‘The Cave’ premieres in Bangkok, first feature film about the Tham Luang rescue

PHOTO: Director Tom Waller goes over a scene of his film ‘The Cave’ – Associated Press

A feature film about the story of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue had its Bangkok premiere yesterday. Rescuers, starring as themselves in the movie, walked the red carpet at the premiere. The film focuses on the stories of the rescuers who risked their lives to save the 13 young men who were trapped inside by flooding.

Tom Waller’s ‘The Cave’ focusses its attention on some of the key people who were part of a 7,000-person international rescue mission to retrieve the 13 members of the Mu Pa (Wild Boars) football team from the flooded caves.

The riveting story, and happy ending, gripped the world’s attention with blanket media coverage. It has also become a valuable brand which is being managed by a committee set up by the Thai government.

Netflix has already signed up a multi-million dollar deal to tell the story from the point of view of the 13 young men (including interviews with the team members), and Universal Studios is making a feature film. But ‘The Cave’, an independent film, directed by Thai-Irish director Tom Waller, is the first major project to hit the screens.

At the start of November the public were allowed inside the opening section of the Tham Luang cave for the first time since last year’s July rescue. The area, once rarely visited, has since become a major tourist attraction, visited by more than a million tourists already.

Four divers who were involved in last year’s summer rescue mission – Erik Brown, Mikko Paasi, Jim Warny and Tan Xiaolong – all played themselves in ‘The Cave’. They all walked the red carpet at the Bangkok premiere last night.

SOURCE: The Guardian

PHOTO: naewna.com