The two blockbusters smashed the company’s box office record in Thailand by surpassing “2012”, a disaster movie which had held the company’s top grossing record since 2009. They were among the top 5 highest grossing films in the country’s yearend box office poll, which is calculated on accumulative revenues from total ticket sales at box officees of all multiplex theatres in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (Thailand) debuted its standalone distribution trade in Thailand in April and quickly became the most lucrative in 20 years for Sony Pictures as a Hollywood movie distributor in the kingdom. Releasing 19 films nationwide last year, the company earned Bt805 million in total.

“Spider-Man” led the pack as a victorious blockbuster racking up more than Bt270 million in tickets sales across country. The young and most visceral webslinger swung high above all previous Spiderman movies ever released in Thailand.

“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”, the action-fantasy reboot, has earned Bt165 million since its release last December.

Other films that helped generate success were “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter”, “Life”, “Smurfs”, “The Lost Village”, “Dark Tower”, “Baby Driver” and “Blade Runner 2049”.

The small budget sci-fi film “The Arrival” opened the year with Bt40 million. Running not far behind was “The Dark Tower” which earned nearly Bt35-million. “Life” under-performed but still led the box office in Southeast Asia.

“I consider the modest revenue of Bt30 million from “Baby Driver” as a satisfactory contribution since the offbeat teen action-drama has no big stars. “The Resident Evil” prequel garnered Bt120 million from ticket sales. “Blade Runner 2049” hid its sharp blade under Bt50 million,” says Rachata Theerabutr, managing director of Sony Entertainment (Thailand).

“Sony Thailand has ventured into the niche market and found success with rather small but high quality movies such as “T2: Trainspotting”, “20th Century Women”, “Professor Marston & The Wonder Woman” and “Call Me By Your Name”, which screened as part of the arthouse favourites in the “Sony@House campaign, a joint-project between Sony Picture Classic/Tristar Picture and House RCA,” he adds.

“Sony Pictures is a studio that provides high quality and a wide variety film products for every audience. Marketing varies from film to film. For blockbusters cases we deploy the marketing campaign to expand our target audiences outside the core-market and use a different approach for smaller films or arthouse favourites,” says Dujdao Prohmobol, marketing executive director.

Sony Pictures lineup for this year includes the live-action/CGI animations “Peter Rabbit” and “Hotel Transylvania 3: Monster Vacation”. Denzel Washington will be back as a hard hitman in high-octane action sequel “The Equalizer 2”. Also coming up are “Alpha”, Columbia Pictures and Marvels studio’s new project “Venom”, the spooky sequel Goosebumps: Horrorland”, and “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”.

The 11-day event, Europe’s first major cinema showcase of the year, kicked off with the warmly-received world premiere of acclaimed US director Wes Anderson’s new animated feature “Isle of Dogs”.

Actors Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Murray, who voice the pack of pooches in the movie, told AFP that the time had come to revolutionise the approach to sex and power.

“I look at it as a great thing that the pillars of misogyny are falling,” Cranston said, expressing shock at the “abhorrent behaviour” that had come to light since more than 100 women accused producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, assault and rape.

Goldblum, 65, said he was optimistic that “pages are being turned and chapters are being newly conceived” where “equal treatment and empowerment of women” are “the order of the day without exception”.

Murray said the outpouring of anger had given him more empathy for the opposite sex.

“To be a woman is to be sized up at all times, often — it’s animal. And I don’t know if I would enjoy it,” he said.

‘As if nothing happened’

With the industry in turmoil over waves of allegations against powerful industry players, the Berlinale is seeking a delicate balance between Hollywood glamour and frank debate in the wake of Weinstein’s downfall.

But even before the festival opened, controversy erupted over the inclusion of award-winning South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, who was fined in December for assaulting an actress on set.

The actress, who has refused to be publicly identified, has accused the festival — traditionally a strong champion of Asian cinema — of “hypocrisy” for inviting Kim to present his latest picture, “Human, Space, Time and Human”.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick said he had excluded a handful of films because of credible sexual abuse allegations against their directors, screenwriters or stars.

But he told AFP he did not bar Kim because sexual harassment allegations by the same actress against him had been dismissed for lack of evidence, adding that he was seeking more information about an appeal in the case.

“Obviously the Berlinale condemns and opposes any form of violence or sexual misconduct,” Kosslick said.

On Thursday, a coalition of more than 100 South Korean civic groups kept up the pressure, releasing a statement condemning the festival’s stance.

“We are living in this unfair reality in which a physical assault offender is working and being welcomed everywhere as if nothing happened, while the victim who spoke out against the abuse is being isolated and marginalised,” the alliance of about 140 groups said in a joint statement sent to AFP.

Meanwhile an online petition calling for the Berlinale to lay a black carpet instead of a red one as a sign of support for sexual assault and harassment victims drew 21,000 signatures.

The festival rejected the call, but some guests wore black to the “Isle of Dogs” premiere, following a similar solidarity gesture at last month’s Golden Globe awards.

And German actress Anna Brueggemann launched the Twitter hashtag #NobodysDoll to encourage female stars to abandon the high heels and low-cut gowns common at gala screenings for more “comfortable” clothing.

First animated opening film

It was Anderson’s fourth turn in competition for the Berlinale’s Golden and Silver Bear top prizes following “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”.

Tom Tykwer, one of the German directors behind the blockbuster mini-series “Babylon Berlin” now appearing on Netflix, is leading a gender-balanced jury that will hand out the awards on February 24.

The competition features 19 films, four of them by female directors.

“Isle of Dogs”, which drew enthusiastic applause, was made in the stop-motion style of Anderson’s hit “Fantastic Mr Fox” from 2009.

It was the first animated film to open the Berlinale, now in its 68th year.

Last year, a tender Hungarian love story set in a slaughterhouse, “On Body and Soul” by female director Ildiko Enyedi, captured the Golden Bear. It is now nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film.

The nominating committee for the Subhanahongsa awards was not the only one to announce its choices for Thailand’s award season last week. Coming hot on its heels was the Bangkok Critics Assembly, who confirmed “Bad Genius” likely sweep by giving it 11 nods in 10 categories.

But the critics also ramped up the competition, awarding the breakout regional hit “Thai Baan The Series” exactly the same number of nominations.

“#BKKY”, the independent film about teenage life in Bangkok, came home with seven nods including best film and director for Nontawat Numbenchaphol.

Another independent documentary, “Morn Rotfai” (“Railway Sleepers”), was nominated for five awards, including best film and director, drawing with GDH’s “Phuan Thee Raluek” (The Promise).

“Insects in the Backyard” and “Siam Square” were next up with four nods apiece.

Other filmmakers contesting the best director prize are Nattawut Poonpiriya (“Bad Genius”), Thanwarin Sukkhapisit (“Insects in the Backyard”) and Surasak Pongsorn (“Thai Baan The Series”).

While the emphasis from the critics was more on independent productions, the Assembly followed Subhanahongsa in nominating Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying and Chanon Santinatorn kul of “Bad Genius” for best actress and best actor.

“Bad Genius” also scored two nominations for both the supporting actor/actress categories, with Thanet Warakulnukroh of “Pop Aye” also doing well and “Thai Baan The Series” scoring twice for best song.

Jarinporn Joonkiat and Rattanarat Aurthaveekul from “Die Tomorrow” are up for the best actress award, but Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit was left out of the running for a best director nomination.

The only perfomer to be recognised in both the best actress and supporting actress categories is Ploy Sornarin, whose leading role in “15+ IQ Krachood” earns her the best actress nod and her portrayal of a mysterious student girl in “Siam Square” the best supporting actress nomination.

The final selection will be made by members of the assembly and will, as in the past, include a young-filmmaker award.

