I’ve always been fond of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, the former capital of Siam, but I had never fully appreciated its charms until earlier this month when an invitation from cable and satellite TV provider True Corporation to view the filming locations of its new series, “Sri Ayodhaya” coincided with the chance to attend the “Yor Yos Ying Fah: Ayutthaya World Heritage Fair 2017”.

The fair, which includes a magnificent nightly light & sound show at Wat Maha That in honour of five kings of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and a retro market in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Historical Park, doesn’t wrap until tomorrow night so there’s still time to make the easy journey from Bangkok and drink in the atmosphere of Old Siam. This year, the fair is even more special because it also celebrates the 16th anniversary of Unesco’s declaration of the park as a World Heritage Site.

The series, directed by ML Pundhevanop “Mom Noi” Dhewakul, has been largely filmed at three main locations in the town, namely Wat Phra Khao, Sala Ayutthaya Hotel, and Chantharakasem National Museum. Other locations for the lavish production include Mueang Boran in Samut Prakan, King Naresuan Movie Studio at Surasi Military Camp in Kanchanaburi, and the Victory Gate in Nakhon Pathom.

Set during the reign of King Phrachaoyuhua Borommakot in the second quarter of the eighteenth century when art, literature, and learning flourished, it takes viewers through the fall of Ayutthaya nine years after his death to the liberation of Siam from Burmese occupation during the reign of Taksin the Great, who established the city of Thonburi as the new capital in 1767. The aim of the series, True says, is to instil a passion and love among Thais for their country and appreciation for their ancestors who sacrificed their lives to protect this country.

The story is told through the attitudes of four present day characters, among them Ananda Everingham who portrays a lecturer in archaeology Dr Pimarn Katiyamongkol and his former incarnation Phra Pimarn Sathan Mongkol. Jiravich Pongpaijit doubles as singer Wayu Kriengkrairit and Chao Fah Suthat Khattiyarajakumarn; Rudklao Amratisha is history lecturer Asst Prof ML Puangkaew Uthaiwong and Krom Muen Pimolsak, and Arnuttaphol Sirichomsaeng plays archaeologist Dr Arkom Pongayuth and Luang Krai Chanrit.

“It is the biggest project we have done to date in terms of production and cinematography and it brings together a leading director and well-known performers. A lot of work has gone into each of the 20 episodes,” Birathon Kasemsri na Ayudhaya, executive assistant to the chief executive and chief content & media officer of True Corporation.

“The investment has also been considerable given the production’s size and standard, which is on par with any European or American historical series. Our aim is to show it to a wider market and we are planning to sell our series to several countries, not only in Asia.”

This mega project was in fact launched two years ago as an intended tribute to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on his 90th birthday. But following the King’s death in October 2016, it was remodelled as a commemoration of the late monarch and to honour his successor, His Majesty Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, King Rama X.

“We have so much video footage of this series that we are able to to edit several versions, such as the director’s cut, which will bring the viewers the behind-the-scene stories of the series. It now runs for 90 minutes but the director’s cut would extend it to two hours. We would make an international version with a one-hour format. The American version would be different from the version destined for Europe because of the differences in taste and culture. In addition to an English-language version, we are planning to sell the series dubbed in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Some themes would be created to match foreigners’ tastes, such as crossovers from another dimensions,” Birathon adds.

True Corporation is also marketing the series through eight premium royal blend coffees each based on eight of the characters in the series.

“The Noble” representing Phra Pimarn Sathan Mongkol is mixed with cinnamon stick and honey, “The Prince” (Chao Fah Suthat Khattiyarajakumarn) is made with milky coconut and bee pollen, while “The Knight” (Luang Krai Chanrit) boasts aloe vera and lemon honey, and “The King” (Phra Chao Ekathat, played by Nopachai Chaiyanam) has bael fruit.

Also on offer are “The Empress” (Phra Pan Wassa Noi, portrayed by Sinjai Plengpanich), which is blended with jasmine, “The Queen” (Krom Muen Pimolsak) with chrysanthemum, “The Princess” (Somdej Chao Fah Rujja Thewi played by Pimdao Panichsamai) with rose petals, and “The Angel” (Busababan, played by Khemanit Jamikorn) with lotus and fragrant candle.

