After nine days of screening films from around the world, the 31st edition of Tokyo International Film Festival wrapped on Saturday with the presentation of the Tokyo Grand Prix to French film “Amanda” by Mikhael Hers, a film that also proved popular at the Venice Film Festival.

Danish film “Before the Frost” by Michael Noer, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year won the Special Jury Prize, while Italian film “The Vice of Hope” by Edoardo De Angelis, which was also screened at Toronto, went home with the Best Director award.

Actor Ralph Fiennes was recognised with the Best Artistic Contribution Award for his third effort as a director on “The White Crow”.

Although all the awards in the main competition section went to non-Asian films, screenings from this part of the world had a strong presence at the festival. Chinese female filmmaker Lina Wang’s “A First Farewell”, which received good reviews from critics, won the Best Asian Future Film Award, and “Wushu Orphan” by young Chinese director Huang Huang picked up The Spirit of Asia Award from the Japan Foundation Asia Centre.

No Thai titles made it into the competition but audiences did get to see three Thai films. Among them was the anthology “Ten Years Thailand” by Aditya Assarat, Wisit Sasanatieng, Chulayarnnon Siriphol and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It screened in the World Focus section and received good feedback from the audience.

“Ten Years Thailand”

“The four directors of ‘Ten Years Thailand’ are very important in the industry and we were very excited to see them direct this omnibus. I remember seeing the world premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival and being impressed by the different touch each director brought to his episode, which made it very stimulating. What I found interesting is that “Ten Years Thailand” talks about politics, which is different from “Ten Years Japan”. It would be interesting to show the two films together here, but unfortunately, we didn’t have a spare slot to do so,” Yoshi Yatabe, the programming director of Tokyo International Film Festival, told The Nation.

None of the directors was free to attend the festival, so it fell to producer Cattleya Paosrijaroen to Tokyo to meet the audience and answer their questions. She indicated that “Ten Years Thailand” was expected to hit cinemas at home next month.

The Crosscut Asia programme, a special segment focusing on Southeast Asian cinema and put together by the Tokyo International Film Festival and the Japan Foundation Asia Centre, had at its theme “Soundtrip to Southeast Asia”. The programme, as the title suggests, presented films about music from many countries in Southeast Asia including two from Thailand – Vithaya Thongyuyong’s “Brother of the Year” and Nawapol Thamrongrattnarit’s documentary “BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry”.

“Brother of the Year” 

“Both of the films in Crosscut Asia have strong subject matter that involves music and are attractive to viewers, hence our decision to select them,” said Kenji Ishizaka, Programming Director for Asian Future section and Crosscut Asia.

“In ‘BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry’, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit tells the story of an idol group, which is a shoot-off of a Japanese idol group, so we knew the Japanese audience would be interested in the film. ‘Brother of the Year’ has elements of Japanese culture, and also stars the K-pop idol Nichkun, so I was sure young people in Japan would enjoy this film,” Ishizaka added.

Vithaya, who came to Tokyo along with Sunny Suwanmethanont, who stars in the film, got straight to the point following the screening of “Brother of the Year”.

“Do any of you have a brother or sister?” he asked the audience. “I don’t think there are many films that tell stories about a brother and sister relationship. These relationships are special, as we can’t choose our siblings,” Vithaya told an enthusiastic audience.

Asked why he had written Jane – the sister who has to put up with her brother’s inefficiency, as someone who had studied in Japan, loves Japanese culture, marries a half Thai-half Japanese man working for a Japanese company, and eventually moves to Japan, Vithaya said his character had been influenced by her brother who loves Japanese manga, just like many young people in Thailand.

Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit attended the Q&A session of “BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry”, along with producer Pacharin Surawatanapongs.

“The girls are a lot younger than me, but that doesn’t mean that they know less than me. The experience they have gained from being a member of BNK48 was very new to me. I wanted the film to record Thai teenagers today,” Nawapol told his audience.

