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Thailand is one of the five countries represented at the Cannes Film Festival Marche du Film pavilion -the largest film market in the world –  for the first time; the other newcomers of 2017 were Kazakhstan, Armenia, Albania, and Vietnam. To commemorate the success of Thailand filmmaking and promote the cause and the location, The Department of International Trade Promotion and Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi hosted the industry soiree at the Carton Hotel, Cannes.

The evening aimed to promote the production companies in the region and thank those who are putting hard work into marking Thailand on the world map of cinematography. The Minister of Commerce and the Princess both took on stage to thank everyone involved and assure that they are keen to make Thailand an attractive place for film production and post-production.

“This past year,” commented Her Royal Highness, “turned out to be a record-breaking year for Thai talent. Coming out of the US$1.5b blockbuster ‘Fast 7’, Thai action star Tony Jaa is starring is yet another global hit, Vin Diesel’s ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’, which has so far grossed US$338M worldwide, and counting. Another martial art legend, Thai Boxing champion Buakhao Bunchamek made his debut starring in the historical action film ‘Thong Dee Fun Khao’.

“Meanwhile, independent Thai filmmakers continue to make their mark on the world stage. Recent highlights include Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s latest effort, the black comedy ‘Heart Attack (a.k.a. Freelance)’, which won Thailand’s 2016 National Film Awards, the critically-acclaimed ‘By The Time It Gets Dark’ (‘Dao Khanong’) directed by Anocha Suwichakornpong, which made sensation when it premiered at the Busan Film Festival last year, and the elegant and chilling ‘The Island Funeral’ by arthouse director ‘Pimpaka Towira’, which won the Asian Future prize at the Tokyo Film Festival.

“Thai animation and special effects shine bright through the outstanding efforts of artists such as Fawn Veerasunthorn, who contributed her creative talent to the recent Disney animated hits ‘Zootopia’, ‘Moana’ and ‘Frozen’, Suponwich Juck Somsaman, whose astounding visual work is featured in the last Steven Chow’s blockbuster ‘Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back’ as well as the ground-breaking video game ‘Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV’, along with another Thai visual artist, Prasert Prasertvithyakarn.”

In addition to the event, Thai Business Matching Cannes 2017 also took place from May 18th to May 22nd, giving the opportunity to the international film community to meet nine prominent Thai film companies.