Pattaya, the ever-popular beach and family destination for Indian tourists, now aims to become a film city. In fact, it’s working at becoming a “Unesco Creative City” for films. The Pattaya Film Festival, now in its second year, is a starting point.
Although no Indian films were screened this year, festival director Chalida Uabumrungjit let on that they did plan to incorporate Indian films in their future editions. “Indian films have always been popular in Thailand, and today streaming agencies like Netflix have given them a huge boost,” said young Thai filmmaker ‘Adam’ Chalermchatri Yukol, mentioning that films like Maharaj, Maharaja have become a hit with Thai audiences. Chalermchatri Yukol and his father, the legendary filmmaker Chatrichalerm Yukol, have been huge Indophiles, and Adam has even visited the Ramoji Studios in Hyderabad, to study the workings of a megalith movies complex.
The articulate youngster heads the film and TV series sub-committee of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, also called THACCA (Thailand Creative Culture Agency), which is a very important segment of the current Thai government. The agency has identified 11 ‘soft power’ industries to promote, including, films, festivals, tourism, and others. That’s why the ministries of culture and tourism, together with the Pattaya City Council, took part in an important panel discussion, last week, on “Pattaya, as a Film City”.
Since Pattaya is already well-known as a tourist .