GDH/NEONOne for the Road (2021)/Memoria (2021)/The Medium (2021)

5 movies by Thai directors that made waves in recent international film festivals

Films by five Thai directors, led by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, have made the country proud by snatching awards from international film festivals this year.

Written by

Time Out Bangkok editors

Friday July 23 2021

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“I am really lucky to be standing here, while many of my countrymen cannot travel. Many of them suffer greatly from the pandemic, with the mismanagement of resources, healthcare and vaccine accessibility. I want to call out the Thai and Colombian governments, and the governments of countries in a similar situation, to please wake up and work for your people, now.”

Apichatpong Weerasethakul took to the stage at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to accept the Jury Prize for his first English-language film Memoria. The director’s speech was well accepted by his audience, much like his latest outing, which received a 14-minute standing ovation after it premiered.

Apichatpong is not the only Thai director to receive applause and recognition at an international film festival this year. The work of four other native-born filmmakers were credited at global film showings this year. While we’re patiently waiting for cinemas to reopen, let’s take a look at these films by five Thai directors who’ve made us proud. Here’s hoping we get to see them soon.

Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

Aninsri Daeng (2020)

Directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

Ang, a transgender sex worker, is assigned a special mission to spy on Jit, a hostile student activist whom the government is targeting. Ang has to go undercover as a cisgender man, which makes her quest a bit more complicated.

Aninsri Daeng won the Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film at the Glasgow Short Film Festival 2021. The movie was shown in fetes all over the world in 2020, including festivals in Switzerland, Canada, Italy, China, Singapore and Brazil.

One for the road (นัฐวัฒิ พูนพิริยะ, 2021)

One for the Road (2021)

Directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya

New York-based bartender Boss (Thanapob Leeratanakajorn) is obliged to fly back to Thailand to fulfill his dying friend Aood’s (Natara Nopparatayapon) last wish, which entails returning stuff to his ex-girlfriends. This quest leads to a road trip that may ruin Boss and Aood’s friendship forever.

One for the Road by Nattawut “Baz” Poonpiriya (Bad Genius [2017]), the only Thai-language movie selected to premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2021, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and the Director Award for Baz, and won the Special Jury Award for Creative Vision in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

An official trailer hasn't been released yet.

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พญาโศกพิโยคค่ำ (ไทกิ ศักดิ์พิสิษฐ์, 2021)

The Edge of Daybreak (2021)

Directed by Taiki Sakpisit

A dysfunctional family is traumatized by two major political crises in Thailand: the student uprisings in the 1970s and the 2006 military coup.

The Edge of Daybreak premiered in the Tiger Award Competition at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2021 and won the FIPRESCI Prize from the International Federation of Film Critics.

GDH

The Medium (2021)

Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun [Shutter (2004)]

Set in Isan, where people strongly respect and believe in ghosts and spirits, The Medium revolves around a family that has served as the shamans of the goddess Bayan for generations. Only a woman can inherit the title of shaman and a teenage girl named Mink is the chosen one. However, Mink’s family soon realizes that the spirit inside the girl is, in fact, not as benevolent as they thought.

The movie, directed by horror king Banjong Pisanthanakun (Shutter and Pee Mak) and produced in collaboration with a South Korean company, premiered at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where it was awarded Best Film honors. Later shown in South Korean theaters, became the highest-grossing film in the horror genre.

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NEON/Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Memoria (2021)

Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Jessica (Tilda Swinton), an expat living in Columbia, wakes up to strange rumbling sounds in her head and ends up traversing the jungle on a quest to explain the mysterious occurrence.

The film premiered in the Cannes Film Festival 2021 where it was awarded the Jury Prize, honors co-shared with Ahed’s Knee by Israeli director Nadav Lapid.