This is what they mean by awards madness

Sounds great – let’s get ’er done. Except that not every filmmaker and critic has seen all the movies made in 2013.

Director Songyos “Yong” Sugmakanan admits he’s one of them, but he’s trying to rectify the problem by reaching out to his fans on Twitter, asking them what he should watch. He wants to make sure he hasn’t missed any potential award winners. “You must see ‘Tang Wong’,” came one typical helpful reply. 

As it turned out, Yong got a lot of interesting suggestions, but MR Chalermchatri “Adam” Yukol doesn’t think the same approach will work for him because he’s hardly seen any of the films of 2013.

By the same token, though, hardly anyone saw Adam’s movie “Sarawat Mah Baa” (“The Cop”). So he was glad when the federation decided to hold special screenings of the finalists.

They’re happening at Major Ratchayothin and SFX Rama 9. 

“The Cop” was screened on Friday and Adam went online to invite everyone to see it for free. He welcomed all his Facebook friends and also tweeted misgivings about his film’s appeal, “I guess it would be the same, quite.” 

But who knows? Maybe the voters will spot a charm in it that they’d overlooked before and get him a Subanahongsa.

 

The pad thai hero

The anti-government protesters have shown plenty of determination, but few as much as the owner of Pad Thai Ekkamai, who shut down his business so he could help shut down Bangkok.

Shrugging off the lack of income, the restaurateur – who hasn’t disclosed his name publicly – joined the rallies more than a month ago, leaving a sign on his shop that says, “Gone frying (pad thai) for the country. Free at Rajdamnoen in front of Mercedes Benz Showroom. Anyone wants to support my cause please call 082 022 5000 and 087 516 0557.”

On his shop’s Facebook page he apologised to his regular customers. “I am not a rich guy or better than others, but I think this is what I should do. I also want to apologise to those who think differently, but I’m more worried about the country than my business.” And anyway, anyone who really missed his pad thai could follow him over to Rajdamnoen Avenue. “You don’t have to help me foot the bill for food but for change. You can also just drop by to say hello and give me moral support.” 

Some misunderstood, thinking he’d set up a retail food booth at the rally site, but that wasn’t the case. He was giving the noodles away. And, with the rally splitting up among different sites today, Pad Thai Ekkamai has moved to the new main stage near the Pathumwan intersection. This is the sacrifice the owner continues to make – food for the revolution and damn the expense. It’s the cause for living that concerns him, not the cost of living.