“This premium royal blend coffee is centred on the leading characters of ‘Sri Ayodhaya’. We have blended beans from Brazil and Ethiopia with locally grown coffee and added other ingredients that we feel best relate to the personalities of the characters. Phra Pimarn is proficient at war and singing sepha so his coffee drink is mixed with honey to depict his smooth vocals and a cinnamon stick that represents a sword. Chao Fah Suthat is an innocent and that is portrayed through milky coconut and bee pollen, while Busababan, who works hard to maintain Thai tradition, has a coffee mixed with lotus and fragrant candle,” explains Nathathai Chumkuntod, chief operating officer of Class Coffee.

Tune in and enjoy

– “Ayodhaya a Film Series” airs on True 4U Channel 24 every Monday and Tuesday from 8pm to 9.30pm as well as True Asian Series HD, True Thai Film, True Film Asia, TNN2 HD, SD Channel 75, and True Plook Panya.

An online petition demanding the dumping of his cameo in 2018 heist movie “Ocean’s 8” has nearly reached its goal of 17,000 signatures — signed by more than 16,620 supporters by late afternoon New York time Thursday.

Critics say his inclusion would be particularly galling given its status as an all female reboot of the popular franchise, starring Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

The petition calls on “Oceans 8” producers George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh, “to toss Damon’s Oceans 8 cameo where it belongs: on the cutting room floor.”

It alleges that he “enabled” Harvey Weinstein’s conduct by trying to squash a New York Times report in 2004 that detailed instances where the now fallen Hollywood mogul exploited his status as a studio executive to harass and assault women.

Damon denied trying to bury the story and claimed he had no idea of the allegations against Weinstein, who helped catapult him into an international household name.

The actor also came under fire last week, for telling ABC News that there was a “spectrum of behavior” and a “difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?”

His long-time friend, Ben Affleck, with whom he shared an Oscar for best screenplay over 1997 movie “Good Will Hunting” and Affleck’s actor brother Casey, have also been accused publicly in recent months of sexual misconduct.

“This behavior is beyond enabling — it’s just gross. Matt Damon should not be in this movie,” said the petition.

“Damon’s inclusion would trivialize the serious nature of the charges against sexual abusers like Weinstein,” and “show massive disrespect” to women speaking out, it said.

Harvard-educated Damon, 47, is the father of four daughters, including a child from a previous relationship of his wife.

“Ocean’s 8” is scheduled for release in June 2018 and tells of an attempted heist at New York’s annual Met Gala, one of the hottest tickets in the celebrity universe.

The film directed by Rian Johnson — which features the late Carrie Fisher’s final performance as Princess Leia — took in $220 million in North America, and another $230.8 million overseas, a Disney spokesman said.

It was the fifth biggest global box office debut in history, the company said.

It was also the second biggest opening in US history and in December — only behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” — the opener of the saga’s sequel trilogy that took $248 million on its debut weekend.

“The Last Jedi” sees the return of the characters introduced in “The Force Awakens” — with Rey (Daisy Ridley) looking to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to teach her about The Force.

One of the film’s key draws for fans is to find out the fate of Leia. Fisher died in December 2016 at the age of 60, shortly after wrapping up filming her scenes.

In November, Disney — which acquired Lucasfilm five years ago — announced plans for a new “Star Wars” trilogy, the fourth, as well as a live-action television series.

“We have big ambitions for the Star Wars franchise,” Disney chief executive Robert Iger said at the time.

Johnson, who directed “The Last Jedi,” will develop the new films.

“Star Wars” — the brain child of George Lucas — has grown into the most lucrative and influential movie franchise of all time since the original film was released in 1977.

– Animated films take second, third place –

In second place at the North American box office was “Ferdinand,” a computer-animated comedy about a bull with a big heart often mistaken for a dangerous beast, which took $13.4 million on what was also its debut weekend, according to final industry figures.

Last weekend’s number one “Coco,” a colorful Pixar movie about Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions, dropped down to third place with $9.9 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

It has now earned $150.7 million in North America since its release four weeks ago.

Feel-good film “Wonder” starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay — the story of a determined fifth-grade boy with a facial deformity who must deal with bullying — slid to fourth place, taking in $5.2 million.

Warner Bros. superhero film “Justice League” — featuring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman, plus Ciaran Hinds as a supervillain — fell to fifth with $4.3 million.