The ceremony is slated for March 28 but the venue is still to be announced.

In an announcement that will come as no surprise to Thai cinephiles, the hit movie “Chalard Games Gong” (“Bad Genius”) looks set to sweep this year’s Subhanahongsa awards with an impressive 16 nominations in 15 award categories out of a possible 16, missing out only on “Best Original Song”.

The nods are well deserved. Not only did Nattawut Poonpiriya’s caper about students planning to cheat in an international test scheme earn the highest box office takings of 2017, it also did very well in foreign markets, thrilling viewers all over Asia and even making it to the US where it opened the New York Asian Film Festival.

Next in the number of nods is Nawapol Thamrongratanarit’s independent film “Die Tomorrow” with 12 nominations in 11 categories. Directors Nattawut and Nawapol will be competing for the best director prize alongside Tanwarin Sukhaphisit, Nontawat Numbenchaphol and Singaporean director Kirsten Tan who made the charming ThaiSingaporean film “Pop Aye”.

Rookie Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, who played the lead role in “Bad Genius” looks set to win best actress, with her costars Chanon Santinatornkul (best actor), Teeradon Supapunpinyo (best supporting actor) and Eisaya Hosuwan (best supporting actress) also in the running for the big prizes.

Veteran singer/actor Thaneth Warakulnukroh, who just returned to the big screen after a 30-year absence, is up for best supporting actor for his portrayal of an architect facing a mid life crisis in “Pop Aye”. Lee Chatametikool, who edited the film, could score the editing prize.

Actress Eisaya has also been nominated as best actress for her role in the coming-of-age horror “Siam Square” while the ever-popular Sunny Suwanmethanont has received a best actor nod for playing a professional tennis player in the comedy “Mr Hurt Mue Wang Undab Jeb” (“Mr Hurt”). Sunny is up for best supporting actor too for “Die Tomorrow”, which saw him again working with Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit after their successful collaboration on “Freelance: Ham puay… Ham phak… Ham rak mor”.

The horror flick “Siam Square” has done well overall, with its other nominations coming for best screenplay, supporting actor for Nathasit Kotimanuswanich, editing, cinematography, sound, and visual effect.

Thanwarin Sukhaphisit’s 2010 drama “Insects In the Backyard” earned four nods in the best director actor, screenplay and costume categories. “Insects”, originally banned under the provisions of the 2008 Film Act for its subject matter – two teenagers being raised by their transvestite father – finally opened at mainstream cinemas last year after a court battle of seven years.

GDH horror drama “Phuan Thee Raluek” (“The Promise”) received 11 nominations including best film but failed to score in the director and screenplay categories. The GDH film wasn’t well received, leaving the cinema with just Bt35 million, a low for the major studio.

Independent films retained their popularity with three nods for Nontawat Numbenchaphol’s “#BKKY” in the best director, best actress and best recording and mixing sound.

A surprise inclusion is “Thai Baan The Series”, a regional and low-budget production set in the Thailand’s Northeast. It did well at the box office, earning more than Bt28 million, and is nominated for best film, actor, supporting actor, song and original score.

Docu-drama “Niran Ratree” (“Phantom of Illumination”) about a projectionist at a closed-down stand-alone cinema has a nod for best cinematography. Drama-comedy about the ghost in a karaoke jukebox “Premika Paa Raab” has nominations for best costume, visual effects, make up effects and best original song and is competing with the comedy “Som Phak Sian”, the directorial debut of Busarakam Wongkhamlau, daughter of the comedian/director Phethai “Mum Jokmok”.

Despite bombing at the box office, Poj Anon’s zombie film “Kad Krachaak Grean” has two nods – best makeup effects and best original song – while the sweet romance with Hokkaido as a backdrop “Present Perfect Khae Nee Kor Dee Laew” gets a nomination in the original song category.

Action period drama “Nai Thongdee Fun Khao” starring the popular boxer Buakhao Banchamek scored well too, earning nods for best costume design and art direction.