“The BNK48 Office assigned Nawapol to direct this documentary but they were happy to allow us to film the way we wanted. Their aim was to show how the girls had evolved over their first year as members, so we proposed getting close to the girls and learning their back stories.

“We made it clear we could only do the documentary if we agreed on what we were going to film. Luckily the BNK 48 Office was really open and allowed us to talk with any members in the way we want,” added producer Pacharin Surawatanapongs.

A large crowd turned out for the screening, among them Thais living in Japan, though apparently no one involved with AKB48, the “big sister” of the idol group franchise came to the show. “I heard that the BNK Office showed my film to the people behind AKB48, but they didn’t send me any comments,” Nawapol said. “I expected to see them at the screening but I am not sure if anyone came.”

Also presented in Tokyo was the special omnibus film “Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: Journey”, produced by the festival and the Japan Foundation Asia Centre and directed by Edwin (who goes by one name) from Indonesia, Degena Yun from China and Daishi Matsunaga from Japan.

Each director was asked to make a short film on the theme “journey”, with Edwin filming in Japan, and Matsunaga in Myanmar.

The film goes on general release this month in Japan and is expected to be screened in other parts of Asia at a later date.

Chow co-founded the Golden Harvest studio in 1971 and was seen as largely responsible for bringing the city’s films to an international audience.

He produced more than 170 films over his career, according to industry website IMDB, and nurtured the careers of several action stars, including Jackie Chan.

Chow first worked with Lee on “The Big Boss” — released as “Fists of Fury” in the United States — in 1971, making the actor a martial arts legend overnight. The film broke box office records both in Hong Kong and overseas.

He went on to produce or co-produce two of Lee’s best known films: “Way of the Dragon” in 1972, followed a year later by “Enter the Dragon”, the first cinema collaboration between a Hong Kong studio and Hollywood.

He repeated the success with Chan, first working together on “The Young Master” in 1980.

Born in 1927 in Hong Kong, Chow studied journalism in Shanghai and briefly worked as a reporter before going into the film industry.

He joined the Shaw Brothers studio in 1958, working his way up to chief executive before leaving in 1970 to set up his own firm.

He was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asia Film Awards in 2011.

Fellow filmmakers and industry figures paid tribute to a man they said played a crucial role in the emergence of Hong Kong cinema.

A message on the Twitter account managed by Lee’s daughter recognised Chow’s role in the late legend’s rise to stardom.

“Thank you Raymond for taking a chance on a young Bruce Lee and helping him to realise his dream. Rest in peace, Raymond,” it said.

Sin Kwok-lam, producer of the Ip Man kung fu series, described Chow as his idol.

“He discovered Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, who until then were unheard of,” Sin told the South China Morning Post. “Chow is an indelible hero in the history of action movies.”

Director, writer and actor Cheung Tung-cho said Chow’s death was a huge loss for Hong Kong cinema.

“He was a major mover in the industry,” Cheung told the Post. “He brought Hong Kong movies to the international stage.”

One of the biggest and most prestigious film events in Asia, the 31st edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival got underway late last month with a showcase of movies from around the world.

This year’s special retrospective programme, a popular annual event held as part of the “Japan Now” section, honoured actor Koji Yakusho, screening five of his films, namely Masayuki Suo’s “Shall We Dance?” (1995), Imamura Shohei’s Palme d’Or winner “The Eel” (1997), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Cure” (1997), Shuichi Okita’s “The Woodsman and the Rain” (2011) and Kazuya Shiraishi’s 2018 release “The Blood of Wolves”.

Koji Yakusho was honoured at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018, which presented five of his works in a retrospective programme as part of the Japan Now section. The actor himself attended the festival to meet his audience.

One of the most familiar faces of the Japanese film world, Yakusho has been working in the industry for almost 40 years. Starting his professional career at the Chiyoda municipal ward office, he entered the entertainment world in the late ’70’s, and has since appeared in stage plays, television series and films.

