Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit is a self-taught director, a film critic and screenwriter. He majored in Chinese at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. His work has earned critical acclaim for its unique and eccentric style. In 2012, his feature debut “36” won the New Currents award in Busan. Nawapol has continued to make feature and documentary films, as well as music videos. His latest films, “BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry” and “Die Tomorrow” also received many awards. His latest film, “Happy Old Year” screened in Thailand in December and has now started its festival run from Rotterdam.
We speak to him about his movies, the phenomenon of the BNK48, image, the girls as individuals, Thai movie industry and many other topics.
In Heart Attack, the protagonist is someone who feels that if he stops working even for a second, he will be left behind. Have you ever had this sense and how much do you identify with the protagonist?...
We speak to him about his movies, the phenomenon of the BNK48, image, the girls as individuals, Thai movie industry and many other topics.
In Heart Attack, the protagonist is someone who feels that if he stops working even for a second, he will be left behind. Have you ever had this sense and how much do you identify with the protagonist?...
- 1/14/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Horrible Histories distributor Altitude looks to tap into lucrative family market.
Two UK features will be vying to tap into specific corners of the market at the UK box office this weekend.
Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans,based on the much-loved children’s book series, will be hoping to make a splash with family audiences.
The film is one of the first in-house productions from UK mini-studio Altitude and will also mark the company’s widest ever release, with the title set to enter more than 500 cinemas today (July 26).
It’s a big bet for Altitude, which is...
Two UK features will be vying to tap into specific corners of the market at the UK box office this weekend.
Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans,based on the much-loved children’s book series, will be hoping to make a splash with family audiences.
The film is one of the first in-house productions from UK mini-studio Altitude and will also mark the company’s widest ever release, with the title set to enter more than 500 cinemas today (July 26).
It’s a big bet for Altitude, which is...
- 7/26/2019
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Five Flavours Asian Film Festival, one of the most European important events entirely dedicated to cinematographies of East, South-East and South Asia, has revealed its new visual image that, similarly to previous years, is inspired by the current Lunar Calendar Year of the Pig, a symbol of prosperity, wealth and success. At the same time the Festival has also revealed few bits and pieces of the programme, forming quite an intriguing selection.
The most important section of the festival is the Competition called “New Asian Cinema” showcasing the latest and most daring auteur films from countries such as Singapore, Korea, Vietnam or Thailand, usually accompanied by Q&a sessions with festival guests.
The subject of this year’s national focus will be Japan and independent cinema produced outside of large cities in the section called “Japan: Out of Focus“. It will be an opportunity to discover Japan far from popular imagination.
The most important section of the festival is the Competition called “New Asian Cinema” showcasing the latest and most daring auteur films from countries such as Singapore, Korea, Vietnam or Thailand, usually accompanied by Q&a sessions with festival guests.
The subject of this year’s national focus will be Japan and independent cinema produced outside of large cities in the section called “Japan: Out of Focus“. It will be an opportunity to discover Japan far from popular imagination.
- 7/14/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Project pitching event, Thai Pitch will return to Cannes for the eighth time next month. It will launch three film projects from Thailand seeking international finance, co-production and sales partners.
Director, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (“P-047”) and producer Soros Sukhum (“Wonderful Town”) will pitch “51 Faces of Anne,” about a woman with memory loss faced with the challenge of survival on a mysterious island. The radical concept film is expected to involve all 51 members of the pop idol sensation BNK48.
Nontawat Numbenchapol (“Boundary”) as director and producers Steve Chen (“Diamond Island”) and Supatcha Thipsena, will present “Doi Boy,” about an undocumented heterosexual refugee, working as a gay masseuse and prostitute in Chiang Mai. “Doi Boi” was previously crafted at the Cannes Atelier and the Seafic lab, where it won the Seafic Award.
Director Sorayos Prapapan (“Death of the Sound Man”) and producer Donsaron Kovitvanitcha will unwrap “Arnold is a Model Student” about the...
Director, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (“P-047”) and producer Soros Sukhum (“Wonderful Town”) will pitch “51 Faces of Anne,” about a woman with memory loss faced with the challenge of survival on a mysterious island. The radical concept film is expected to involve all 51 members of the pop idol sensation BNK48.
Nontawat Numbenchapol (“Boundary”) as director and producers Steve Chen (“Diamond Island”) and Supatcha Thipsena, will present “Doi Boy,” about an undocumented heterosexual refugee, working as a gay masseuse and prostitute in Chiang Mai. “Doi Boi” was previously crafted at the Cannes Atelier and the Seafic lab, where it won the Seafic Award.
Director Sorayos Prapapan (“Death of the Sound Man”) and producer Donsaron Kovitvanitcha will unwrap “Arnold is a Model Student” about the...
