Anucha Boonyawatana is a Thai transgender, independent filmmaker and founder of G-Motif. Her thesis film Down The River in 2004, won her the Young Thai Artist Award. She went on to collaborate with the Thai-American Public Health Agency and Unesco to direct Love Audition in 2008, which promoted health and relationships among Thai gay teens. In 2015, she made a directorial debut with The Blue Hour, which premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. Her latest feature film, Malila: The Farewell Flower, has been shown at several film festivals around Asia, having won the Kim Ji-seok award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival. The romantic drama movie follows the relationship between two men, played by Sukollawat Kanaros and Anuchyd Sapanphong. It premiered in Thailand yesterday, so if you are bored of the usual mainstream movies, buy yourself a ticket be ready to ponder the fragility of life.
Between your last film, The Blue Hour , and your latest, Malila , what have you been up to?
Malila was a project I longed to turn into a film, development of which started around seven years ago. At that time, I couldn't find any people to help make the film because I had never done a feature film before. After the success of The Blue Hour, I easily found investors for Malila. I wanted to make a mix of an independent art house movie with a few elements of the mainstream. The mainstream elements are the actors that I wanted to collaborate with so I chose Weir (Sukollawat Kanaros), one of the most famous actors in Thailand, for my film. I think it can help with the film's distribution, appealing it to a wider audience. Thai audiences are not used to this kind of film that tells a different kind of story, so I wanted to draw the attention of the audience to watch this kind of movie so it can help establish the film culture in Thailand.
How did get the inspiration for Malila ?
I once said that my films are a connection of the things I adore, so almost everything in Malila are things that come from my own experience. The film's inspiration can be divided into two parts -- the first being flower-making and the other being the relationship between two men. I had a chance to study Thai flower-making, which is different from normal flower arrangement because we use fabrication techniques such as sewing the petals to turn them into shapes. After making one, I noticed that the flower withered in maybe three hours or a day at best, so I began to question the purpose of this. I found it very absurd, which makes me think about the value of their life and love. One reason that I wanted to show this art in my film is because it's very feminine and most feminine arts do not get a lot of attention in a male-dominant society. The art is very beautiful but many people look past the beauty behind the art so I wanted to show of the value of it.
Another experience that I put into the film is my time with the wandering monks. Monks are male-dominant, women cannot experience monkhood because monks have a rule that they cannot stay close and live with a woman. I got special permission to be a monk because physically I'm a male. I wanted to learn about the monk society. People will look at the monks and think they are peaceful, but they have some struggles with their life. I chose to be a wandering monk so I could learn their mentality and portray them in the film. I want to create a monk character that is not normally shown, one that doesn't come off as someone you should respect or worship. I want them to be a normal human.
How did you approach Sukollawat 'Weir' Kanaros for this role? What was his reaction?
I sent him the script and we arranged a meeting. He liked what he read and I gave him the details about what he is required to do such as shaving his head and that he has to take part in an explicit scene with another man. He was OK with it because at this point, as he is considered one of the most famous Thai actors right now, he wanted a different role. All his roles have been in TV dramas that basically have the same kind of characters.
What about your inspiration behind the two main characters Shane and Pitch? How did you decide to cast Sukollawat and Anuchyd Sapanphong as the leads?
All characters in my films have some parts that resemble me. The story of the monk character, who Weir is playing, comes from my experience. I chose him because he is the type of man that I adore. Some actors are charming because they are well-dressed within the city environment or have to do make-up but Sukollawat's charm is based on his natural looks. Anuchyd's character, the other protagonist, is more feminine because he is the one who makes the flower. Obviously, the character also comes from me. I picked Anuchyd because he possesses some unique qualities that other actors don't have. From the way he holds the flower, he can convince me, as well as the audience that he is the one who actually made it. You cannot explain it. Anuchyd may look masculine but he has some feminine emotion with his acting.
Why did you decide to pick Thai upcountry as your main location?
One of the main points of the story in the film is focused on the bai sri culture. In the Thailand's Northeast, there is a beautiful bai sri community where they make unique and beautiful bai sri flowers. We chose this region because we wanted to include this temple in a scene, which is very different from temples in the centre due its interior walls and mural paintings. I just want the atmosphere, the power of nature for my film.
Malila has been shown in various film festivals around Asia, including Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Was there any specific reason you decide to show the film in other countries before Thailand?
For independent films, we have to look for an international audience because we already know that in Thailand not many people will be interested in them. When the film was done, we have to find a festival for the world premiere. In terms of distribution, it's not complicated so the film can travel between festivals. For Thailand, however, there is a different process. You have to deal with censorship, the distribution company and have talks with the cinemas. The distribution and promotion process can take up to three to six months, especially since this film has a wider release than The Blue Hour.
What is the message you are trying to express in this film?
Normally I leave it up to the audience to make their own interpretations. My film shows characters who have a different gender/sexual orientation. The characters, especially Sukollawat's, changes his sexual orientation. He can change back and forth between a straight and a gay man. You can see the gender-fluidity in his character. I think the film has done its duty for Thai society. We already have one of the famous stars acting in a LGBT role for the first time. That will raise the question among the society regarding LGBT issues. You can already see that the movie mixes topics about LGBT and religion, and religion is a very sensitive issue in Thailand. I also hope this movie will let people view religion in a different light.
Do you the think the Thai film industry or media have improved in terms of portraying gay characters more realistically?
Yes, when compared to maybe 10 years ago. Back then I could not find any actors because I make LGBT movies. I always had to find amateurs and not professionals. Now I can find straight men who are willing to play LGBT roles. There are a variety of gay characters unlike 10 years ago when they were only portrayed as funny. Some TV dramas have very good gay characters, they're different. I think it will get better and better as time goes on.
