Capping a spectacular year, the exam-room thriller Chalat Game Geong (Bad Genius) swept the Subannahongsa Awards -- the closest thing to the Thai Oscars -- by winning 12 out of the 16 categories in a ceremony on Sunday night at Thailand Cultural Centre.
The film, which tells the story of an exam-cheating ring led by a greedy, straight-A student, was produced by GDH-559 and directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya. The film won in all key categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Best Actor for Chanon Santinatornkul, and Best Supporting Actor for Thaneth Warakulnukroh.
It has been a very successful year for Bad Genius both in Thailand and internationally. The film was the highest grossing Thai film of 2017, and became a box office hit in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Besides the directing and acting categories, the film also won the awards for Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Recoding and Sound Mixing, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay.
Ghost film The Promise won Best Visual Effects; it was also produced by GDH-559, which continues to dominate the commercial side of the Thai film industry.
Premika-Parab, a ghost comedy about a karaoke-singing spirit, won Best Make-up Effects. Meanwhile Tai Baan The Series, a film made specifically for the northeaster cinemas, won Best Original Song, called Injury Time.
Ploy Sornarin won Best Supporting Actress from a horror film Siam Square, in which a group of teenagers unearth a dark secret about the popular hangout.
The Subannahongsa Awards are considered the most prestigious honour in the Thai film industry. The results are decided by the votes gathered from over 1,000 industry professionals. The event has been held for 27 years, and organised by The National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations and the Ministry of Culture.