“As a young man, I’ve never had a passion for acting”, Yakusho, 62, tells The Nation. “I happened to get a ticket to a stage performance from a person who couldn’t go. I didn’t have much interest but I went. It was a performance of Maxim Gorky’s ‘The Lower Depth’ with Tatsuya Nakadai playing the main character. It really moved me and made me want to become an actor. I wanted to move people like that.”

A scene from “Cure” (1997)

He started learning about acting from Tetsuya Nakadai, considered as one of the greatest actors of Japan. “Tatsuya ran an acting school called MemeiJuku. It was there that I learnt the basics of acting. I took those with him to the set and learnt the rest there,” he says,

His first, albeit small, film role came in 1979 with “Hunter in the Dark” but it was his portrayal of Shinji Nakano in NHK’s 1983 television series “Tokugawa Ieyasu” and as the title character in “Miyamoto Musashi” the following year that shot him to fame.

That recognition led to a role in Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” (1985), a film that was also successful in the western world.

In “Shall We Dance”, Yakusho plays Shohei Sugiyama, a successful salaryman.

Now a major star, Yakusho had a chance to work with the greatest filmmakers of Japan and other countries, such as Masayuki Suo, whose “Shall We Dance?” became a big hit in Japan and around the world and was eventually remade by Hollywood with Richard Gere in the lead role. He also collaborated with Koreeda Hirokazu, Takashi Miike, Shinji Aoyama, Koki Mitani and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, with whom he worked on “Babel” (2006) as well as with Rob Marshall on “Memoirs of the Geisha” (2005).

“I worked with Kiyoshi Kurosawa many times,” says Yakusho. “I did “Cure” with him. He had written the screenplay years before and we spent a long time talking about it. I was involved in the process of creating the script, and I like the finished film very much. That was memorable for me and was the first film on which I worked with a director I really admired.”

He also has fond memories of Kohei Oguri’s “Sleeping Man”, which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1996.

Yakusho in “The Blood of Wolves”

“It was a special moment,” he recalls. “I had only one page of dialogue, in the scene where there’s just an old woman and myself. When we read it, it took less than a minute but the director wanted me to make it three of four times longer. That was difficult. It wasn’t the dialogue that was the problem. I had to make up the entire history of the character! That was a culture shock for me. I realised that acting is something that can fill pauses and space. I learnt a lot from that.”

Yakusho rarely has a chance to watch his films with the audience and he finds it special. “It only really happens at film festivals and it’s interesting to see their applause, and see how they react, and how they enjoy the film. That’s when I am so glad to be an actor,” he says.

As a veteran who has worked with so many filmmakers, Yakusho quite naturally has his favourites. In addition to Kurosawa, he particularly loves the works of Kenji Mizoguchi and Shohei Imamura. “That was such a golden age of Japanese cinema,” he muses. “Just by watching these great masters, there’s so much that we can see.”

In “The Eel”, Yakusho plays a man who opens a barber shop and spends his free time communing with the pet eel he got while in prison.

He has mixed feelings about the film industry of today. “When I first worked in this industry, we had no chance to see ourselves when we acted on the set unless there was an 8 mm camera there. Actors these days can. They know the angle and how it will look in the take. They don’t seem to have much tension about being on camera,” Yakusho says.

“When I started, films were shot in black and white. That evolved into Technicolour and now we are in the digital age. I find it sad that the old way is dying. Young actors will never be shot on film because film is dead,” he laments.

Yakusho is also sad about the shift from the big screen to new media, which he feels reflects a decline in the film industry as a whole.

“In the past, fashion – in fact everything – was dictated by film, but now entertainment like games and TV drama is more powerful. For someone who has spent a lifetime in the film industry, this is a bit sad,” he says.