And last but not least, “Khon Plon Winyarn” (“Realms”), which quietly left the box office after a very short run, is in competition for best visual effect.

The year the federation is giving the honourable lifetime achievement award to 1980s’ superstar Soraphong Chatree.

Organised by the Federation of Nation Film Associations of Thailand, the awards ceremony will be held at Thailand Cultural Centre on March 11.

Why are Japanese people hooked on ramen? A new documentary aiming to offer global audiences insight into the passion behind this inexpensive dish received a warm welcome on the film festival circuit before premiering at home late last month.

“Ramen Heads” was born when producer Arata Oshima watched “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”, a documentary made by an American director that followed Jiro Ono, who runs a Tokyo sushi restaurant that has earned three Michelin stars.

“I found it frustrating that a non-Japanese director had to produce a film on Japanese food culture,” Oshima, 48, recalls.

“However, high-end sushi [as featured in the film] isn’t something ordinary people can afford to enjoy. I believe ramen is part of authentic Japanese food culture.”

Koki Shigeno, 52, who directed “Ramen Heads,” has made TV programmes featuring various chefs, but had never worked on a film for cinema. The director says he wanted the film to be entertaining for overseas audiences in particular.

“Many customers line up for hours just to eat a bowl of ramen, while chefs pursue the best of the best, like seekers looking for the truth. I think these phenomena are very interesting,” Shigeno says. “I was curious to know how people overseas would feel about it.”

“Ramen Heads” focuses on Osamu Tomita, 39, the owner and chef of ramen shop Chukasoba Tomita  dubbed one of the best in Japan  in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. The production team followed him for more than a year, and also visited a number of other eateries.

Shigeno found it surprising that Tomita dines at other ramen shops with his family on his days off. “It’s not for research. He just likes the noodles,” the director laughs. “I was amazed.”

The documentary has been shown at film festivals in 10 cities in the Netherlands, the United States, Norway and four other countries. Shigeno and Tomita attended two of the events: the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto and the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain.

At the Canadian event, the film was shown at a theatre with 300 seats, and all four screenings sold out.

A scene in the documentary showing diners slurping their ramen prompted some members of the audience to cover their ears with their hands, but when similar scenes were shown later, those same hands broke into applause.

“I intentionally put focus on those slurping scenes as I am aware that this way of eating can be offensive to some foreign viewers,” Shigeno says. “However, I didn’t expect audiences would ultimately applaud.”

In Spain, the film drew so many viewers that festival organisers added extra screenings, and Tomita created a set meal that included ramen and some other dishes using local ingredients.

“I didn’t see any ramen shops in San Sebastian, so I thought it was the first time locals were eating the noodles,” the chef says. “I was glad to find delicious dishes can be recognised as tasty no matter where you are.

“I hope viewers understand what’s behind the delicious ramen we serve: namely, our passion for preparation, choosing ingredients and hospitality toward diners,” he said.

“Ramen Heads” is scheduled to screen in more than 10 US cities, including New York and Los Angeles, from March to April. “We’ll kick off in the United States, and hope to show it in Europe, too,” Oshima says. He is not certain when or even if the film will come to Bangkok but says more ramenthemed films will be released this year.

One is tentatively titled “Ramen Teh,” a Japanese, French and Singaporean joint production directed by Eric Khoo, with Takumi Saito and Seiko Matsuda among the cast.

“Ramen Kuitee” (“Lost in Ramen”) is an adaptation of the manga with the same title. Directed by Yuki Kumagai, the film features a high school girl who makes efforts to revive a shop operated by her grandfather.

Among the earliest films about ramen, “Tampopo” (1985) is probably the most notable. Directed by Juzo Itami, it stars Tsutomu Yamazaki as a man who tries to revive a shop. It became a hit overseas as well.

