It’s been four years in the making and today the producers and directors of Exformat are breathing a big sigh of relief as film critics, bloggers and the press are lauding their first ever movie project – the animation “9 Satra” (“The Legend of Muay Thai”).

Favourable comments have been circulating since sneak previews started showing at theatres and the audience attending Wednesday’s gala premiere poured on the praise, making such comments as “surprisingly good”, “the action scenes are awesome”, “I’ve never seen such a thrilling Thai animation as this”, “far better than I expected” and even “the best Thai animation ever”.

Project creator and producer Phusanat Karunwongwat is hoping that the great feedback will spread and cinemagoers will throng to see his project and help the big budget animation survive in the box office.

He is right to be cautious in his optimism though. Prior Thai animation outings have been criticised for weak scripts and being poor replicas of animations from Hollywood and Japan,

“So when they see that our film is fun and entertaining, we hope that they will tell all their friends to come and see it,” he says.

Yet despite the Bt230 million that has been poured into the animation, the people – a group of friends mainly trained as architects  have little, if any, filmmaking experience.

“9 Satra” follows a young muay thai warrior Ott (voiced by singer/actor Kanokchat ‘Typhoon KPN’ Munyadon) who uses his kickboxing powers to unlock the secret weapon from which the film gets its name to fight against the giant Yaksa who have besieged the Ramathep kingdom.

The animation is the brainchild of Phusanat. He’d had a little experience making the short cartoon series “The Salad” and wanted to come up with an animation that wouldn’t cost more than Bt30 million.

“We are not in the film industry so our experience in filmmaking is zero but we agreed to invest in the project after Phusanat told us about his idea,” says architect Apisek Wongvasu, one of the producers who put money into the project.

Phusanat adds that the group was so inexperienced that they had no idea Bt30 million wouldn’t be enough. “We later learned that animations cost a whole lot more,” he says with a smile.

After renting a cinema to screen the first seven minutes to film companies, the group upped the budget to Bt60 million and set up Exformat Films Company. As it turned out, getting the animation from drawing board to screen would cost them Bt230 million not to mention four years of hard work.

“We wouldn’t get anything back if we gave up so we decided to put more money in and make it as good as we possibly could,” says Apisek.

That meant looking for talent in every field among friends and colleagues before expanding the search to include Hollywood companies. Scriptwriters like Suphakorn Riansuwan from Scenario Production and Daraka Wonsiri from Dreambox came on board and the team eventually hired Hollywood script doctor Bryan Hill to give the storytelling more of an international feel.

The process continued in much the same way, with the group bringing on board as consultants former muay thai boxer Charoenthong Kiatbaanchong for advice on the movements, artist Sakwut Wisetmanee to comment on the visual design and musician and music producer Suthee Sangsereechon for the soundtrack. Canadian Ryan Shore was then hired to compose the score. The nephew of Howard Shore who wrote the score for “The Lord of the Rings”, the younger Shore is a well-known composer and songwriter for film and television including for the “Star Wars: Forces of Destiny” TV series. The entire score played by a live orchestra was eventually recorded in Macedonia.

“For every process, we started with local talents then followed our consultants’ advice to find the right piece of the jigsaw to complete our project,” says Apisek.

Hill or Shore regularly flew to Thailand to be briefed by the team on such Thai elements as the belief in magic tattoos, history, muay thai, and melodies before refining both the script and score.

The original idea was to make an animation about Nai Khanom Tom – the legendary icon of muay thai and much of the early work focused on Thai character designs like the Nai Jan Nuad Khiaw in the epic “Bang Rajan”.

“It’s not easy to blend Thainess and international style and both our teams, local and international, worked closely to share ideas and concepts so that the film would not just attract a domestic audience but also animation fans all over world,” says Phusanat.

The animation work itself flowed from the fingers of local animators both hired by Exformat and also with Riff Animation Company, which made a name for itself with the GTH movie “May Nai Fai Raeng Fer” (“May Who?”).

“We can’t beat Pixar or Disney, so we have to create our own style and hope the audience will give us a chance,” adds co-director Gun Phansuwon who teamed with scriptwriter Nat Yoswatananont. A photographer and a professional golfer, Gun came to the project through an uncle of one of the producers.

Gun says that “9 Satra” is targeting both children and adults, indeed anyone who wants to learn a little more about Thai art and culture. “We’re looking at an audience group aged between 14 to 40 and aim to expand to include merchandise and games as well. So the idea has to be more universal and the film has to be the best. We don’t want to be sitting around afterwards asking ourselves ‘what if’,” he says.

Apisek agrees, adding that “9 Satra” has been a collaborative project from the world go, bringing everyone together – from producers and directors – to brainstorm and make decisions at every step.

“9 Satra” will soon be screened at Chinese theatres through Really Good Film, an affiliate of major Chinese studio Bona Film. However, Exformat has called off an earlier deal made with The Weinstein Company following the charges of sexual harassment against its owner.

“9 Satra” is now with the China censorship board and waiting for approval under the country’s foreign film-screening quota. The plan is to release it in between 5,000 and 10,000 cinemas nationwide and Exformat has already negotiated a good deal for the profit sharing.

And there’s every reason to think it will be a hit there. Exformat’s Chinese partner suggested early on that some Chinese elements be included in the story to help the mainland audience identify with the film. That was achieved by redesigning the original character of Maya – a girl from Holland – and turning her into a sexy pirate called Xiaolan.

Most Thai animations made since the first release “Sud Sakorn” in 1979 have tended to focus on children and have portrayed Thai cultural heritage and history. A good example is the top-grossing animation “Khan Kluay”, which despite being a success still fell Bt22 million short in recouping its Bt120 million investment.

Much more disappointing was “Anatta”, which cost Bt100 million to make, but earned just under Bt6 million at the box office.

Can “9 Satra” turn the tide? The team at Exformat are not the only ones hoping that it does.

A massive hit at home, the action blockbuster has attracted almost 12 million viewers and earned more than 90 billion won (around Bt2.79 billion), setting the new record of South Korean film history and Asia.

The two parts have been more than six years in the making but the wait has been more than worthwhile. “Along With the Gods” tells the story of firefighter Ja-hong (Cha Tae-hyun), who is taken to the afterlife by three guardians, where only after passing seven trials and proving he lived a noble life will he be able to reincarnate. Based on the wildly popular webcomic, “Along With the Gods” is a star-studded, action-packed fantasy epic about life, death, rebirth, and the unseen forces that guide us through all. The second part will continue the adventures of Ja-hong and the three guardians during the trials. The film is directed by Kim Yong-hwa, who also helmed “200 Pounds Beauty”, “Take Off”, and “Mr GO”. Ha Jung-woo, Ju Ji-hoon and Kim Hyan-gi are among the co-stars

“Cleopatra is one of the most expensive films ever made in Hollywood. The late actress Elizabeth Taylor portrays the beautiful Cleopatra – Queen of Egypt, Julius Caesar is played by Rex Harrison and the queen’s Roman lover, Marc Antony by Richard Burton. Set in 48 BC, Cleopatra successfully uses her charm to seduce Caesar, the Roman invader, to help her rise to power. Unfortunately, Caesar’s infatuation for her runs deeper than politics and causes the end of his power. Some years later, Marc Antony, a Roman general, becomes her lover. Together they must fight against the great Roman Empire.

Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather: Part II” is hailed as one of the greatest American films of all time. A sequel to the 1972 film, “The Godfather Part II” tells parallel stories of the young Vito Corleone and his son, Michael, who is rising to power after his father. Hunted by a local mafia, Vito runs away from a small town in Sicily to Little Italy in America where he is introduced to a life of crime by murdering a local mafia figure. With his sharp mind and determination, he soon rises to power and creates a mafia network that will last for generations. Meanwhile Michael, now head of the family, is struggling to protect his father’s legacy. A young Al Pacino stars as Michael.

