chinese Americans in the 20th century.

The audience award for Best Short Film went to "The Roots of ‘Ulu," directed by John Antonelli. The transports the viewer from the mythological origins of ‘ulu, to the Polynesian voyaging canoes that brought ‘ulu, or breadfruit, from Tahiti to Hawaii, illuminating its important role in cultural preservation and food sustainability for Hawaii's future.

Hiff Executive Director Robert Lambeth highlights, "The diversity of the HIFF35 Audience Award winners presented by Hawaii News Now show that our audiences truly have international tastes and that the power of cinema is universal."

Earlier in the festival, during the Awards Gala, Hiff honored actress Ryoko Hirosue with the Career Achievement Award. She is best known for her role in the Luc Besson produced "Wasabi" co-starring Jean Reno and "Departures," the winner of an Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film. Hiff premiered her latest film, "Hana's Miso Soup." Actor Tadanobu Asano was honored with the Maverick Award for his bold performances in seminal films and cult classics, such as "Ichi the Killer," "Bright Future," "Last Life in the Universe" and more recently "Journey to the Shore," working with the top directors around the world for over twenty years. Actor Ha Jung Woo, from South Korea, was honored with the Renaissance Award for his profound career as an actor ("The Chaser," "Assassination"), also as a director ("Fasten Your Seatbelt") and as a painter. Known to attract both critical acclaim and commercial success, Ha quickly became the most in-demand leading actor of his generation in Korean cinema.

Also presented during the Gala were the Halekulani Golden Orchid awards for Best Narrative Feature to director Shin Su-won (South Korea) for the film, "Madonna;" Best Documentary Feature Award to "Crocodile Gennadiy," directed by Steve Hoover; and Best Short Film Award to "Ahi Ka," directed by Richard Curtis (New Zealand). "The Kids" (Taiwan 2015), by Sunny Yu was presented with the Netpac award for Best Asian Film from an Emerging Filmmaker this past weekend.

Stephen Chow is working with Thai studio Gth to develop a thriller for the Chinese market, the Hollywood Reporter has learned. The film will be a China-Thailand co-production, directed by Gth’s Banjong Pisanthanakun, who recently smashed Thailand’s all-time domestic box office record with his horror-comedy Pee Mak Phra Khanong, grossing $35 million. "It’s a good time for us to pursue new challenges," said Gth’s senior director of international business Yongyoot Thongkongtoon. “This is the first step of what we hope will be a long term collaboration.” Photos: China Box Office: 10 Highest-Grossing Movies of

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Phobia

Stars: Laila Boonyasak, Pongsatorn Jongwilak, Maneerat Kham-uan | Directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, Paween Purikitpanya, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom

Phobia is a compendium of four short horror films – in the style of the classic Us horror movies such as Tales From The Crypt, Twilight Zone: The Movie and Creepshow – from a selection of Thai directors.

The first, ‘Happiness’, directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, focuses exclusively on a lone occupant of a single room, a young woman incarcerated in her apartment due to a broken leg suffered in a car accident. She is bored and lonely until she starts receiving text messages from an unknown stranger. Thongkongtoon’s ponderous and quasi-poetic direction adeptly transforms familiar surroundings into first unsettling and then frightening environments. This dialogue-free short is the most subtle of the quartet and a strong opening salvo.

Paween Purikitpanya’s ‘Tit for Tat’ follows, in which a group of bullies are expelled...

Fans of foreign horror and anthology flicks should be rubbing their hands together with glee as the Thai hit Phobia lands on UK DVD shelves on May 10th.

From the Press Release:

“Yongyoot Thongkongtoon kicks things off with ‘Happiness’, a dialogue-free installment featuring a teenage girl, housebound due to injuries received in a taxi accident, whose only connection to the outside world is via her mobile phone. Another boring evening starts to look promising when she begins receiving friendly text messages from a mysterious boy. Things take a turn for the worse when it becomes apparent that the texts are being sent from beyond the grave by a lonely corpse and he’s very keen to meet up…

In ‘Tit For Tat’ a group of dope-smoking school bullies face bloody, ‘Final Destination’-style retribution when their latest victim, a fellow student, seeks revenge via black magic and a terrifying curse...

Thai horror continues to go from strength to strength with “Phobia 2” (also more awkwardly referred to as “4bia 2”), sequel to the popular 2008 anthology piece. This time around the film offers not four, but five short tales of terror, with producer Yongyoot Thongkongtoon (“Iron Ladies”) pulling together an impressive line up of top directors in the returning Paween Purijitpunya (“Body”), and Parkpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisonthanakun (co-helmers of the blockbusters “Shutter” and “Alone”), along with newcomers Songyos Sugmakanan (“Dorm”) and Wisoot Poolworraluck (a veteran Thai producer, who worked on “Nang-Nak”). Although horror anthologies can be notoriously hit and miss affairs, the film was a massive commercial success, breaking box office records during its domestic release and becoming the country’s top grossing genre production of all time. First up is “Novice”, from Paween Purijitpanya, which follows a young delinquent teen called Pey (Jirayu Raongmanee), whose mother dumps him at an isolated...

