Photo Courtesy of Banjong Pisanthanakun

Thai filmmaker Banjong Pisanthanakun is determined to be more than a box office specialist of the horror-comedy genre.

Fans of Thai movies may remember Banjong Pisanthanakun as the codirector of horror comedies like Shutter (2004, which received a Hollywood remake), Alone (2007) and his stellar solo effort Pee Mak Phrakanong (2013).

But being labeled a box office specialist of that genre is definitely not his career goal, as he is ready to do much more.

Hugely successful romantic comedy Hello Stranger (2010) and the latest heart-warming romantic drama One Day (2016) provided enough clues that Banjong has the skill to wrap a story — no matter how simple — in an attractive production package of international appeal.

Since September last year, One Day has made the rounds at many international film festivals and has been screened in countries across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.

Banjong said the Japan-set new film was a challenge he took to make a movie that stays with the viewer for a long time, akin to Hollywood mellow romances in the 1990s like Sleepless in Seattle, but with an Asian touch.

How does one switch between horror and romance?

“The fact is I like various types of genres, so when I work for [one particular] project, all I have in mind is that I will do my best,” he stated in an email. “So even for different genre, there are the different ways and all of them are difficult in their own ways. However, I never forced myself to do anything that I am not capable of doing.”

“The harder part about making One Day was that there is not that much comedy in this film, because I am very good with comedy.”

Titled Fanday […] Fan Kun Khae Wan Diaw in the orginal Thai version (“fan” means “lover” in Thai), the movie tells the story of an IT engineer called Denchai (Chantawit “Ter” Dhanasevi), who is invisible to others but not to Nui (Nittha “Mew” Jirayungyurn), a marketing colleague.

It turns out that Nui has an affair with her married boss Top (Teerapat “Tui” Satjakul) and attempted suicide during the office holiday trip to Japan, as she discovered that the boss has no intention to divorce his wife. As a result, Nui lost her short-term memory for a day.

Denchai, who has been smitten by Nui for a while, decides to seize the opportunity by telling the woman that they are actually in love and spends one day together as lovers in the snow-covered Hokkaido.

“I like Hokkaido, and I think the snow there is very beautiful. I got a chance to see it from the beginning of the time when it started snowing and also at the end of the season, when all the snow melted into dirt on the sidewalk. So I have seen all.”

While the cast and crew faced challenges adapting to the weather, the story development was the most difficult part in making the film, with a sad ending and some humorous moments throughout that remained incidental to the narrative.

Banjong, who refers to himself by his childhood name Tong, acknowledged that he never played by the book in his works, which could be the main reason for bursting onto the international film scene right from the start.

A fan of Indian filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Banjong, now in his early 40s, majored in film at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, where he graduated in 1999.

He started his professional career by directing short film Plae Kao, a nominee for best picture and best screenplay in Thailand’s Click Radio comedy short film competition in 2000, and later wrote and directed Colorblind, another short movie that made it to film festivals worldwide.  

Banjong also had a stint as a film critic for an entertainment magazine and worked as an assistant director for commercials before teaming up with Parkpoom Wongpoom for Shutter and Alone.

His CV is filled with cinematic hits due to his contribution to horror anthologies 4bia in 2008 by segment Man in the Middle; Phobia 2 in 2009 with In the End and the hysterical N is for Nuptials for the 2012 international horror anthology The ABCs of Death.

“I watched basically every film genre since I was little, but I particularly enjoyed watching horror movies, since my relatives and I liked to get together when we rented the horror video to watch at home. We would be watching under the blanket and scream out so loud that the whole house could hear us. That was one of the most entertaining moments ever in my childhood.”

Talking about the film industry in Southeast Asia, he predicted a bright future.

“I do hope the film industry of this region will get stronger and stronger in the near future, because I have seen many works from various directors of this region, which are quite famous in many international festivals or awarding events,” said Banjong, who has comedy in his mind for the next project.

“I haven’t considered to work in collaboration with Indonesian filmmakers yet. However, if there is a good opportunity, I think it would be a lot of fun.”

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