Both films screen at noon. Tickets cost Bt100 and are now available only for “Cleopatra”. Advance tickets for “The Godfather” will be available laer in January.

Find out more at Facebook.com/ThaiFilmArchivePage.

Released in 2011, the film has often been described as one of the best in Iranian cinema, and is directed by one of the country’s most admired filmmakers Dariush Meherjui.

The movie shows how the most intimate of dramas can be portrayed with insight and intensity, minus intimate scenes or actions, which is the hallmark of Iran’s austere but world-renowned cinema.

The film portrays Leila and Reza (Leila Hatami and Ali Mosaffa), a deeply-in-love married couple, who come from modern, upper class families. When Leila learns she is infertile and cannot have children, her husband is cool about it, but not his mother. The latter convinces Leila that it is her duty to allow him to marry again (permissible by Muslim law). Leila is disturbed, but agrees to it, much to her husband’s confusion. When he does marry again, they realise that it affects both of them much more than they expected.

Actress Hatami, who shot to fame in the 2011 Oscar-winning film “A Separation”, has been showered with praise for her portrayal of the wife.

The screening of “Leila” is supported by the Cultural Centre of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bangkok, which will serve a variety of Iranian snacks and tea, after the screening. The Iranian ambassador Mohsen Mohammadi will introduce the film.

The film is suitable for audiences over the age of 16.

Entry fee is Bt20. The film screens at 4pm at the TK Park on the eighth floor of CentralWorld. Book your tickets in advance by emailing yuttinai@tkpark.or.th and filmforum17@gmail.com.

Hollywood’s A-listers on Sunday turned out en masse in black – a sartorial show of force to draw attention to sexual harassment in showbiz and other industries, a culture of abuse revealed in the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and others.

“On Sunday We Wear Black” to stand in solidarity with men and women everywhere who have been silenced by discrimination, harassment and abuse,” said a tweet from the Time’s Up initiative launched by hundreds of prominent women in Tinseltown to shine a light on the issue.

Women and men alike strutted into the Beverly Hilton for the gala event in their finest, the wide majority of them in basic black.

“People are aware now of a power imbalance. It’s led to abuse in our industry. It’s everywhere,” Meryl Streep, who is vying for a Globe for her work in media drama “The Post”. told E! Network on the red carpet.

Streep – who has come under fire over her denials that she knew about Weinstein’s misconduct – brought Ai-jen Poo, the head of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, as her plus one.

Indeed, the women behind the Time’s Up initiative have called special attention to their “sisters” in less than glamorous blue-collar jobs.

Streep, a three-time Oscar winner, said Hollywood’s men and women now felt “emboldened to stand together in a thick, black line”.

Indeed, the men of Hollywood took some flack ahead of the gala for saying they too would wear black, with some saying they would have worn tuxedos anyway.

But many donned black shirts as well, and offered their impassioned support for the movement.

“I don’t think this is a silent protest. This is going to make people talk about the issue,” David Thewlis, who starred in last year’s box office smash “Wonder Woman,” told AFP on the red carpet.

“As a father, as a husband, why wouldn’t you be 100 per cent in support of this?”

Streep was not the only actress who walked the red carpet with an activist.

Michelle Williams (“All The Money in the World”) arrived with Tarana Burke, the creator of the #MeToo hashtag that exploded in the wake of the revelations about Weinstein as women recounted their experiences online.

Amy Poehler entered with Restaurant Opportunities Centre United president Saru Jayaraman.

The protest movement did not preclude Tinseltown’s finest from making fashion statements.

Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, who starred in last year’s hit TV series “Feud: Bette and Joan”, opted for a daring sheer lingerie-inspired black gown with plenty of artfully placed sequins – and emerald green earrings.