“The Ramen Girl” (2008), directed by Robert Allan Ackerman, is about an American woman in Japan who trains under a ramen shop owner played by Toshiyuki Nishida. “Ramenzamurai” (2012), directed by Naoki Segi and starring Dai Watanabe, is set in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, which is said to be the birthplace of tonkotsu porkbone broth ramen.

A documentary from 2013 follows Kazuo Yamagishi, the founder of popular Tokyo ramen shop Taishoken and known as the inventor of tsukemen noodles, which are served with a dipping soup.

On Monday, March 5, viewers can stream the Oscars Red Carpet Live from 6.30am followed by The 90th Academy Awards at 8am on HBO GO via AIS Play and AIS Playbox. Both programmes will be repeated that same night on HBO at 6pm and 7pm respectively.

To enhance HBO’s Ultimate Oscars Experience and in celebration of the 90th Academy Awards, HBO Hits is featuring 90 movies recognised by the Academy for their filmmaking excellence through March 11. These movies will also be streaming on HBO GO via AIS Play and AIS Playbox and include past Oscar winning heavyweights dating back from 1977 through 2017 such as “Rocky” “The English Patient”, “Chicago”, “Birdman”, “La La Land” and “Moonlight”. For the full list of 90 movies, go to http://hboasia.com.

Fourteen lucky winners of the 2017 Oscars contest will be in Los Angeles on a five-day all-expense paid Hollywood trip to watch the red carpet live at the 90th Annual Academy Awards.

This year, HBO Asia is once again giving viewers the opportunity to win seven pairs of tickets in the HBO Ultimate Oscars Experience Contest. This opportunity of a lifetime includes watching the Oscars red carpet live and attending the Oscars viewing party at the 91st Annual Academy Awardsฎ in 2019. Also included are round-trip airfares to Los Angeles, 5D4N hotel accommodation, VIP tour of an iconic Hollywood studio, private horse riding tour through the Hollywood hills, private tour of iconic Hollywood landmarks and a three-course dinner at a celebrity restaurant.

To participate, viewers would need to tune-in to any Oscar movies showing on HBO and HBO Hits, look out for the HBO Ultimate Oscars Experience Contest icon and log-on to http://www.hboasia.com/oscars to answer two contest questions as creatively as possible. More information can be found at http://www.hboasia.com/oscars http://www.hboasia.com/oscars.

The scripted series, to be called “Swagger,” will be written by noted screenwriter Reggie Rock Bythewood and produced by Imagine Television and Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Media, a source familiar with the plan said, confirming earlier media reports.

Durant himself tweeted about the new program, saying “So excited to partner with Imagine and Apple on this series…much more to come.”

Durant, the star forward for the Golden Star Warriors, will produce the show with Imagine, which is led by Hollywood producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard.

The new series will be inspired by Durant’s youth basketball experiences, including amateur leagues and families dealing with the opportunities and problems of the richer professional leagues.

Bythewood is known for his work on the 2009 film “Notorious” about the killing of a the rap star known as Notorious B.I.G.

Apple has been reaching deep into its cash holdings to ramp up its original television offerings, having signed a deal with Steven Spielberg for the sci-fi series “Amazing Stories,” and another show with stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

With ticket sales rebounding sharply from totals depressed last week by football’s Super Bowl championship game, “Freed” led three new releases to the top, with Sony’s “Peter Rabbit” coming in second and “The 15:17 to Paris” from Warner Bros. placing third, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations reported.

But the final chapter of the steamy “Fifty Shades” series — promoted by Universal with the not-so-subtle line “Don’t Miss the Climax” — dominated.

It accounted for a third of the total estimated take of the top 12 movies, helping push global sales for the trilogy past $1 billion.

Dakota Johnson stars again as English lit major-turned-publisher Anastasia Steele, while Jamie Dornan plays her lover-turned-husband, the kinky, hunky and frequently shirtless Christian Grey.

Women accounted for three quarters of North American moviegoers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The family-friendly “Peter Rabbit,” which mixes live actors with computer-generated animation, raked in $25 million, far exceeding Sony’s projections.