Rounding out the top ten were:

“Daddy’s Home 2” ($3.8 million)

“Thor: Ragnarok” ($3.1 million)

“The Disaster Artist” ($2.7 million)

“Murder On The Orient Express” ($2.5 million)

“Lady Bird” ($2.1 million)

Mark Hamill returns to his famous role Luke Skywalker and chatted with journalists about the new film.

Excerpts:

Where do we find Luke at the start of the film?

It’s a direct continuation of The Force Awakens, so the final moment is the first time you see him in The Last Jedi. It’s very ambiguous. Rey offers him the lightsabre, and he just stares at her, interminably.

What is Luke’s relationship to Rey?

It seems to be an obsession for people to want to know what the relationships are and that’s understandable. So much of the previous stories have to do with lineage: who’s your father, who’s your surprise sister, who’s your mother. In this, it’s broken down a little bit.

What do they think of each other and learn from one another?

Rey has based her assessment of Luke on this great mythology that’s been built up. At some point, people doubt he’s a real person. Because of the gravity of the situation, the urgency of the situation, she doesn’t have the luxury of getting to know him and relax and exchange ideas. She needs him and wants to enlist his help and abilities towards her cause. And, that’s the conflict. Luke’s in a much different place than we’ve ever seen him in before.

He’s disillusioned. He’s turned off the Force and renounced the idea of the Jedi order. It was unexpected for me as an actor. My character always represented hope and optimism. And now, here I am pessimistic, disillusioned and demoralised.

What was it like to walk back into the Millennium Falcon?

It was bittersweet. Everywhere you looked, these memories come flooding back. It’s like going to your old high school or the house you lived in sixth grade. The detail’s absolutely perfect. It’s just as I remember it. I climbed up and down the ladder, got in the hold where we stowed away and sat in the cockpit with my grown children and wife. Later I slipped away and got really choked up. This is a moment, and it’ll be gone.

Talk about the director, Rian Johnson

Every so often you meet someone like Rian who has such a passion for film and television and pop culture, and is so gifted a filmmaker. And he’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’d be a friend of mine even if we didn’t work together. I had this instant connection with him. He came over to my house to get to know me, and we hung out and talked about this and that and the other, and the movie to a certain extent. I invited him into my den where all the toys are, and he saw my DVDs, model kits, puppets and Beatles memorabilia. He was looking at my DVDs, so I said asked him if he had ever seen “Sergeant Bilko” and if he wanted to watch it. It’s one of my favourite pieces of film comedy. I wouldn’t ask just anyone into my den to watch “Sergeant Bilko,” but Rian has a golden ticket in my book.

What was it like to work with him on set?

I trust him. There’s no one more deserving of trust than Rian Johnson. Rian in so many words said stop acting and just be. If you look at his movies, each is different than the last. You can’t pigeonhole him and say, that’s the kind of film he makes. That’s what will happen with The Last Jedi. It’s so different in many ways, subtle ways, than the other Episodes, and yet it is satisfying in delivering what the fans want to see as well.

Do you have a favourite Star Wars memory?

There are so many that I can’t single one out. I really looked forward so much to doing the Cantina sequence. It’s an experience I’d never forget. The Cantina sequence, swinging across with the Princess. We were in harnesses and flown by the people who developed that system to fly Peter Pan. In the old days you could just swing back and forth. In 1953 for the Broadway production of “Peter Pan,” the Jerome Robins one with Mary Martin, they developed a system where you could go back and forth, but also another way. It takes two operators, which is a great skill because you have to be in complete sync. So, we’re both in harnesses; they hooked us together, and we did the swing across. So much fun. I was ready to do it again, but they had four cameras and got it in one take. Everything else takes five, six, seven takes. I was so disappointed. Someone said, “You really want to fly? Unhook him from Carrie.” They flew me all around the set. It’s the closest to playing Peter Pan I’ll ever get. Of course George Lucas was appalled because I’m a commodity. I smack into the wall like Wiley E. Coyote and slide down. He said, “No, no, get him down.” It’s those kinds of moments.

It’s just one after another. I loved all this adventure as a child anyway and to have this amalgamation of all these films—westerns, WWII movies, cowboys, pirate movies—all mushed together in this new way day after day was wonderful. I couldn’t believe I got to do it. Is there one moment? No. There are a million moments.

The latest instalment of the epic space opera was bettered only by 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the first movie in the saga’s sequel trilogy which took $248 million on its debut weekend and a total gross of $937 million.

