ASEAN CLASSIC BAFF 2023

The Adulterer (ชู้)

The Adulterer

Director: Piak Poster

Country: Thailand

Year: 1972

Running Time: 147 minutes

Producer: -

Starring: Manop Asawathep, Wandee Sritrang, Krung Sriwilai

Synopsis:

A hothouse drama shot on an idyllic southern island, The Adulterer tells the tumultuous love triangle between a secluded fisherman, a young woman whom he rescues from a storm, and her cocky lover who comes to this remote islet to find her. Passion, jealousy and suspense entangle the three characters in a dark human drama, set against the wide-screen expanse of the blue sea. One of Piak Poster’s best-known films, The Adulterer won a special award at the 19th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Singapore and was inducted in the National Film Heritage Registry by the Thai Film Archive. The Adulterer was restored by the Thai Film Archive in 2022.

Director’s Biography:

Piak Poster, or Somboonsuk Niyomsiri, remains one of Thailand’s best-known filmmakers to this day. His pseudonym came from his first trade: Piak Poster was originally a painter of huge, colorful promotional murals that once dominated the exteriors of Bangkok movie palaces. Piak directed his first film, Tone, in 1970, followed by Duang (1971) and Choo (The Adulterer, 1972). With an eye for drama and details, he could pull off both commercially popular films, such as Wai Onlawon (1976), and heartbreaking human drama, such as Saphan Rak Sarasin (1987).

The Adventure of Sudsakorn (สุดสาคร)

The Adventure of Sudsakorn

Director: Payut Ngao-krachang

Country: Thailand

Year: 1979

Running Time: 87 minutes

Producer: Jirawan Kampanatsanyakorn

Starring: -

Synopsis:

Thailand’s first feature-length animation is a masterpiece by Payut Ngao-krachang, known as “Thailand’s Walt Disney”. Adapted from a classical Thai folk tale, The Adventure of Sudsakorn begins when a mermaid gives birth to Sudsakorn on Crystal Island. A hermit raises him into a skilled wizard, and at the age of three, Sudsakorn sets out to look for his father, Phra Apaimanee, accompanied by the magical Nilmangkorn Horse. Sudsakorn’s fantastical journey takes him to the Demon Island and later to an encounter with the Naked Hermit, who steals his horse and magic ring. Rescued by King Karawek and his children, Sudsakorn has to brave hordes of monsters to continue his search for Phra Apaimanee.

Director’s Biography:

Payut Ngao-krachang was born on April 1, 1929, in the coastal province of Prachuab Kiri Khan. As a child, he practiced drawing on sand using discarded crab's claws and twigs. He loved Thai-style characters, though his exposure to early American cartoons also shaped his aesthetic sensibility. In 1944, Payut came to the capital to study at Poh Chang Art Academy and later found work with the US Information Service (USIS). In 1955, he succeeded in completing the first Thai animated film, a 7-minute short “Amazing Incidents”. After studying animation filmmaking in Japan, Payut returned to Thailand and made Thailand’s first feature-length animated film, The Adventure of Sudsakorn, in 1979. Payut Ngao-krachang died on May 27, 2010, at the age of 81.