As Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke celebrates winning the Critics’ Week grand prix for his debut feature A Useful Ghost at the Cannes Film Festival this month, his thoughts quickly turned to how his story would amplify the impact of the newly-launched Writer Lab International Film Fund to support regional filmmakers and with which he is closely involved.
“As a Thai filmmaker, like other filmmakers in the region, I understand the struggle to make films,” Boonbunchachoke says. “My experience will be useful in helping decide how this new funding can help other filmmakers in the region make films.”
Writer Lab International Film Fund is an initiative of Writer Lab, a Bangkok-based content development and production company and a subsidiary of the country’s Plenti Corporation.
Boonbunchachoke is head of creative development at Writer Lab and will be a key member of the new fund’s committee.
The filmmaker first had the idea for A Useful Ghost in 2017 and created the first draft in 2020. Like many first- time filmmakers, he worked as a writer on local commercial TV dramas by day while developing his screenplay in his own time. A Useful Ghost won the Critics’ Week prize for the film’s unique and compelling narrative which details the story of a woman who, after dying from dust pollution, is reincarnated as a vacuum cleaner, much to her husband’s shock.
While contributing to the fund’s overall vision, Boonbunchachoke will oversee the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) element – ASEAN is an inter-governmental international organisation, comprised of Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia – and its ambitions to nurture projects by filmmakers those countries.
“A project is at its most vulnerable at the very beginning with seed funding at risk of collapse easily,” Boonbunchachoke notes. “Including development support will help ease the pressure.”
The collaboration between Writer Lab and Plenti for the fund launch is driven by a shared vision: To connect the rich tapestry of Southeast Asian stories with audiences worldwide.
“We believe in the power of film to transcend cultural boundaries and foster cross-cultural understanding,” says Plenti via a statement.
The Fund is designed to support a diverse range of film projects and has mapped out key aims including providing development support for international co-production films. One area of focus is to identify and help historical or period films based on true events and/or people that have a significant connection to Thailand.
Initial funding will be allocated in the script development phase and after development, the fund will also provide seed funding of up to $1 million for the project which can then be leveraged to attract financing from other partners.
The fund also plans to support the development and production of Thai movies, with Writer Lab prepared to finance up to 100% of the budget for such locally produced projects.
It is also open to co-financing partnerships from other strategic partners for 20% to 50% of any budget.
While the fund places a strong emphasis on development, it is not solely a development fund. Funds will also be allocated for production and marketing, aiming to allow Writer Lab to leverage additional resources, expertise, and international market access, maximising the impact and reach of such productions, particularly large-scale co-productions.
Boonbunchachoke also supports the fund’s aim to represent more than simple financial support.
“As a filmmaker in Thailand, I have noticed that less and less younger filmmakers are willing tomake feature now, because for them, it’s impossible,” says Boonbunchachoke. “One of the reasons would be the lack of financial support but it’s not just about money, it’s also about moral support.”
The launch comes just months after the creation of a film fund by Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), the first substantial public film grant since 2010. It is handing out $6.6m (thb220m) across 86 projects, including films, series, documentaries and animation in various stages of development, production or post-production with Boonbunchachoke’s A Useful Ghost among the beneficiaries.
Boonbunchachoke’s Cannes success has raised the profile of Thai filmmaking and with the launch of the Writer Lab International Film Fund, Thailand’s film industry is looking to build atop an already buoyant local and international profile.
Of course, as one of the fund chiefs, Boonbunchachoke is one of the few who will not be able to apply. “I will need to apply to another funder,” he smiles.
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