From Albania to Vietnam, 65 countries are hoping that their film entries will get picked to fill one of the five slots for Best Foreign Language Film for the 82nd annual Academy Awards.

Five slots, 65 countries, the competition is fierce! Our friends from Variety gave us this list, is your country of choice one of the 65 hopefuls?

I'm happy that my home country, the Philippines, has a fighting chance with the dramedy "Ded na si Lolo" ("Grandpa is Dead"). Take a look at the complete list.

Albania

Alive!

(Artan Minarolli)

Synopsis: A carefree Albanian student gets drawn into an ancient blood feud when he returns home for a funeral, only to find himself a wanted man.

Awards: Belgrade Film Festival B2B development grant

Sales: Wildart Film

Argentina

El secreto de sus ojos

(Juan Jose Campanella)

Synopsis: An ambitious, complex work that combines two generation-spanning love stories, a noirish thriller, some...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences unveiled the long list of 65 countries vying for a Best Foreign Language nomination Oscar.

Variety says that a shortlist of nine semi-finalists will be unveiled in January, with the complete nominees to be announced Feb. 2 along with the contenders in the other categories.

The Academy Awards will be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theater.

And now, from Albania to Vietnam, see the complete list right now (I.m proud that my home country of the Philippines has an entry!!!):

Albania, "Alive!," Artan Minarolli, director

Argentina, "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Juan Jose Campanella, director

Armenia, "Autumn of the Magician," Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors

Australia, "Samson & Delilah," Warwick Thornton, director

Austria, "For a Moment Freedom," Arash T. Riahi, director

Bangladesh, "Beyond the Circle," Golam Rabbany Biplob, director

Belgium, "The Misfortunates," Felix van Groeningen, director

Bolivia, "Zona Sur," Juan Carlos Valdivia, director

Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Jacques Audiard's French film "A Prophet," Michael Haneke's German film "The White Ribbon" and Korea's "Mother" -- three films that have figured prominently on this year's festival circuit -- are among the 65 films being considered for the foreign-language film Oscar.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its list Thursday of the 65 countries that have submitted films for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Nominations will be announced on Feb. 2, and the awards ceremony will be held March 7.

The 2009 submissions follow (click the links on select countries for full stories):

Albania, "Alive!," Artan Minarolli, director;

Argentina, "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Juan Jose Campanella

Armenia, "Autumn of the Magician," Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov

Australia, "Samson & Delilah," Warwick Thornton

Austria, "For a Moment Freedom," Arash T. Riahi

Bangladesh, "Beyond the Circle," Golam Rabbany Biplob

Belgium, "The Misfortunates," Felix van Groeningen

Bolivia, "Zona Sur," Juan Carlos Valdivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina,...

Sixty-five countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today. The 2009 submissions are:

Albania, Alive!, Artan Minarolli, director;

Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Juan Jose Campanella, director;

Armenia, Autumn of the Magician, Rouben Kevorkov and Vaheh Kevorkov, directors;

Australia, Samson & Delilah, Warwick Thornton, director;

Austria, For a Moment Freedom, Arash T. Riahi, director;

Bangladesh, Beyond the Circle, Golam Rabbany Biplob, director;

Belgium, The Misfortunates, Felix van Groeningen, director;

Bolivia, Zona Sur, Juan Carlos Valdivia, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nightguards, Namik Kabil, director;

Brazil, Time of Fear, Sergio Rezende, director;

Bulgaria, The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner, Stephan Komandarev, director;

Canada, I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, Dawson, Isla 10, Miguel Littin, director;

China, Forever Enthralled, Chen Kaige, director;

Colombia, The Wind Journeys, Ciro Guerra, director;

Croatia, Donkey, Antonio Nuic,...

The October 1st deadline for all countries wanting into the Academy Award's foreign-language film category has come and gone. According to IndieWIRE [1], The United Kingdom, which has predominantly submitted Welsh films over the years (if submitting at all), has surprisingly chosen the documentary Afghan Star as its 2009 submission for the Academy Awards. The last time the country received a nomination in this category was in 1999, when Paul Morrison's Welsh and Yiddish Solomon and Gaenor lost out to Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother. Synopsis After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, pop Idol has come to Afghanistan. Millions are watching the TV series 'Afghan Star' and voting for their favorite singers by mobile phone. For many this is their first encounter with democracy. This timely film follows the dramatic stories of four contestants as they risk all to become the nation's favorite singer. But will they...

While horror anthologies have fallen on hard times Stateside in last decade, with the very sporadic likes of Trapped Ashes relegated to the most limited big-screen play before heading to DVD, the format has flourished in Asia. The Three movies, Unholy Women and others bespeak Far East producers’ commitment to offering tasty samplers of different kinds of fear, and Thailand has now entered the fray with the cleverly monikered 4Bia, playing this week at the Philadelphia Film Festival.