A popular country singer in the 1990s best known for his blend of Thai genres pleng choy and pleng E-saew, Nakhon Si Thammarat-born Ekkachai Srivichai turned his talent to directing back in 2016 with “Therd”, a movie inspired by the traditional Southern Thai dance drama known as manorah. Now the 56-year-old is back with a new film “Norah”, which opens today at cinemas across Thailand.

“‘Norah’ is the second episode of ‘Therd’ but much more enjoyable,” Ekkachai told reporters during a recent press conference at Wat Thai Khae in the southern province of Phatthalung.

The appointment ceremony of Khun Sri Sattha, played by Paisan Khunnu (seated, front row), as a royal performer by Phaya Sai Fah Fad (seated, back row), portrayed by Ekkachai Srivichai, is one of the key scenes in “Norah”.

“Mahorah is part of the culture and identity of Phatthalung and this movie will help all Thais to become better acquainted with the province.”

    “Therd”, which means a manorah crown in the local dialect, tells the story of a manorah performer, who wants his son to carry on the traditional form of dance but the young man is far more interested in modern music, not least because the family is facing financial problems as interest in the tradition fades. “Norah” takes a slightly different tack, focusing on the origins of the first manorah performer, Phor Khun Sattha.

Director Ekkachai Srivichai plays Phaya Sai Fah Fad.

“Many Thais believe that manorah is Kinnaree, the half-woman, half-bird who lives in the legendary Himmaphan forest where she is caught by hunter Pran Boon. But, in fact, it isn’t that at all. Manorah in Southern Thailand is Phaya Sai Fah Fad, Mae Nual Thong Samli, Mae Sri Mala, and Phor Khun Sattha, the royal offspring of the Kingdom of Sathingpura,” says Ekkachai.

The film focuses on a young couple, Singkhorn played by Paisan Khunnu and Norah portrayed by Angelina “Jade” Formonto who fall in love after crossing the two worlds of the past and the present.

Singkhorn and Norah are happy and in love.

“In ‘Therd’, I played the teenage boy forced to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a manorah performer when all he wants to do is play his guitar and sing at local pubs. He has many arguments with his father. But finally he can’t escape his destiny,” says Paisan, when he’s not filming performs with his manorah troupe.

Singkhorn and Norah in the fighting scene.

“After ‘Therd’ was released, many more young people turned to learn manorah. In the past, we were lucky to draw an audience of 20 people to our performances but today we attract many more because the new generation is interested. They have set up their own fan clubs too, much like the ones that exist for likay. That is a good sign for the future as it indicates that the culture will not be lost. With my manorah troupe, I preserve the traditional style and at the same time attract young people by bringing in a band featuring singers and comedians rather like a luk thung concert. It’s a harmony between music and culture.

“In this second episode, I play a more difficult role, portraying Phor Khun Sattha, the master of manorah to whom all performers pay respect. He was the first manorah master in the country. At first, I was extremely anxious about this role, but fortunately Ekkachai gave me plenty of advice on how to act like the distinguished master. I have confidence in my abilities as a performer. I was born into a family of manorah performers and started dancing manorah when I was five years old.

“In this second episode, Norah is a modern woman who meets Singkhorn, a young man living in the past. Love grows between the two but doesn’t go smoothly because Singkhorn has to choose between culture and love. As a manorah performer, he is obliged to remain a virgin until the age of 20,” the 26-year-old adds.

“Uncle Ek (Ekkachai) is a friend of one of my mother’s friends. My character Norah is very kind and very polite and I find her easy to play because I’m like that myself. But as it’s my first role, I also signed up for an acting workshop,” says Angelina.

Sonthaya “Son The Star” Chitmanee plays Pran Thip the hunter who has looked after Singkhorn since he was a child and helped him take his manorah performance to the next level.

“My character is a fighter and the moves were designed specifically for me,” Sonthaya says.

“It was difficult to get it right because the fighting moves are mixed with the dance style of manorah and accompanied by manorah music, the same as Paisan. I’m lucky in that like Paisan, I was raised in a manorah family. My sister is a manorah performer though without the dancers. We have seen more youngsters wanting to learn the manorah and I suspect that number will grow thanks to the film. In some ways, manorah dance is similar to yoga as it requires pure concentration.”