James Corden voices the lead bunny as he feuds with garden owner Domhnall Gleeson for the affections of sweethearted neighbor Rose Byrne.

“The 15:17,” director Clint Eastwood’s recounting of how three young Americans foiled a 2015 terrorist attack aboard a passenger train in France, netted $12.6 million.

Eastwood took the unusual approach of having the three men, none with any formal acting experience, play themselves. Some critics called that a bold move, while others said the men’s amateurism showed.

In fourth place, falling off from last weekend’s top position, was Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” at $10 million.

The family flick, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jack Black and Kevin Hart, follows a group of teens who find themselves transported inside a video game world. The film has earned more than $800 million globally.

In fifth, down one spot, was “The Greatest Showman,” a Fox film starring Hugh Jackman as larger-than-life circus impresario P.T. Barnum. It took in $6.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“Maze Runner: The Death Cure” ($6.2 million)

“Winchester” ($5.2 million)

“The Post” ($3.6 million)

“The Shape of Water” ($3.2 million)

“Den of Thieves” ($3 million)

It’s been an exciting few months for independent Thai filmmaker Anucha Boonyawatana. First, her new film “Malila” (“The Farewell Flower”) premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in October, winning her the inaugural Kim Ji-seok award, which she shared with Japanese film “The Scythian Lamb”, and her lead actor, Sukollawat Kanarot, the Asian new face award.

A month later, it was screened in competition at the Singapore International Film Festival where it did even better, winning her Best Director award and praise from the head of the jury, British director Shekhar Kapur.

“He is my favourite filmmaker, I’ve seen his film “Elizabeth” several times. And although he’s a foreigner, he truly understood my intention, telling me that having compassion and living with compassion are very different. I don’t really expect people to understand my films, so this was a huge compliment,” she says.

“Malila”, which goes on general release here on Thursday, is a complex movie. The story of the relationship between two men, the first part focuses on life in a Northeast village where Shane (Sukollawat Kanarot) works as a gardener. One day he catches sight of his old friend Pich (Anuchyd Sapanphong), now back home after many years away. Pich is a master of bai sri – a delicate ornament decoration made by folding banana leaves, which is said to nourish the spirit and bring it back home.

Spending time in the secret sanctuary of their childhood, the two slowly reconnect and the audience slowly learns about their past, their relationship and the real reason Pich has returned home – he is terminally ill.

Shane decides to ordain in the hope of bringing blessings and perhaps even improved health to his friend. In the second part of the film, Shane is now a monk and is travelling through the jungle with senior monk Luang Phee (Sumret Muengput), a former soldier who helps guide Shane through his meditative task, overcome his fear and face the truth of life.

While the first part of the film dwells on the beauty of their love and the sadness of separation, the second part is quiet and powerful and reflects Buddhist spirituality in an impressive cinematic way.

Since its screening in Busan, the film has travelled on the Asian festival circuit, winning more awards from the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and India’s International Film Festival of Kerala Both Anucha and Sukollawat are in the running for more prizes, nominated for best new director and best actor respectively at the Asian Film Awards, which will be announced on March 17.

“After all these years, Thai film directors are gaining more recognition internationally. That hasn’t been the case for local actors though, so I am delighted that Sukollawat is doing so well. He’s the first Thai actor ever to be nominated for an Asian Film Award,” says Anucha.

She is also pleased that her film has done so well on the Asian festival circuit but doubts it would have been so popular among more international audiences. “Many of the selections for European film events tend to tackle current world issues like refugees or social ills. ‘Malila’ is a gay romance wrapped in Thai culture and the Buddhist approach to life.

“It’s subtle, personal and reflects aspects of Thai culture that I’m not sure more global audiences would understand. Audiences in Asia like the film because they can relate to it,” she says.

And while the Buddhist element is strong, “Malila” is still very much a gay film with everything an audience expects from the genre but telling the story in a tender, quiet way that allows the visuals to become part of the dialogue.