Alicia Vikander’s gown had a rather Victorian buttoned-up bodice with full coverage, sheer sleeves – and a bare back.

The only pops of colour were minor – a streak of bright green eyeshadow here, a snippet of white fabric at a neckline there, or an orange sash at the waist.

“Tonight is not a mourning. Tonight is an awakening,” actress-director Amber Tamblyn wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times.

Hollywood spoke with one voice at the Golden Globes on Sunday to declare war on the film industry’s culture of sexual harassment and abuse, as it kicked off its annual awards season on a rare serious note.

Crime drama “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was the big winner of the night with four trophies, giving it momentum ahead of the all-important Oscars in March.

But the awards podium played second fiddle at times to the clarion call coming from numerous stars about the need to heal and move forward.

“Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have,” actress and media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey told the audience at the Beverly Hilton as she accepted a lifetime achievement award.

“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up!” she added, earning a standing ovation.

The industry’s elite turned the red carpet black for the Globes, eschewing bright colours in a fashionable repudiation of disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein and others ensnared in allegations of misconduct.

And the overall message at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s champagne-drenched annual prize-giving was a call for continued change.

“People are aware now of a power imbalance. It’s led to abuse in our industry … It’s everywhere,” Meryl Streep, who was nominated for a Globe for her work in media drama “The Post”, said on the red carpet.

Seth Meyers, making his debut as Globes host, opened the show with joke after joke about Hollywood’s post-Weinstein reckoning.

“It’s 2018, marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t. It’s going to be a good year,” the late-night NBC funnyman said.

“For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won’t be terrifying to hear your name read out loud.”

Leading the pack by the end of the night was “Three Billboards”, Martin McDonagh’s searing film about a mother who battles local authorities to solve her daughter’s murder.

It picked up trophies for best drama, screenplay, actress for Frances McDormand and supporting actor for Sam Rockwell.

“The women are not here for the food, they’re here for the work,” McDormand said to applause, noting the “tectonic shift in our industry’s power structure.”

But McDonagh lost out in the directing category to Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, whose fantasy romance “The Shape of Water” came in as joint runner-up alongside coming-of-age film “Lady Bird” with two awards each.

There were no nominations at all for female filmmakers, prompting withering remarks from presenters Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain and Barbra Streisand.

“Did I hear it right – I was the only woman to get the best director award. And, you know, that was 1984? That was 34 years ago? Folks, time’s up,” Streisand said of her victory for “Yentl”.

While many fields were wide open, James Franco (“The Disaster Artist”) was always a shoo-in to win best actor in a musical/comedy movie.

Franco – who also directed the film about Tommy Wiseau’s flop-turned-cult-hit “The Room” – gave a shoutout to his brother and co-star Dave, telling the gathered celebrities: “I love him more than anything. Thanks to my mother for giving

him to me.”

Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”) pipped Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) in the much closer best actress race, and Ronan was back on stage again alongside her director Greta Gerwig when the coming-of-age fable won best comedy movie.

Gary Oldman, ac- claimed for virtually disappearing into the role of British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”, took home best actor in a drama.

On the small screen, HBO’s “Big Little Lies” scooped up a rare trio of acting awards for Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern,

and another trophy for best limited TV series.

“I hope we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them,” said Kidman, who portrayed an abused wife in the show.

Dern urged Hollywood to support survivors of abuse and to promote restorative justice.

“May we teach our children that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture’s new North Star,” she said.

Ewan McGregor picked up his first Golden Globe in one of the night’s most star-studded categories, best actor in a limited series or TV movie, for his work on “Fargo”.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” followed up its Emmys night glory, when it won four statuettes, by beating perennial awards juggernaut “Game of Thrones” to the Globe for best TV drama series.

Its star Elisabeth Moss also took home the prize for best actress in a drama, and thanked Margaret Atwood, who wrote the best-selling dystopian novel on which the Hulu series was based.