But despite a “certified fresh” rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and lofty comparisons to “The Empire Strikes Back,” widely seen as the best film in the franchise, 95,000 movie-goers were less enthused, bestowing it a 56 percent average that was colder than the ice planet Hoth.

The numbers could still converge, but the discrepancy so far is unusual.

By comparison, “The Force Awakens” received a 93 percent critic score and 88 percent audience rating, while 2016 spin-off “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” got 85 and 87 percent respectively.

“The Last Jedi” sees the return of the characters introduced in J.J. Abrams’s first entry in the rebooted trilogy, and is also the last outing for character Leia Organa, played by Carrie Fisher, who died last December.

Box office figures are a poor measure of a film’s popularity compared to older releases because they do not take inflation into account.

“The Last Jedi” was followed in second place by “Ferdinand,” a computer-animated comedy about a bull with a big heart often mistaken for a dangerous beast, which took $13 million on what was also its debut weekend.

Last weekend’s number one “Coco,” a colorful Pixar movie set in Mexico, was beat out to third place with $10 million.

It has now earned $150.8 million in North America since its release four weeks ago, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Feel-good film “Wonder” starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay slid to fourth, taking $5.4 million.

The movie tells the story of a determined fifth-grade boy with a facial deformity who must deal with rudeness and bullying by schoolmates.

Warner Bros. superhero film “Justice League,” featuring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman, plus Ciaran Hinds as a supervillain, fell to fifth with $4.2 million.

The figures from Exhibitor Relations are industry projections released prior to the conclusion of the weekend.

Rounding out the top ten were:

“Daddy’s Home 2” ($3.8 million)

“Thor: Ragnarok” ($2.9 million)

“The Disaster Artist” ($2.6 million)

“Murder On The Orient Express” ($2.5 million)

“Lady Bird” ($2.1 million)

“We are thrilled that Larry will be back with his uniquely acerbic wit and comedic sensibility,” said Bloys.

And Larry David added:  “As I’ve said many times, when one has the opportunity to annoy someone, one should do so.”

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” has just received two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (Larry David) and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Debuting on HBO in 2001 and presenting 90 episodes to date, “Seinfeld” co-creator David plays an over-the-top version of himself in an unsparing but tongue-in-cheek depiction of his fictionalised life.

Season nine brought back series veterans Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

The latest season is also streaming on HBO GO via AIS PLAY and AIS PLAYBOX.

The brothers have brought to Bangkok the holiday spirit from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in a touring exhibition featuring magical experiences from the film, which will run from today until March 2.

It has been over 10 years since the last Harry Potter book was published, and six years since the final film in the series. Since then, the now 31-year-old English actors have grown up and ditched their red hair, but they were both happy to take a walk down memory lane to revisit their wizarding days.

They told The Nation that they had been looking forward to coming to Thailand since they heard about the project a year ago.

“We feel lucky to be here. This is very different – you won’t see it anywhere else,” said Oliver of the themed retail experience.

“This is a massive world that essentially makes you feel like you are in Hogsmeade [the wizards’ village]. You can go into Ollivanders’ wand shop and have the wand experience,” said James. “It’s not you choosing the wand, the wand chooses you – just as in the film. So anything like that is a unique experience [for Thailand]. Normally you’d have to travel very far to get this.

“Even when you line up to come in, there are a lot of things going on. The windows are moving and you can interact with them.”

James also said he was especially impressed with one fan’s reaction yesterday when they were exploring the city. “She called me James, not even Fred. She said ‘Welcome to Thailand’ and smiled.”

The holiday exhibition also features the newest Harry Potter-themed retail experience, which is reminiscent of the atmosphere of wintry Hogsmeade village and Diagon Alley, the fictional London shopping street for wizards.

Complete with an extensive wand assortment, film-inspired window displays and interactive elements for muggles, Wizarding World is certain to be a hit with fans of JK Rowling’s magical creations.

The exhibition has been brought to Bangkok by Warner Bros Consumer Products and international exhibition organiser GES.

“Christmas in the Wizarding World is very special here because it is the only one in Asia. The other one is in the United States,” said Robin Stapley, vice president of design and creative for GES.

“There is such an amazing fan base for Harry Potter here – and we have been around the world. We’ve recreated the magical settings of Hogsmeade and the snow experience, so they can experience this innovative environment inspired by Harry Potter.”

