Teens make a film in a film
Did you know
The French film The Haunted Castle from 1896 is generally considered to be the first horror film.
By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs by Varuth Hirunyatheb
and courtesy of D.O.A. FILM
After being postponed several times, D.O.A. FILM’s new teen movie Grang Preed Ja Read Jai Ther is finally set to open in local cinemas on February 27.
Directed by Kapp Vannagool, Grang Preed Ja Read Jai Ther is a coming-of-age comedy drama about a group of friends in a high school film club. After many failures in their attempt to make a horror movie, the young film crew finally finds their missing link in a new girl called Prang, played by 17-year-old rising star Sirinrat Vidhyaphum (Mook).
Student Weekly recently caught up with Mook to get the low-down about the making of Grang Preed Ja Read Jai Ther.
Student Weekly: As this is your first feature film, can you tell us a bit about your background?
Mook: My name is Mook, but people sometimes call me Mookko. I’ve been on the covers of a few fashion magazines, as well as in some TV commercials. This is my first movie, so I hope everybody enjoys it.
Student Weekly: How did you go with your first acting experience?
Mook: It was quite a bit harder than I expected, but I really enjoyed doing it. I believe I can do better in the future. I’d like to get more acting experience in either films or TV dramas.
Student Weekly: How did you first become involved with this project?
Mook: The director saw some of my pictures by chance on my Facebook page. When the team first contacted me, I didn’t reply to their emails, because I thought they might have been a group of psychos! [Laughs.] That has happened to me before. They later contacted me at my school, so I went for a casting session and got the part.
Student Weekly: Can you tell us about your character in Grang Preed Ja Read Jai Ther?
Mook: I play Prang, a new student who has just been transferred from a different school. Prang is a quiet girl who seems a bit weird to her new friends. But one of her new friends, Moe, sees something special about Prang and invites her to play a part in his horror film project.
Student Weekly: What kind of films do you personally enjoy watching?
Mook: I love watching movies a lot, but I mostly watch romance and comedy movies. My favourite movie is the 2004 film The Notebook. I like all the Thai movies from GTH, but thrillers and horror movies are my least favourite genres.
Student Weekly: What makes Grang Preed Ja Read Jai Ther different from other teen movies that have come out recently?
Mook: The special thing about Grang Preed Ja Read Jai Ther is its complex characters and plot. I don’t think there have been many Thai coming-of-age movies about the fun of making films.
Vocabulary
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postpone (v): to arrange for an event, etc. to take place at a later time or date
missing link (n): something, such as a person or a piece of information, that is necessary to be able to understand a problem or to make something complete
psycho (n): a person who is mentally ill and who behaves in a very strange or violent way
casting (n): the process of choosing actors for a play, a film, etc.
transfer (v): to move from one job, school, etc. to another
genre (n): a particular type or style of literature, art, film or music that you can recognise because of its special featuresIdiom
come of age: when a person comes of age, they reach the age when they have an adults legal rights and responsibilities