- 4/17/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
After a great feature debut with “Heart Attack”, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit has turned towards the documentary with equal success, with the “unusual” “Die Tomorrow” winning the Grand Prix at Five Flavours Film Festival. “BNK48” is rather different in style, as it deals with the concept of idols and its export to Thailand from Japan, but again, an impressive effort.
“BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry“ is screening at the
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2019
AKB48 has been a cultural phenomenon in Japan since the beginning of the decade, and currently, is among the highest-earning musical performers in Japan. BNK48 is their Thai sister group and the third international sister group, following Indonesia’s JKT48 and China’s SNH48. Thamrongrattanarit, through interviews with a number of the members, highlights the procedure of selection, the thoughts and feelings of the girls, explaining in the process, why such a concept is so popular.
Initially, and...
“BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry“ is screening at the
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2019
AKB48 has been a cultural phenomenon in Japan since the beginning of the decade, and currently, is among the highest-earning musical performers in Japan. BNK48 is their Thai sister group and the third international sister group, following Indonesia’s JKT48 and China’s SNH48. Thamrongrattanarit, through interviews with a number of the members, highlights the procedure of selection, the thoughts and feelings of the girls, explaining in the process, why such a concept is so popular.
Initially, and...
- 1/31/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The People’s Jury of the 12th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival has awarded the Grand Prix of the Festival to “Die Tomorrow” (Thailand 2017) directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit.
The Special Mention goes to “Girls Always Happy” (China 2018) directed by Yang Mingming.
The People’s Jury included: Anna Piskorska, Jakub Wachowski, Jan Jakub Weber, Jarosław Zapart, Katarzyna Karpińska, Małgorzata Błaszczak, Marcin Zwolan, Marika Kaiser, Mateusz Marek Jeziński, Nina Pięk, Wojtek Gąciarz.
Festival Grand Prix Awarded by People’s Jury:
“Die Tomorrow”, Dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand 2017
For bravely taking up a universal, yet dismissed subject of death and attempting to turn it into a natural part of human life, for a creative use of the form of film essay which corresponds to the multi-dimensionality and depth of the subject raised, and for a film contemplation which leaves the audiences with a unique, personal experience.
Special Mention Awarded by People’s Jury:
“Girls Always Happy”, Dir.
The Special Mention goes to “Girls Always Happy” (China 2018) directed by Yang Mingming.
The People’s Jury included: Anna Piskorska, Jakub Wachowski, Jan Jakub Weber, Jarosław Zapart, Katarzyna Karpińska, Małgorzata Błaszczak, Marcin Zwolan, Marika Kaiser, Mateusz Marek Jeziński, Nina Pięk, Wojtek Gąciarz.
Festival Grand Prix Awarded by People’s Jury:
“Die Tomorrow”, Dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand 2017
For bravely taking up a universal, yet dismissed subject of death and attempting to turn it into a natural part of human life, for a creative use of the form of film essay which corresponds to the multi-dimensionality and depth of the subject raised, and for a film contemplation which leaves the audiences with a unique, personal experience.
Special Mention Awarded by People’s Jury:
“Girls Always Happy”, Dir.
- 11/22/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
This year no cash prize was given to the winning films.
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Die Tomorrow won the grand prix at the 12th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival in Poland, with Yang Mingming’s Girls Always Happy receiving a special mention.
The two films were among 11 Asian titles in competition at the eight-day festival held in Warsaw. Wednesday night’s closing ceremony took place at Kino Muranow, one of the oldest and now the last arthouse cinema in the capital of Poland.
The award winners were selected by a People’s Jury made up of 11 non-professional film lovers aged 18-...
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Die Tomorrow won the grand prix at the 12th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival in Poland, with Yang Mingming’s Girls Always Happy receiving a special mention.
The two films were among 11 Asian titles in competition at the eight-day festival held in Warsaw. Wednesday night’s closing ceremony took place at Kino Muranow, one of the oldest and now the last arthouse cinema in the capital of Poland.
The award winners were selected by a People’s Jury made up of 11 non-professional film lovers aged 18-...
- 11/22/2018
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
New Asian Cinema is a survey of the most outstanding and widely debated new films from South and Southeast Asia, often directorial debuts. The filmmakers competing for the festival Grand Prix make bold comments about the surrounding reality and contemporary social issues.
They skillfully combine genre films with local narrations, at the same time forming their own, auteur styles and mapping out new cinematic directions. The titles selected for the New Asian Cinema section have unique form and content, expanding the boundaries of the cinematic language. They are deeply rooted in the local context, but they do not shy away from commenting on global social phenomena.
The winner is chosen by People’s Jury – a group cinema lovers and Asian cultures enthusiasts. The open call for the jury of the 12th edition of the Festival will last till October 12.
The full program will be announced in mid-October. We present now...