Along with Ollivanders Wand Shop, which is outfitted with soaring shelves of hundreds of precariously stacked wands boxes, there are also recreations of Honeydukes sweet shop, Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, and Dervish and Banges, which sells magical instruments. Also on sale are Hogwarts school robes, fan-favourite plush owls and other themed merchandise. 

Other activities include a memorable photo opportunity, featuring a selection of background options from the “Harry Potter” films as well as an interactive “quaffle toss” game, where guests can score a goal amid a colourful display of Quidditch-themed items.

Entry is free, but space is limited. Customers can avoid queuing and reserve a specific entry time by paying a pre-booking service fee of Bt100.

This year is the first Netflix speaks Thai and Thailand led the binge racing trend in APAC, especially with Stranger Things new season 2. A member in Thailand watched Sex and the City: The Movie 162 times in 2017.

This year streaming on TV devices has grown with 41 per cent of Netflix viewing hours through connected TVs in Thailand. Within six months of subscription, 50 per cent of accounts’ primary viewing device has become connected TVs. Apart from this, with the HDR quality available on mobiles, more and more Thais then watch Netflix in public and ranked among the top downloaders in the world, the company said.

Netflix compiled two top lists of its Thai watchers based on the length of viewing per day, The Shows Thais Devoured in 2017 and The Shows Thais Savoured in 2017 as following:

The Shows Thais Devoured in 2017

Members in Thailand devoured (watching more than two hours per day) action crime series like El Chapo, Marvel’s Iron Fist, Marvel’s The Defenders and Ingobernable

1. My Only Love Song

2. Marvel’s Iron Fist

3. The Mist

4. El Chapo

5. Riverdale

6. Shooter

7. Ingobernable

8. Greenleaf

9. American Vandal

10. Marvel’s The Defender

Globally, the show members devoured the most in 2017 is American Vandal.

The Shows Thais Savored in 2017

Thais found solace in savoring comedy shows (watching less than two hours per day). Members in Thailand savored comedies like GLOW, Neo Yokio, Big Mouth, Friends from College and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.

1. Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

2. Samurai Gourmet

3. Big Mouth

4. Neo Yokio

5. Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

6. The Crown

7. One Day at a Time

8. A Series of Unfortunate Events

9. GLOW

10. Friends from College

Netflix said that members around the world love historical shows with realistic moods like The Crown. “The global data also reveals that the show that got cheated the most in the world and we all love to watch ahead of our streaming partner is Narcos and the show that was so good it brought us all together is Stranger Things,” Netflix said.

Disney agreed Thursday to buy key film and television assets from Fox in a $52.4 billion deal set to step up its challenge to Netflix and emerging rivals in the streaming wars.

“It’s certainly a historic merger but this is not the first time two studios have come together — 20th Century Fox is itself the result of a merger,” filmmaker Jean-Luc de Fanti, who co-produced “Good Time” and “American Made” this year, told AFP.

Disney will take over billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s prestigious movie distribution businesses, which racked up 27 Golden Globes nominations on Monday, comfortably more than its big six rivals combined.

One important question for film buffs is whether Disney, which offloaded indie subsidiary Miramax in 2010, has the stomach to keep much-admired arthouse label Fox Searchlight going after the acquisition.

The distributor has turned heads this awards season with a production line of critical darlings like “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Shape of Water” and “Battle of the Sexes.”

But it doesn’t have the box office clout of its blockbuster stable mate 20th Century Fox, which made $826 million in 2017 from three movies alone — “Logan,” “The Boss Baby” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”

On the small screen, the deal would offer Disney the chance to double its stake in streaming service Hulu to a controlling 60 percent, allowing it to fold the up-and-coming platform into its own streaming services being launched in 2019.

‘Avengers vs X-Men’?

It could also add content from Fox’s FX — which produced hit series “The Americans” — and National Geographic cable channels, and movies such as “The Revenant” and the “Avatar” franchise, to give it a running start in its bid to challenge Netflix.

In the only aspect of the deal the fanboys will really care about, the marriage provides the opportunity for a meeting of minds between the costumed superheroes of Disney-owned Marvel and the mutants of Fox’s comic book division.

That could pave the way for a new “Avengers vs X-Men”-style franchise featuring Thor battling Deadpool for galactic supremacy, or perhaps Captain America bickering with the Fantastic Four.

