Our favourite Thai movies

Hollywoods'sAWARDS season has come to an end with the Oscars handed out on Sunday, but the Thai film honours are just getting geared up, with the dark comedy “Freelance Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More” (“Heart Attack”) scooping Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress at Sunday night’s Thai Film Director Association Awards.

Does this herald a broader sweep as the season progresses? Very likely, say the experts, with “Freelance” director Nawapol Thamrongrattananrit and his actors Sunny Suwanmethanon and Davika Hoorne, also topping the nomination charts at the upcoming Subhanahongsa Awards – Thailand’s answer to the Oscars – and coming in second place at the much-respected Bangkok Critics Assembly.

 “Freelance” has nominations in an impressive 13 categories at the Subhanahongsa Awards, which will be announced on March 13, with another GTH teenage comedy, “May Nhai Fai Raeng Fer” (“May Who?”), coming in a close second and Kongdej Jaturanrasamee’s “Snap” taking third.

 The critics, meanwhile, who will announce their winners on March 23, love the indie film “Onthakan” (“The Blue Hour”), and it has 11 nods to 10 for “Freelance”.

“P’Chai My Hero”, aka “How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)”, Thailand’s official submission to the Oscars, comes in third with nine nominations.

While most of the categories at these two awards share the same nominations, their juries can’t seem to agree on how should be Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

Ingkarat Damrongsakkul of “Checkers” has the nod for Best Actor from the critics but the Subhanahongsas have him down for Best Supporting Actor. Likewise, his co-star Thira Chutikul is Best Supporting Actor nominee at the Critics awards but has the nod for Best Actor at Subhanahongsa.

Confusion reigns too in the Documentary category, which saw the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger award winner “Vanishing Point” nominated for the Subhanahongsa Awards only to be replaced a few hours later by the Federation of National Film Associations with “Y/our Music”. The federation released a statement explaining that many were not happy about “Vanishing Point” being called not a documentary and were thus forced to reconsider the film’s content.

There’s more consensus on actress Pimchanok “Bai Fern” Luevisadpaibul, who is nominated for Best Actress albeit for two different movies. The critics prefer her in “Cat A Wabb # Baeb Wa Rak Ah” while Subhanahongsa has gone for “2538 Alter Ma Jive”. Likewise, Arpa Phawilai is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for “Mae Bia” at the Subhanahongsa Awards and for “Phee Ha Ayothaya” in the Critics awards.

For this year’s Subhanahongsa awards, the federation is again using the “R+O” voting system and is confident that this time round most of the jury members will have actually seen all the films. Forty-four voters handpicked by the federations will be divided into five groups – producer and director, actor, narration, production design and sound, picture and computer-graphic effects – and make their choice from among the five nominees in each category. That will be followed by a vote from all 1,700 registered voters in every part of the film industry for each category. And just as they can vote in every category, so too can they withdraw their voting right in the event of not having seen all five nominated films as well as for other reasons.

The Subhanahongsa Awards will be held on March 13 at the Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre in Siam Square One starting at 5pm.

And the Bangkok Critics Awards will be handed out at 6pm on March 23 at the Royal Thai Army Club. 

 

• “Snap”
• “P’Chai My Hero”
• “Freelance Ham Puay Ham Phak Ham Rak More”
• “Arpatti”
• “Onthakan”

• Josh Kim, “P’Chai My Hero”
• Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, “Freelance”
• Anucha Boonyawatana, “The Blue Hour”
• Chayanop Boonpakob, “May Nhai”

• Sunny Suwanmethanon, “Freelance”
• Toni Rakkaen, “Snap”
• Thiti Mahayotharak, “May Nhai?”
• Atthaphan Poonsawas, “Onthakan”
• Thira Chutikul, “P’Chai My Hero”

• Davika Hoorne, “Freelance”
• Ploy Sornnarin, “Arpatti”
• Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul, “2538 Alter Ma Jive”
• Waruntorn Paonil, “Snap”
• Sutatta Udomsilp, “May Nhai”