Providing a peek into the cramped apartments, grinding routines and urban neuroses of New Yorkers, Ben Sinclair returns as The Guy, a bearded, pot-dealing deliveryman whose growing clientele is keeping him busier than ever.

Introducing new customers and revisiting familiar ones, the second season of “High Maintenance” weaves together a labyrinth of humour, poignant observations and heartfelt moments in stories that explore the lives of intriguing and colourful individuals from all walks of life.

Created by Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, this new season delves deeper into the contemporary anxieties New Yorkers are experiencing, from political tension to soaring real estate prices, while emphasising the importance of savouring the highs of life in this increasingly volatile world. Pulling back the curtain on The Guy’s personal life, the second season reveals a few more people and details of what happens when he’s not on the clock.

New guest stars this season include Danielle Brooks, John Gallagher, Jr, Jessica Hecht, Luzer Twersky and Kate Lyn Sheil, with Abdullah Saeed and Yael Stone returning.

The brand new drama series comes from Oscar and Emmy winner Ball (“Six Feet Under”, “True Blood”) and stars Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter.

The show is a provocative and darkly comic meditation on the disparate forces polarising present-day American culture, as experienced by the members of a progressive multi-ethnic family – a philosophy professor and his wife (Robbins and Hunter), their adopted children from Vietnam, Liberia and Colombia, and their sole biological child – and a contemporary Muslim family, headed by a psychiatrist who is treating one of their children.

Jerrika Hinton, Daniel Zovatto, Raymond Lee, Sosie Bacon, Andy Bean, Joe Williamson and Peter Macdissi also star.

– FILM –

Best film, drama: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best film, musical or comedy: “Lady Bird”

Best director:  Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

Best actor, drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Best actress, drama: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best actor, musical or comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Best actress, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best supporting actress: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Best screenplay: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best foreign language film: “In the Fade”

Best animated feature: “Coco”

Best original score: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”

Best original song: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”

– TELEVISION –

Best drama series: “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best drama actor: Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”

Best drama actress: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best musical or comedy series: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Best musical or comedy actor: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”

Best musical or comedy actress: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Best limited series or TV movie: “Big Little Lies”

Best limited series or TV movie actor: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”

Best limited series or TV movie actress: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”

Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”

Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”//AFP

“Jumanji,” starring square-jawed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and funnymen Jack Black and Kevin Hart, was headed for an impressive $36 million for the three-day weekend, bringing its domestic total to $244.4 million in its third week out, said website Exhibitor Relations.

The film, following four teens who find themselves inside the video game world of Jumanji, has grossed more than $500 million worldwide and opens in the huge Chinese market next weekend.

In second place was Universal’s newly released “Insidious: The Last Key,” with an estimated take of $29.3 million. The horror film, the fourth installment in the “Insidious” franchise, stars Lin Shaye and Angus Sampson and follows a parapsychologist investigating a haunting in her childhood home.

The news for third-place “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was mixed: the latest in the hugely popular series has now taken in $1.2 billion worldwide, but it slowed to below warp speed in North America, totaling $23.6 million in its fourth week and taking in just $28.7 million from its opening in China, below industry predictions.

The space saga stars Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver and two members of the series’ original cast, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and the late Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.

Fourth place went to Fox’s “The Greatest Showman,” a “good old-fashioned cornball PG musical” (so says Variety.com) about larger-than-life circus impresario P.T. Barnum. With the popular Hugh Jackman in the lead role, the film logged $13.8 million in its third week, down only slightly from the previous week.

And in fifth was another musical, “Pitch Perfect 3,” a Universal sequel that took in $10.2 million in its third week. The movie’s cast, led by Anna Kendrick, follows the continuing adventures of glee singers the Bellas.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“Ferdinand” ($7.7 million)

“Molly’s Game” ($7 million)

“Darkest Hour” ($6.4 million)

“Coco” ($5.5 million)

“All the Money in the World” ($3.6 million)