Thai film-maker Pimpaka Towira has set up a new Bangkok-based production outfit Extra Virgin with former Bangkok International Film Festival programmer Mai Meksawan and former Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) executive Ruengsang Sripaoraya.
'The company aims to start with independent and low-budget productions and branch out to a more diverse range of projects in the future,' says co-founder Mai.
The debut slate includes Truth Be Told, a documentary feature directed by Pimpaka - whose One Night Husband premiered at the 2003 Berlinale.
The new documentary focuses on media activist Supinya Klangnarong who was sued for defamation by Shin Corporation, the telecommunication giant owned by the family of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It will premiere on September 6 at the Digital Forum, a digital film festival hosted by the Thai Film Foundation in Bangkok.
Pimpaka also has Island Funeral in development. The project, which previously was presented in Locarno and Boracay co-production meetings, has just been selected for Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) this October.
The story is a road movie about a Muslim woman from Bangkok who questions her identity amid the current politically and religiously charged situation in modern-day Thailand.
In other Extra Virgin projects, Uruphong Raksasad started a 12-month shoot for Agrarian Utopia last month. As a follow-up to his Stories from the North, which won the top award at Jeonju's digital section last year, the new film chronicles the year-long rice farming cycle in a small northern Thai village.
It is the first project from Thailand to receive Hubert Bals Fund new digital production grant. It has also received financial aid from Thai government agency Office of Contemporary Arts and Culture.
Also in development is the feature debut of young director Jakrawal Nilthamrong. Voyage of Foreteller is a magical tale of self-discovery in three parts through an old man, a middle-aged man and a young boy.
'The company aims to start with independent and low-budget productions and branch out to a more diverse range of projects in the future,' says co-founder Mai.
The debut slate includes Truth Be Told, a documentary feature directed by Pimpaka - whose One Night Husband premiered at the 2003 Berlinale.
The new documentary focuses on media activist Supinya Klangnarong who was sued for defamation by Shin Corporation, the telecommunication giant owned by the family of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It will premiere on September 6 at the Digital Forum, a digital film festival hosted by the Thai Film Foundation in Bangkok.
Pimpaka also has Island Funeral in development. The project, which previously was presented in Locarno and Boracay co-production meetings, has just been selected for Pusan Promotion Plan (PPP) this October.
The story is a road movie about a Muslim woman from Bangkok who questions her identity amid the current politically and religiously charged situation in modern-day Thailand.
In other Extra Virgin projects, Uruphong Raksasad started a 12-month shoot for Agrarian Utopia last month. As a follow-up to his Stories from the North, which won the top award at Jeonju's digital section last year, the new film chronicles the year-long rice farming cycle in a small northern Thai village.
It is the first project from Thailand to receive Hubert Bals Fund new digital production grant. It has also received financial aid from Thai government agency Office of Contemporary Arts and Culture.
Also in development is the feature debut of young director Jakrawal Nilthamrong. Voyage of Foreteller is a magical tale of self-discovery in three parts through an old man, a middle-aged man and a young boy.
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