Sompong Jitthiang, who is better known on the luk thung scene as Luang Kai, worked with Ekkachai on “Therd” and has written the movie’s theme song, “Norah” as well as the love song “Nuea Saneha”, which Paisan covers in the film.

“For the theme song, I drew on the legend of menorah, blending the traditional singing style with a Malayu accent to reflect the ancient kingdoms of Sathingpura and Langkasuka.

“‘Nuea Saneha’ is about Phor Khun Sattha, the first manorah performer in Thailand who must make a choice between tradition and love. I would like to thank Phi Ek for passing on this traditional Southern heritage to the new generation through social media and song,” says Luang Kai.

BOX

Making the moves

Find out more at Facebook.com/NorahTheMovie

ENGROSSING and highly entertaining, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which opens on Thursday, is a joyful and moving celebration of Queen. Directed by Bryan Singer, the movie is infused with indelible Queen hits, from “We Are the Champions” to “Love of My Life”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and, of course, “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Known for their innovative music and theatrical productions, the band released more than a dozen albums, becoming a cross-generational, cultural phenomenon. Their hits are as popular now as they were when they were first released.

Following the band from their student days in London to the height of their success when they were filling stadiums around the globe, there’s a focus on the extraordinary life and career of frontman Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, aged 45, of bronchopneumonia resulting from Aids. The Emmy-winning actor Rami Malek stars as Freddie. Playing Brian May is Gwilym Lee, with Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor. Also starring is Joe Mazzello as bass guitarist John Deacon.

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE FILM?

May: In truth, we were a little reluctant to get involved at the beginning, because we thought it would be difficult to make a film that would do Freddie justice. The idea had been suggested to us a lot over the years and eventually we realised that if we didn’t get to participate, somebody else would do a film without us and we wouldn’t be able to protect Freddie’s legacy, so we eventually got involved.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE THE FILM WORK WOULD YOU SAY?

May: Casting Rami Malek in the role of Freddie had a lot to do with it. Rami blew us away the first time we met him. We kind of saw Freddie in him and we could sense Rami’s passion. But, also, the other guys who play us are phenomenal, and I think the performances you see in the film reflect the fact that they completely lived it all, they became us, and they believed that they were us. It wasn’t just an acting job for them. The same is true for Lucy Boynton who plays Mary Austin [Freddie’s girlfriend, then close friend]. Actually, all the way down the cast and the whole production team, you can feel the enthusiasm. Visiting the set, there was an amazing feeling of loyalty and passion.

Taylor: The actors got very close to us. And it was particularly uncanny for us to watch them acting. They are phenomenal.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN YOU FIRST SAW THE ACTORS IN MAKEUP AND COSTUME AS QUEEN?

May: Well, we first saw them when they were on stage to practice musically. And at that point, I already sensed a kind of chemistry between them – and a sense of camaraderie. We didn’t get to see them in full costume, dressed as us, until that first moment when the cameras rolled on the Live Aid scenes, which just sent shivers up my spine, because the re-creation was so perfect, the venue, and everything about it. And then these guys, Rami and the others, come in, and they were us! They plunged in at the deep end. That was the pinnacle performance that they had to pull off right at the beginning of the shoot, which was tough, but they had it down.

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT RAMI’S PORTRAYAL OF FREDDIE?

May: The first time we saw him was actually in Roger’s flat. It must have been horrible for him, having us watching him for the first time. But we were |really blown away by him and his ability to perform – he’s incredible.

Taylor: He has the charisma required to play Freddie. You can’t get any bozo coming in and playing Freddie Mercury, you know. I remember watching him in “The Pacific” [the TV drama series], and he stood out. He really does have an innate charisma. And he brings out the timbre, the tone of Freddie’s voice!