They skillfully combine genre films with local narrations, at the same time forming their own, auteur styles and mapping out new cinematic directions. The titles selected for the New Asian Cinema section have unique form and content, expanding the boundaries of the cinematic language. They are deeply rooted in the local context, but they do not shy away from commenting on global social phenomena.
The winner is chosen by People’s Jury – a group cinema lovers and Asian cultures enthusiasts. The open call for the jury of the 12th edition of the Festival will last till October 12.
The full program will be announced in mid-October. We present now...
- 9/20/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Thamrongrattanarit’s previous work, “Heart Attack” is one of my favorite films of the latest years, as the director managed to present the lives of the freelancers in the most analytical and realistic fashion, all the while retaining a comic feeling throughout the film. “Die Tomorrow” though, has little to do with that film, as it is a rather experimental production that focuses on death and the way people perceive and accept (?) it.
Die Tomorrow is screening at Art Film Fest Kosice
According to the statistics, two people on earth die each second and the director makes a point of highlighting the fact, both by presenting it with on-screen text and by repeatedly including a kind of clock that counts the number of deaths in “real” time. The movie then proceeds on recreating imaginary episodes of the lives of people who have died on occasions that have made the news,...
Die Tomorrow is screening at Art Film Fest Kosice
According to the statistics, two people on earth die each second and the director makes a point of highlighting the fact, both by presenting it with on-screen text and by repeatedly including a kind of clock that counts the number of deaths in “real” time. The movie then proceeds on recreating imaginary episodes of the lives of people who have died on occasions that have made the news,...
- 6/11/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Two of the projects are Lgbt-themed stories; the third is set in Barcelona.
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has revealed the three projects that will participate in this year’s Thai Pitch event at Cannes.
Tongpong Chantarangkul, whose first film I Carried You Home (2011) was acquired by France’s Pretty Pictures, has had his long-awaited second film, The Fireflies, selected for the event. Set in Barcelona, the project is a story about a Thai fire juggler who leaves his family behind when he finds a job in Spain.
Prolific filmmaker Tanwarin Sukhaphisit (A Gas Station) is bringing Lgbt-themed project Down To Heaven to Cannes.
Thailand’s Ministry of Culture has revealed the three projects that will participate in this year’s Thai Pitch event at Cannes.
Tongpong Chantarangkul, whose first film I Carried You Home (2011) was acquired by France’s Pretty Pictures, has had his long-awaited second film, The Fireflies, selected for the event. Set in Barcelona, the project is a story about a Thai fire juggler who leaves his family behind when he finds a job in Spain.
Prolific filmmaker Tanwarin Sukhaphisit (A Gas Station) is bringing Lgbt-themed project Down To Heaven to Cannes.
- 3/20/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
“To die, to sleep — to sleep, perchance to dream” would be the perfect logline for Die Tomorrow, Thai director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s languid and occasionally intoxicating meditation on the many ways we perceive, fear and integrate death into our lives. Blending documentary and fiction techniques to form a non-narrative whole, the film features a mix of one-on-one interviews, on-screen statistics and scripted vignettes, following a set of mostly young characters as they sit around and discuss the realities of dying. For a movie about such a grim subject matter, the result can be surprisingly pleasant and even uplifting. But it’s...
- 2/18/2018
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bangkok-set contemporary tale to screen in Berlinale Forum.
Hong Kong-based sales agent Asian Shadows has picked up international rights to Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Die Tomorrow, marking its first Thai acquisition.
The film, which will play in Berlin’s Forum section, is set in contemporary Bangkok and follows characters at different stages of their lives grappling with mortality.
Released on eight screens in Thailand in November 2017, the film is still playing and has grossed $160,000 to date.
Die Tomorrow is the fifth feature from Nawapol, whose first film 36 won the New Currents Award at Busan International Film Festival (Biff) in 2012 and had a long festival career.
His second feature, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2013, while his feature documentary The Master premiered in Biff’s Wide Angle section in 2015.
In 2015, he also directed Heart Attack for Thai studio Gth, which won eight prizes at the Thailand National Film Association Awards. He has returned...
Hong Kong-based sales agent Asian Shadows has picked up international rights to Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Die Tomorrow, marking its first Thai acquisition.
The film, which will play in Berlin’s Forum section, is set in contemporary Bangkok and follows characters at different stages of their lives grappling with mortality.
Released on eight screens in Thailand in November 2017, the film is still playing and has grossed $160,000 to date.
Die Tomorrow is the fifth feature from Nawapol, whose first film 36 won the New Currents Award at Busan International Film Festival (Biff) in 2012 and had a long festival career.
His second feature, Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2013, while his feature documentary The Master premiered in Biff’s Wide Angle section in 2015.
In 2015, he also directed Heart Attack for Thai studio Gth, which won eight prizes at the Thailand National Film Association Awards. He has returned...
- 1/23/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
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