Thai film industry to exceed 3.8 billion baht at Cannes festival

The 77th Cannes Film Festival has presented significant opportunities for the Thai government, local filmmakers, and production companies to secure lucrative business deals.

The festival, which ran from May 14 to 25, is expected to generate more than the 3.8 billion baht grossed from last year’s event. Companies participating in the Thai booth, which showcased local films and promoted tourism, discovered numerous new business prospects.

Yupha Taweewattanakitborvon, permanent secretary for culture, highlighted the importance of this year’s festival as a global stage for promoting Thailand’s soft power through Thai films.

“Content created in Thailand has now made its way to the international market and received a warm welcome.”

Last year’s festival brought over 3.8 million baht to Thailand’s film industry, and this year is expected to match or exceed that amount. The film industry is a significant source of income and job creation in Thailand.

Arrun Boonchai, permanent secretary for tourism and sports, explained that the 3.8 billion baht figure represented total international investments in Thailand’s film industry linked to the 2023 film festival. This year, 12 film-making companies and one film association joined the government at Cannes, including M Studio, Sahamongkol Film International, BrandThink, Neramitnung Film, GDH559, YGGDRAZIL Group, Night Edge Pictures, Benetone Films, Hollywood (Thailand), Kantana Motion Pictures, Halo Productions, Right Beyond, and the Thai Association of Boys Love Content.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports annually presents ideal filming locations at the festival, attracting filmmakers to Thailand. As a result of last year’s Cannes, over 20 companies spent more than 3 billion baht shooting films in Thailand.

Thai film boost

The trade value of Thai film screening rights to international buyers has been steadily increasing. It rose from 4.6 billion baht in 2022 to 6.7 billion baht last year, and it is expected to grow by 10% to around 7.5 billion baht this year.

For BrandThink, an advertising agency that has expanded into film production, this marks the second year of showcasing its work at Cannes. Thammaporn Dharamadhat, director of IP development and sales marketing, noted that meeting industry professionals worldwide has given BrandThink a clearer picture of its global position and potential buyers for its works.

BrandThink showcased two films this year and plans to start working on five more, thanks to new marketing ideas and connections made at the festival.

“The Thai film industry has much more room for development and growth.”

Right Beyond, which has appeared at Cannes ten times, has transitioned from buying screening rights for international films in Thailand to selling Thai-produced works, reported Bangkok Post.

Aichitha Prichvongwaikull, deputy managing director, mentioned that their films have been sold to buyers from Russia and Latin America, new markets for Thai films.

“Cannes is the world’s largest marketplace where high-quality clients with high buying power shop.”

Right Beyond began with the Asian market and has since expanded its target to include Spain, Germany, and most recently, potential clients from Pakistan.