WHEN YOU FIRST MET FREDDIE, DID YOU REALISE HIS POTENTIAL?

May: The simple answer is no, we did not know. He was full of dreams, full of mad fancies and insecurities – and ebullience and flamboyance.

Taylor: He sort of invented himself by an act of pure willpower and intelligence, and turned himself into Freddie Mercury.

CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LIVE AID AND WHAT IT MEANT FOR QUEEN?

May: Well, as you will see in the movie, it was crucial for us. It was a pivot point. I think it was good for our self-esteem at a time when we’d fragmented quite a bit. I don’t think we knew if we could pull it off at the time. We also went on without any of the lights and shenanigans that we thought were essential for us as a band. We thought the production aspect was part of us. But we went out wearing jeans and in daylight – and it worked. We believed in the essence of Queen in a way we never had before.

Taylor: I remember it being the most incredible day. First of all, there was the unlikely event of the sun actually shining in a British summer (laughs). The whole day was quite magical and went very well for us all round. I just remember the atmosphere was so great and there was so much cooperation backstage. Also, it was the first time that “music” had really stood up and done something good in the world to save lives, which was mainly down to Bob Geldof.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR SET LIST FOR LIVE AID?

May: “We put as many of our instantly recognisable songs into a medley as possible. They were slightly shortened, and dovetailed together … and we rehearsed. That was unusual for us in those days (laughs).

THE SONG ‘BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY’ OF COURSE ENDED UP BEING GROUNDBREAKING. HOW DID FREDDIE, WHO WROTE THE SONG, INTRODUCE THE INITIAL CONCEPT?

Taylor: I remember the first thing Freddie played on the piano was “Mama, just killed a man”. And I thought, “Oh, that’s good, it’s catchy”. But then he said, “There are some more bits”. In fact, there were a lot more bits and some of them didn’t make sense at the time. He was conducting and orchestrating everything and we just went along with it.

May: But it wasn’t actually unusual for Queen. If you listen to the album “Queen II”, there’s a lot of stuff on there, which is quite similar in terms of its outrageous construction. We were into making things that were unusual, creating things that were outside the norm. We just enjoyed it.

THERE WAS RELUCTANCE AT YOUR RECORD COMPANIES TO PUT OUT “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY”?

May: We had two record companies and they were both shocked and said, “You can’t do that song, it won’t get played on the radio”. And it just took us being dogged and precocious boys, as we were. We said, “That’s what you’re getting”. And in the end we were lucky because it worked out. Some people stood up and championed our cause, like Kenny Everett [the British DJ].

FINALLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK AT ITS HEART “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY” IS ALL ABOUT AND WHAT DO AUDIENCES HAVE IN STORE?

May: Obviously, we wanted to make a bad-ass movie, but the centre of it is Freddie of course. We all felt we wanted to portray Freddie’s humanity, portray him as the human being he was – and as a musician. The film had to be truthful and not too indulgent and watchable. I think Freddie would have agreed that, number one, it had to be entertaining. And I think we wanted people to laugh and to cry, and I believe that is what people will do when they see this movie.

Taylor: The movie is broadly true and at the same time it really is entertaining. That’s quite a balance to strike and I think that everyone involved in this film has pretty much got that right.

“Channel Zero: The Dream Door” is set to continue the anthology series’ reign of terror beginning with the premiere last Friday on iflixVIP, followed by one new episode dropping daily, culminating with the finale on Wednesday, Halloween night. New customers can watch “Channel Zero: The Dream Door” during their 30-day iflixVIP trial period, while existing iflixFREE users can upgrade for a very low fee of Bt100 per month.

Each instalment of the series draws inspiration from a different “creepypasta” (user-generated horror stories published online). Based on the “creepypasta” short story “Hidden Door” by Charlotte Bywater, “Channel Zero: The Dream Door” follows newly-weds Jillian and Tom, who have each brought secrets into their marriage. When they discover a strange door in their basement, those secrets start to threaten their relationship … and their lives.

