Indie flick stands tall at Subannahongsa Awards

For the second year in a row, an independent movie took home the top prize at Thailand's Subannahongsa Awards, the Thai film industry's most prestigious, in a ceremony at Thailand Cultural Centre, on Sunday.

Pawang Rak

(Concrete Clouds), made outside the mainstream studio system and financed by Thai and international investors, won Best Picture, while its director, Lee Chatametikool, won the directing award.

A love story with a hint of art house sensibility, the film follows two brothers whose father committed suicide after the financial collapse of 1997. It is one of  few Thai films in the past 18 years to use the backdrop of that economic meltdown as a dramatic thrust.

One of Concrete Clouds' actresses, Apinya Sakulcharoensuk, won Best Supporting Actress for her role as a teenaged waif trying to sort out her messy life.

The wins were unexpected. Concrete Clouds was favourably reviewed by most critics, but was not considered a favourite, as the awards for the first time switched to a ballot system, with winners decided from approximately 1,000 votes cast by industry professionals, similar to the process used in the Academy Awards.

It was believed that popular mainstream films stood a better chance of winning.

Hit romcom Kid Tueng Withaya (Teacher's Diary) received the highest number of trophies, taking art direction, original score, original song, cinematography, editing and screenplay. Inspired by a true story, the film centres around two teachers in a remote houseboat school in the north of Thailand. Plae Kao (The Scar), a remake of the eponymous classic Thai film, won Best Costume Design, while its actor, Pongpat Wachirabunjong, won Best Supporting Actor.

The two main acting prizes went to young performers. Jirayu Laongmanee, 20, won for his role in the romance, Tukkae Rak Pang Mak (Chiang Khan Love Story). Jarinporn Junkiat, 25, was honoured for playing a dying woman in Timeline. This year's Subannahongsa ceremony for the first time included a Best Documentary prize, with the trophy going to The Master, a chronicle of Thailand's bootleggers whose activities played a part in promoting art house films in the late 90s. It was directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, who last year took home multiple awards for fictional film Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy.

Big winners at Subannahongsa last year were also independent productions, led by Tangwong (Best Picture and Best Director) and Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy (Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress).