Screenplay takes tragic turn: Israeli director films final scene at Thai actor’s funeral

An Israeli short film director travelled to Thailand to offer his condolences to the family of a Thai actor, who lost his life in the Israel-Hamas war, and shoot the final scene of the movie at the actor’s funeral.

According to the Thai Labour Ministry, 9,023 Thai workers in Israel were safely evacuated to Thailand while 20,843 Thai people continued working in the country. Twenty-five Thais were taken hostage, 18 were injured, and 39 lost their lives in the war.

Eight Thai bodies arrived back home on November 10 and were transferred to their home provinces. One of the bodies is that of a 36 year old Thai man named Srettha “Tom” Homesorn. Tom was attacked at his workplace in Israel while his two siblings managed to survive and return home safely.

ThaiRath reported that Tom’s funeral was held at his home province, Nakhon Panom, in northeastern Thailand on November 11. In addition to his family and relatives, an Israeli man named Jonathan also travelled to Thailand to attend the ceremony.

Jonathan revealed to the media that he was a director working on a short film documentary about the lives of Thai workers in the border areas of Israel, and Tom was one of his main characters. He has been shooting the film for more than two years because there were many details he wanted to cover.

From tragic screenplay to reality

Jonathan explained that in his film, Tom had to escape an attack and ultimately die in the war. The film director hadn’t anticipated the script’s events becoming a reality and felt remorseful for the unforeseen turn of events. Consequently, he decided to travel to Thailand to pay his respects to Tom’s family and film the concluding scene of the movie – Tom’s funeral.

Jonathan elaborated on his plan to spend a week with Tom’s family before returning to his home country to complete the short film. He expressed the hope that the film would disseminate the story of Tom and other Thai workers in Israel worldwide.

Reflecting on the tragic loss, Tom’s twin brother, 36 year old Jadesada “Tum” Homesorn, shared how heartbreaking it was to lose a family member. Despite the emotional turmoil, Tum expressed a desire to return to work in Israel if the situation improved, seeing it as the sole means to enhance his financial standing.

Tum’s sentiments were echoed by numerous Thais who, despite the ongoing war, remained steadfast in their decision to stay and work in Israel. While the Thai government encouraged a temporary return home with assurances of reintegrating them into the Israeli workforce after the conflict, many Thais remained resolute in their choice to stay.