Our "Hero": How to win an Oscar (this time)

The discussion is over for this year, with the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand deciding that “P’Chai My Hero”, aka “How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)”, will be the engaging title that tries to entice Academy voters as they mull the contenders pouring in from all ’round the world. The 88thAcademy Awards ceremony is set for February 28.
The committee tasked with picking Thailand’s entry – which has among its members former tourism minister Weerasak Kowsurat and Suwannee Chinchiewchan of SF Cinemas – chose “Checkers” over five other possibilities. They were Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s hit “Freelance Ham Puay, Ham Pak, Ham Rak Mor” (“Heart Attack”), ML Bandevanop Devakul’s erotic drama “Mae Bia”, the gay thriller “Onthakan”, the time-travel comedy “2538 Alter Ma Jive”, and “F Hilaire”, a biopic of the Catholic schoolteacher.
Directed by Korean-American Josh Kim, “Checkers” is adapted from two English-language short stories from the book “Sightseeing” by Thai writer Rattawut Lapcharoensap, who now lives in the US. The film is about an 11-year-old boy raised by his gay older brother after their parents die. He’s reached a crossroads with his big brother turning 21 and about to be swept into military service. If big brother does get drafted, though, his boyfriend is ready to take care of the youngster.
“Checkers” is a Thai-US-Indonesian movie produced by Anocha Suwichakornpong, Edward Gunawan and Chris Lee. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival before its Thai release in July.
It’s the second “Thai” nominee for an Oscar that’s directed by a non-Thai. The other one was “Tha Fah Likhiit” (“Who’s Running?”), helmed by Hong Kong’s Oxide Pang. But at least Oxide had worked for years in Thailand, at Kantana Film Labs, before making his directorial debut, and speaks Thai very well.
For Kim, it was more about loving the story and being interested in the brothers’ relationship and the military-draft “lucky lottery” (military service is mandatory in South Korea). Kim moved to Thailand three years ago to learn the language and made the short documentary “Draft Day”, portraying two young transgender women facing that same draft – as awkwardly as might be expected.
It’s a “trans” world nowadays. Transnational movie projects abound, blurring the nationality line when it comes to pinpointing a film’s country of origin. Voters for the prestigious foreign-language Oscar will take note of the nominating country, of course, but the eligibility rules require only non-English dialogue and significant involvement by the nation doing the submitting.
In 2013 Britain entered “Metro Manila”, a British-Filipino production film co-written, co-produced and directed by Sean Ellis, an Englishman. That same year Australia submitted “The Rocket”, directed by Australian Kim Mordaunt and produced by an Australian company but set in Laos, with Lao dialogue and with mainly Thai stars (including comedian Thep Pho-ngarm) and a Thai crew.
Neither of those pictures made the final five, which was nothing to cry about when there were a record 76 submissions!