• Krisana Panpeng, “Snap”
• Torpong Chantabubpha, “Freelance”
• Ingkarat Damrongsakkul, “P’Chai My Hero”
• Thanapop Leeratanakajorn, “May Nhai”
• Obnithi Wiwatanawarang “Onthakan”
• Sorapong Chatree, “Arpatti”

• Duangjai Hiransri, “Onthakan”
• Nareekul ketprapakorn “May Nhai”
• Pympan Chalayanacupt “Arpatti”
• Violette Wautier “Freelance”
• Arpa Phawilai, “Mae Bia”

• Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, “Snap”
• Josh Kim, “P’Chai My Hero”
• Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, “Freelance”
• Anucha Boonyawatana and Wasuthep Ketpetch, “Onthakan”
• Chayanop Boonpakob, Vasuthorn Piyarom, Nottapon Boonprakob, Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn “May Nhai”

• Kamontorn Ekwatanakij, “P’Chai My Hero”
• Chonlasit Upanigkit, “Freelance”
• Panayu Kunvanlee “May Nhai?”
• Chonlasit Upanigkit Anuphap Autta “The Blue Hour”
• Kamontorn Ekwatanakij/Manussa Worrasingh “Snap”

• Charnkit Chamnivikaipong, “F Hiliare”
• Uruphong Raksasad, “Phleng Khong Khao” (“The Songs of Rice”)
• Niramol Ross, “Freelance”
• Chaiyaphruk Chalermpornpanich and Kamonphan Ngewthong, “Onthakan”
• MR Ampornpol Yukol, “Snap”

• Kantana Sound Studio, “Freelance”
• Kantana Sound Studio, “May Nhai”
• Noppawat Likhitwong/ Onecool Sound Studio, “Onthakan”
• Sarawut Phantha Akrichalerm Kalayanamitr, “Snap”
• Ram Intra Sound Studio “Arpatti”

• Rasiguet Sookkarn, “Snap”
• Phairot Siriwath, “Freelance”
• Phairot Siriwath, “Onthakan”
• Akradej Kaewkote, “May Nhai”
• Salinee Khemjaras, “Tee Wang Rawang Samut” (“The Isthmus”)

• Chaibandit Peuchponsub, “Snap”
• Bodvar Isbjornson “P’Chai My Hero”
• Hualampong Riddim, “Freelance”
• Hualampong Riddim, “May Nhai”
• Chupvit Temnithikul “Onthakan”

• “Ther Dern Khao Ma” from “Runpee”
• “Mai Me Ther,” from “Latitude 6”
• “Nhai Nhai” from “May Nhai”
• “Sai Tai” from “2538 Alter Ma Jive”
• “Sud Sai Ta” from “The Down”

• “Y/our Music”
• “The Down”
• “The Songs of Rice”

• Suthee Muanwaja, “May Nhai”
• Phim Umari, Rujirumpai Mongkol, “P’Chai My Hero”
• Wasitchaya Mojanakul, “Mon Love Sib Muen”
• Wasana Benjachat, “Freelance”
• Sukanya Maruangpradit, “F Hiliare”

• Benjawan Sroy-in, “Freelance”
• Methaphan Pitithunyapat, “Phee Ha Ayothaya”
• Pongrat Kijbamrung, “F Hiliare”
• Pattera Puttisuraseat, “Runpee”
• Sivakorn Suklangkan, “Arpatti”

• Surreal Sutdio, “Arpatti”
• Thanan Chimprasert, “Mon Son Phee” (“Ghost Ship”)
• Thosaporn Poonnart, “Phee Ha Ayothaya”
• Alternat Studio, “Runpee”
• Yggdrazil Group Co and Riff Animation Studio, “May Nhai”

• “The Down”
• “Songs of Rice”
• “Y/Our Music”

• Jarun “See Thao” Petchjaroen