An important component of the Bai Sri Su Khwan ceremony, the flower arrangement is fragile, and its makers have to fold leaves delicately. It has a short life and when the ceremony is over, the decoration is released into the river.

“I used the bai sri as a metaphor for the fragility of man. Mali is the Thai word for jasmine and ‘la’ means farewell,” says Anucha, adding that the movie is also a farewell to her best friend who died of cancer when they were both in their mid 20s.

“As a LGBT, the best friend like her often is more important than parents as we can share everything. Even though I knew she had cancer and she was seriously ill, at that age, I though death was still far away. I was devastated when she died,” says Anucha.

She sees aspects of herself in both Shane and Pich. The idea of introducing bai sai was based on her own experience of making the flower decoration. She has also been ordained and like Shane, walked through the remote jungle.

“After we’d filmed the first part, I started to cry. It was like making this movie helped me see my friend again. But when the shooting was over, I could no longer see her,” she says.

It took years for Anucha to be ready to make the project. “I think it was better to wait and make ‘Malila’ now that I am older. It brings more maturity to the film,” she explains.

But she admits that editing was tough and after more than 18 months on the task, she brought in professional editors Chonlasit Upanigkit and Lee Chatametikool.

“The difficulty was in balancing different things –the beauty of flowers and the swollen corpse, the meditative monkhood and the  sensual love scenes. Too much or little editing could destroy the whole movie,” she says, adding that she took great care to portray the love scenes between Sukollawat and Anuchyd as sensual yet realistic, reflecting their affection for each other while ensuring the audience didn’t feel uncomfortable. “If it is just a beautiful love scene, then it’s too superficial, I have to balance and do it carefully,” she adds.

The transgender director started her career by making short films. Her thesis “Taam Sai Naam” (“Down the River”) was well received and in 2012, her short film “Erotic Fragments No. 1, 2, 3” was screened in competition in Berlin Shorts at the Berlin International Film Festival. She returned to the festival for the second time in 2015 with her first feature film “Onthakan” (“The Blue Hour”), which screened in the Panorama section.

Today she owns and runs G Village, which works mainly on TV commercials. The company produced both “Onthakan” and “Malila”.

Binge i8s defined as completing at least one season of a show within 7 days of starting. A recent analysis focused on members who joined in the past five years. All TV series were included except for Kids/Family content and seasons with fewer than 5 episodes. More than 90 per cent of Netflix members who have been a member for at least one year have completed a first binge.

This Valentine’s Day, Netflix wants to help you remember your first time. Ask any of the 90 per cent of members who have done it, and they’ll be able to tell you who it was with, where they were (on a bus, if you’re “Mindhunter”’s Jonathan Groff) and how long it lasted (an impressive 3 days around the world, in most cases).

As for the shows that people from around the world fall in love with first, bad boys (and girls) came out on top. “Breaking Bad” is the most popular show that people binged first, with “Orange Is the New Black”, “Narcos”, “House of Cards” and “Prison Break” not far behind.

How about Thai viewers’ first time? We’re also falling for shows that leave us hanging, like “Stranger Things” and “Narcos”. While shows that aren’t afraid to push boundaries, like “13 Reasons Why” and “Million Yen Women”, round out the Top 10.

Do you remember your first binge?

Top 10 Global “First Binges” on Netflix

1. Breaking Bad

2. Orange is the New Black

3. The Walking Dead

4. Stranger Things

5. Narcos

6. House of Cards

7. Prison Break

8. 13 Reasons Why

9. Grey’s Anatomy

10. American Horror Story

Top 10 Thailand “First Binges” on Netflix

1. Stranger Things

2. Narcos

3. 13 Reasons Why

4. Marvel’s Iron Fist

5. Shooter

6. Breaking Bad

7. Riverdale

8. Million Yen Women

9. Orange Is the New Black

10. The Crown