Meanwhile “Star Wars” fans should be able to buy a box set of all nine movies for the first time, since the rights for the original films and prequel trilogy — made before Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 — have always belonged to Fox.

The deal adds the 50 acres (20 hectares) of production and pre-production facilities at the Fox studios in west Los Angeles to Disney’s own expansive lot in Burbank, although the company is planning to lease the studio back to Fox for the coming years, according to Variety magazine.

Redundancies are expected, although Variety reported that 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice reassured employees at a meeting Thursday that staff laid off would get “big severance packages.”

‘Meaningful negative’

Regulatory approval may not come until as late as 2019 — a relief to some analysts who see the proposals as an alarm bell over the health of the film industry.

“Even Fox, with all its resources… is looking at the increasingly expensive future of moviemaking and considering taking itself out of the picture,” said David Sims of The Atlantic in a commentary before the deal was signed.

If Fox can’t hack it anymore, Sims argues, it is difficult to see how Universal, Sony and Paramount are going to manage, given that they already rely heavily on other revenue streams such as television.

The Writers Guild of America West Writers Union said the antitrust concerns raised by the deal were “obvious and significant” while Jeremy Slater, creator of Fox’s “The Exorcist” on Fox, tweeted that the deal was “awful for several reasons.”

Richard Greenfield, a media and tech analyst for San Francisco-based financial services firm BTIG, told AFP the move may not be music to the ears of movie theater operators either.

Disney is already able to leverage its influence to drive tough revenue-sharing deals with theaters, as demonstrated most recently in its demand for a bigger-than-normal 65 percent of ticket sales for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

Disney reported profits of $2.5 billion in 2016, when it distributed the top three movies — and five of the top ten — and adding Fox’s contribution will only give it more clout.

“We would expect Disney’s increased scale to be a meaningful negative to exhibition chains around the world,” said Greenfield.

Commemorating 120 years of Thai-Russian diplomatic relations, Russian Film Week from Tuesday (December 19) to December 24 promises such a variety of movies that everyone will find something to appeal.

Both countries’ culture ministries are sponsoring the event at SF World Cinema at Central World, along with production firm FestFilm, the Russian Embassy and Jamaican Eatz.

The last Russian Film Week held in Bangkok, in 2012, acquainted the Thai audience with Russian cinema. This year’s programme is much broader, designed in a way that everyone can find a movie that will appeal to his or her taste.

The grand opening on Tuesday includes a screening of “The Spacewalker”. Free tickets for all movies will be available up to 30 minutes before screen time.

There will be six screenings of new and popular Russian movies in genres ranging from science fiction and comedy to sport and historical. All movies will have English and Thai subtitles.

On the bill is “Attraction”, made just this year, in which an alien spaceship is forced into Earth’s atmosphere, is attacked by Russian fighter jets and crashlands in Moscow, killing several hundred people. A schoolgirl saves the life of one of the aliens and, together, they must deal with humans intent on harming them.

“The Spacewalker”, also shot this year, is set in the 1960s during the Cold War, when the USSR and US duelled in a space race. The Russians plan to send a man into space, but face many obstacles and dangers.

“Friday”, from 2016, explores the many surprises that a Friday night can bring. A millionaire becomes a waiter for one night, an office loser becomes the star of the party, and two friends have to look for an escaped kangaroo in a forest near Moscow.

“Sparta” (2016) places two teams of fighters in opposition in a rectangular arena for “a spectacular new kind of martial art”. For former MMA champion Nikolay, this is his chance for a comeback. He can fight for his friend’s honour and avenge his coach’s refusal to take him back on the team.

“The Dragon” (2015) sees Princess Miroslava kidnapped in the middle of her wedding by a dragon and carried off into its castle on the remote island. She has left everything behind – family, friends and groom – and now has only a stone cage and a mysterious young man named Arman. Who is he and what is he doing there? She’ll learn the bitter truth when she learns to love the dragon.

Nominated for a Golden Eagle Award, “The Icebreaker” (2016) is based on actual events in 1985, when the icebreaker vessel Mikhail Gromov was moving a huge iceberg. A collision leaves the ship drifting near the Antarctic coast with fuel running low. The crew has no margin for error – a wrong decision and the ship will be crushed in ice.

Discover more through the SF Call Centre at (02) 268 8888 or from http://www.SFCinemaCity.com or http://www.Facebook.com/Welovesf.