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 played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2001, and more recently Netflix horror The Whole Truth, which spent five weeks in Netflix’s global top 10 list for non-English films, making the top 10 list in 35 countries.
At Netflix’s first slate event held in Bangkok today (October 11), Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, director of content for Netflix Thailand, announced a further three films and two series.
The first to release, on November 16, is The Lost Lotteries, a madcap heist film about five losers on a mission to retrieve a lottery ticket from a mafia gang in a firecracker factory. Produced by leading Thai production company GMM Studios International, the feature is written and directed by Prueksa Amaruji and produced by Ekachai Uekrongtham (Beautiful Boxer, Girl From Nowhere).
Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, known for her breakout role in 2017 box office hit Bad Genius, will star in Sitisiri Mongkolsiri’s Hunger as a woman from a family-run local noodles joint who is invited to join a top high-end restaurant. Producers are Kongdej Jaturanrasmee and Soros Sukhum. Chuimon is also known as Aok Bap and previously received the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF).
The film titles are rounded out by Nonzee Nimibutr’s Mon Rak Nak Pak, which follows a travelling cinema troupe as it goes on the road to bring the joy of live-dubbed films to local audiences. Nonzee’s previous features including Timeline, OK Baytong and Nang Nak, of which the latter played at Tokyo and Rotterdam in 2000 and won seven awards including best picture at Thailand’s national film awards.
Series on the slate include Delete, a love triangle thriller from Shutter co-director Parkpoom Wongpoom. Produced by powerhouse Thai studio GDH, the cast includes Nat Kitcharit of Fast & Feel Love, which opened this year’s NYAFF, and Chutimon.
In addition, Nithiwat Tharatorn’s series Analog Squad will centre on a group of misfits hired to play a family.
Netflix also announced that local Thai production Thai Cave Rescue now tops the most-watched titles in Thailand, while Bangkok Breaking remained in the country’s top 10 list for five weeks last year.
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