Thai film to retell cave rescue drama

The poster of Tom Waller's
The poster of Tom Waller's "The Cave" announcing the November shooting.

A Thai film retelling the story of the Tham Luang cave operation will start filming in November, said its director and producer.

Titled Nang Non in Thai and The Cave in English, the film has been mounted by Tom Waller, a Thai filmmaker of Irish descent, who spoke to the Bangkok Post at the Toronto International Film Festival where he gave a presentation of the project to prospective foreign distributors over the weekend.

Nang Non, titled after the name of the mountain range and the cave in Chiang Rai where the 12 Wild Boar football team members and their coach were trapped from June 23 to July 10, is likely to be the first feature film project about the project after at least five other producers, mostly international ones, have expressed interest in recounting the story that gripped the world's attention.

"The film is happening," said Mr Waller, whose past films include The Last Executioner, about Thailand's last prison executioner, and Mindfulness and Murder, a temple-set suspense story in which a monk tries to solve a murder. "The first draft of the script is finished and in October we will start building sets," he said.

Mr Waller went on to say that Nang Non will focus on "first-person perspectives" and "unsung heroes" who took part in the mission. There will be four or five main characters based on real Thai and international volunteers. Mr Waller has recently interviewed Jim Warny, the Ireland-based Belgian cave diver who was responsible for bringing out Ekkapol Chanthawong, or Coach Ake, on the last day of the operation, and who was declared "a hero" by the Irish press. Mr Warny's experience will form a significant part of the film, said Mr Waller.

Though the government has said that all film projects about the cave rescue would have to go through a special panel for vetting, the rule seems to apply only to foreign film productions. Mr Waller said he has begun contacting authorities to ask for permission to shoot at some locations, including parts of Tham Luang cave.

Mr Waller declined to discuss the budget or possible casting. "One thing is certain, I won't exploit anyone involved in the incident," he said. "I want to show the volunteer spirit that fascinated the world," he said.

Vocabulary

  • descent: being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the past - การสืบเชื้อสาย
  • distributor: a person or company that supplies goods to shops/stores, etc - ผู้ค้าส่ง, ผู้แทนจำหน่าย, ผู้แจกจ่าย
  • draft (noun): a document that is not in a final form and likely to be changed - ร่าง
  • exploit: to use unfairly for your own benefit - เอาเปรียบ, หาประโยชน์ใส่ตัว
  • grip: to have a powerful effect on somebody/something - ดึงดูดใจ, จับแน่น, ทำให้ตื่นเต้น
  • mount: to organise and begin - เริ่มปฏิบัติการ
  • prospective: expected to do something or to become something - ที่คาดหวังไว้, ที่มุ่งหวัง
  • recount: to describe how something happened; to tell a story - เล่า, บรรยาย
  • unsung: not praised or famous but deserving to be - ที่ไม่มีชื่อเสียง
  • vetting: examining something or someone carefully to make certain that they are acceptable or suitable - ตรวจสอบ

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