“We are thrilled to introduce another direct from the US exclusive, and one as well-loved as Channel Zero. iflix now has more than 1.1 million people on the platform and we remain committed to our dream to bring the very best in global entertainment to our users, staying true to our vision to redefine television for one billion people by putting the entertainment they want in their hands – 24/7,” said Artima Suraphongchai, country manager for iflix Thailand.

    “Channel Zero: The Dream Door” is produced by Universal Cable Productions and stars Brandon Scott as Tom Hodgson, Maria Sten  as Jillian Hodgson, Steven Roberston as Ian, Steven Weber  as Abel Carnacki, and scream queen Barbara Crampton  as Vanessa Moss. Creator Nick Antosca returns as executive producer, showrunner and writer for the fourth instalment with director Evan Katz, who will also executive produce.  Previous seasons of the series are all available on iflixVIP.

Now available to over one billion consumers throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, iflix has established itself as the clear market leader in video streaming. Offering consumers a vast library of top Hollywood, regional, and local TV shows and movies, including many first run exclusives and award-winning programs, and now news, each subscription allows users to access the services on up to five devices, including phones, laptops, tablets, and television sets, for viewing wherever, whenever.

Watch the trailer for Channel Zero: The Dream Door at https://youtu.be/NN8tWuA0gLo

Launched in December last year as replacement for the free TrueVisions Anywhere app, TrueID app has recorded at least 5 million downloads from Android among TrueVisions’ 4 million subscribers.

The shift in lifestyles of TV viewers has meant they want to catch the shows regardless of when and where they are at the time.

However, watching TV at home with families is still preferred, she said.

TrueVisions supplies content to subscribers through several devices and platforms, thus customers will not miss anything they want to |watch anytime, anywhere, Kittima said.

However, competition in the pay-TV sector is growing with the emergence of subscription-based streaming media services such as Netflix, but Kittima says TrueVisions has a lot more to offer.

TrueVisions , a subsidiary of True Corporation whose services range from Internet to mobile communication, allows subscribers to stream content on TrueVisions to a smart phone or tablet through the TrueID app which also features music and games, she said.

True Corporation is the parent company of the country’s largest cable-TV provider TrueVisions; Thailand’s largest Internet service provider True Internet; as well as TrueMove H, one of the top three mobile phone operators.

Kittima said TrueVisions recently became the first TV operator in Thailand to beam and stream with a 4K Ultra HD system to viewers.

Beginning with the broadcasting of World Cup matches from Russia, the new system is four times clearer than HD and 20 times clearer than the old system.

“Our strategy is to keep up with our viewers’ lifestyle. We will deliver what interests our customers,” she said.

Now, there is little difference or none in the release dates of foreign TV series in Thailand and abroad. Some foreign series and entertainment programmes were released here at almost the same time as that in the countries where they were produced, Kittima added.

“There is no boundary in the timely supply of content. If a series or movie is released late in Thailand, most viewers would have watched it on other platforms,” she said.

The next three years could pose a challenge for TrueVisions, as it may lose the rights to broadcast the world’s most-watched football league on its channels.

TrueVisions acquired the sub-licensing rights to the English Premier League [EPL] for the 2016-18 seasons from Qatar-based BeIN Sports but the Qatari sport channel has failed to extend the rights for the next three years.

Instead, Facebook has clinched the exclusive broadcast rights of the EPL in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos for the 2019-21 seasons in a 200-million pound (Bt8.5 billion) battle.

This means the social media giant will livestream all EPL matches, after outbidding traditional television networks such as BeIN Sports and Fox Sports Asia in an auction.

Kittima said TrueVisions is ready to discuss with the new rights holder on the possibility of sub-licensing, adding that she has no idea as to the regulations and conditions.

“We cannot guarantee anything but will try our best to keep the matches on our sports channels,” she said.

In her view, football fans in Thailand will be able to watch EPL matches on one of the three platforms: television, online, or live streaming.

Football fans were left bitterly disappointed last month after staying up for the opening match of the Champions League, but were met with a blank screen instead.

In previous seasons, TrueVisions’ subscribers watched the matches on beIN Sports, the rights holder of the Champions League and Europa League, but it failed to retain these rights in addition to the EPL for the next three seasons.

European football’s ruling body, UEFA, said Thai fans could watch the games live on goal.com of the new rights holder, after it was awarded to beIN’s parent company, DAZN. But as of now, Thai fans are still denied access to the stream from the website.

As for the continuous broadcasting of the Champions League and Europa league to Thai viewers, Kittima said it now depends on the new rights holder.

A biopic of war correspondent Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012, is a celebration of journalism as it increasingly comes “under attack”, according to the filmmakers. “A Private War”, released in US cinemas next month, chronicles the harrowing career of Colvin – played by “Gone Girl” star Rosamund Pike – who was an award-winning journalist for Britain’s The Sunday Times.

The feature film debut of director Matthew Heineman – an Oscar nominee in 2016 for his documentary “Cartel Land” – shows the reporter’s struggles to cope with the impact of reporting from the world’s conflict zones.

For Heineman, whose mother was a journalist, it is a “homage” to both Colvin and an increasingly besieged profession.

“It’s so important right now in this world of fake news and soundbites, where journalists are under attack, to celebrate journalism and to celebrate people like Marie,” he said during a London Film Festival screening at the weekend.

The movie, which got its world premiere in Toronto last month, hits screens as reporters face ever more threats, from US President Donald Trump labelling them “the enemy” to the killing this month of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Actor Jamie Dornan – of the “Fifty Shades” franchise – who plays freelance photographer and long-time Colvin colleague Paul Conroy, said the work felt “timely”.

The late journalist Marie Colvin

“This is a film about telling the truth,” he said. “Anything that can try to show true journalism in its finest light – the people who will go to these places to risk everything to tell us the truth – that’s a good thing.”

American Colvin died aged 56, alongside French photographer Remi Ochlik, in an alleged government bombardment of a media centre in the warravaged Syrian city of Homs.

“A Private War”, adapted from a Vanity Fair article following her death, depicts her decades-spanning career and the psychological and physical toll it took on her.

It captures Colvin losing the sight of one eye – leading to her wearing a signature eyepatch – while covering Sri Lanka’s civil war, and interviewing former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi shortly before his death in 2011.

The film also shows her retreating into heavy drinking and battling likely post-traumatic stress disorder in between assignments.

Oscar-nominated Pike said she was attracted to the part by Colvin’s complexity.

“I wanted to put a woman out there on the screen who is admirable but not every quality she has is admirable,” she said.

“There was something about… the fierceness of passion in what she did that I related to.”

Photographer Conroy, who was injured by the bombing that killed Colvin but made a full recovery, said he was eager to advise on the film in part because of Heineman’s background in documentaries.

“His idea of the truth carried through from that – it wasn’t just ‘lets make this frothy Hollywood film’,” he said at the screening. “The attention to detail is extraordinary.”

Heineman said he spent months researching the story, including watching practically every war film ever made.

He also enlisted locals rather than actors to play the parts of extras in the war zones portrayed.

“Those are real Syrian women shedding real tears and telling real stories,” he explained of scenes showing Colvin interviewing civilians in Syria.

“That was really important to me to try to bring an authenticity to this experience.”

The director said making “City of Ghosts”, a 2017 nonfiction film about a Syrian media activist group in Raqqa, and other conflict-driven documentaries helped him emphathise with Colvin.

“I just felt enormous kinship with her, and also her desire to put a human face to poor innocent civilians who are caught in the crossfire of these geopolitical conflicts,” he added.

 New episodes premiere on subsequent Mondays at the same time. The series will also be available on HBO GO via AIS Play and AIS Playbox.

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