Like all its predecessors, this one’s a mixed bag, but its good far outweighs its bad, and more than any of its predecessors, it offers a genuine variety of stylistic approaches, revealing just how broad the genre’s possibilities are. At Montreal’s Fantasia fest, where the film had its international premiere, one of the quartet of filmmakers remarked that there had been some discussion about how to order the segments,...

The good folks at Tla Releasing which provide great genre fare via their Danger After Dark label have just sent out a press release containing just a few of the genre films playing at the Philly Film Fest which has over 250 films this year. Some notables: I Sell The Dead, Able, Linkeroever (Left Bank), Moon and one of our personal favorites, Before The Fall.

Festival website Runs March 26th through April 6th.

Oh, not to mention the 20th Century Boys part 2 world premier!

So check after the break for the sneak peek!

Danger After Dark Program 09

I Sell The Dead (USA, 2008) Directed by Glenn McQuaid.

[our review]

Starring Dominic Monahan, Larry Fessenden, Ron Perlman, Angus Scrimm. Vampires, ghouls and vicious rivalries are just part of the fantastical adventures this devilishly mischievous horror film that slayed audiences at Slamdance 09 and Toronto After Dark Film Festival. East Coast Premiere

Able (USA/Germany, 2008) Directed by Marc Robert.

Thai blockbuster 4Bia is an anthology horror film that lines up four masters of the macabre, each directing a short segment that is self-contained but also cross-referencing with one another. "Happiness" by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon (Iron Ladies) concerns a lonely woman who receives SMS messages from the netherworld. "Tit for Tat" by Paween Purijitpanya (Body) tells the tale of a gang of teenage bullies getting cursed by one of their victims. "In the Middle" by Banjong Pisanthanakun (Alone) has four young men going on a wild camp scaring each other with their ghost stories. "Last Fright" by Pakpoom Wongpoom (Shutter) is about a flight attendant who is assigned to return a dead body to its home country on a chartered flight, all on her own.

Thai blockbuster 4Bia is an anthology horror film that lines up four masters of the macabre, each directing a short segment that is self-contained but also cross-referencing with one another. "Happiness" by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon (Iron Ladies) concerns a lonely woman who receives SMS messages from the netherworld. "Tit for Tat" by Paween Purijitpanya (Body) tells the tale of a gang of teenage bullies getting cursed by one of their victims. "In the Middle" by Banjong Pisanthanakun (Alone) has four young men going on a wild camp scaring each other with their ghost stories. "Last Fright" by Pakpoom Wongpoom (Shutter) is about a flight attendant who is assigned to return a dead body to its home country on a chartered flight, all on her own.

Proving once again that Thailand is leading the charge when it comes to Asian horror cinema, three of Thailand youngest horror directors teamed up with a veteran director and all contributed a short of their own for the anthology 4bia, or Phobia, in case the tricky use of numbers for letters got beyond you. Two of the names should already be familiar to the Twitch family. Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom are the makers of the original and much, much better Shutter as well as last year’s Audience Award Winner, Alone. They were joined by one of their contemporaries, Paween Purijitpanya, who directed Body #19, and, shooting a horror film for the first time, Yongyoot Thongkongtoon. He also happens to be the mentor of the other three directors. I cannot help but think these lines from A New Hope. Indulge me for a second.

Darth Vader-The circle is now complete.

Bangkok -- The Japanese director of a movie dropped from the lineup of the Bangkok International Film Festival said Wednesday that event organizers rejected his earlier offers to edit the film about child prostitution.

In mid-August, when the Shochiku-distributed "Children of the Dark" was invited to screen at the sixth annual Bangkok fest, director Junji Sakamoto offered to make cuts to make the film more palatable to the Thai audience, he said.

But festival programmers told him they wanted the film uncut -- this despite that project's rejection by Thailand's censor board two years ago -- Sakamoto said.

Festival officials did not respond to inquiries Wednesday.

Producer Masaomi Karasaki said that after the censor board rejected the project in 2006, he partnered with an unidentified Thai producer to ensure that "Children" was made legally as a Japanese-Thai co-production.

Japanese distributor Shochiku was first to receive word of the ban on Sept.

This year will be the 14th for the Fantasia Film Festival, and the fest just keeps getting bigger and better every year. They’re hosting a huge number of films over the course of the Fest’s three weeks, July 3rd- 21st, and this morning we got exclusive word about one premiere that fans of Thai horror are going to flip for.

Fantasia will be honoring Thai filmmakers Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom (the original Shutter as well as Alone), who will be guests at the festival to showcase the international premiere of their latest horror offering, 4bia (or “phobia”, if you read it right), an omnibus featuring four shorts from four different directors.

Banjong and Parkpook will also be at the Montreal premiere of Alone, which was supposed to play last year but got bumped, and the other two directors whose work is featured in 4bia, Yongyoot Thongkongtoon (he...