‘One For The Road’ Wins Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival 2021

Boss is a consummate ladies' man. Boss is a free spirit. Boss is a bar owner in New York City. Boss is hiding something. Originally from Thailand, Boss gets a call one day from his estranged friend from home, Aood. "Good news never come after midnight" - Aood is dying and wants to enjoy the little time that he has left with his loved ones. Aood has a bucket list and wants Boss to help complete it. Boss returns to Thailand and takes on an amazing journey with Aood through their past, driving from the north of Thailand to the south, bringing gifts and closure to Aood’s past lovers: from dancer Alice, actress Noona to housewife Roong. But Boss is not the only one hiding something… As they rekindle their brotherhood through the journey, Aood’s farewell gift for Boss threatens to tear their relationship apart again. Secrets from their past are revealed, and they are confronted with an opportunity for redemption, for love – and for life. A modern-day odyssey through the past, present and future when, finally, love prevails.

Cultured Focus met with director Baz Poonpiriya fresh off his Sundance 2021 win to discuss his vision for the film and what he hopes that audiences come away with from watching it. View the full discussion below.

Director Statement As a movie director, one thing I haven’t had a chance to do on my first 2 films was to explore my true self and transform it into the films’ narratives. But after 3 years working under the guidance of Mr. Wong Kar Wai, it now feels like ‘One For The Road’ is the first time that I can express my own voice and feel through this medium. It is a chance for me to turn the filmmaking process into therapy, as this movie is about my own experiences and perceptions on life, work, love and relationships. Even though it is a personal work of mine, I hope this movie can connect with audiences around the world with the international language of storytelling and the universal feeling of human emotions. Thank you all so much for hopping on board with us, and I really hope that you will enjoy the journey with the movie. – Baz Poonpiriya

Baz Poonpiriya – DIRECTOR Baz Poonpiriya is recognized as one of the freshest directorial voices in the international film scene today. He originally studied stage directing at Thailand's Srinakharinwirot University, graduating with an MFA. After working in the television advertising industry, he moved to New York to study graphic design at the Pratt Institute. He returned to Thailand in 2011 and worked as a music video director prior to directing his first feature film, the horror thriller COUNTDOWN in 2012. His second feature BAD GENIUS, shot in 2017, opened to great acclaim and proved to be a box office hit across Asia. The film not only went on to win in a record-breaking twelve categories at the 27th Suphannahong National Film Awards (the Thai Oscars), but was also the highest-grossing Thai film of 2017. The film also broke the box- office records for Thai films in several Asian countries, including China, where it earned over $30 million, and in doing so became the most successful Thai film ever in the international marketplace.

Cast

Tor Thanapob – BOSS

Tor Thanapob, also known by his nickname “Tor”, is a Thai actor, model and singer. His most notable work include Hormones: The Series (2013/2014), May Who? (2015), Project S: The Series (2017), In Family We Trust (2018) and Hua Jai Sila (2019).

Ice Natara – AOOD

Ice Natara is a Thai actor, known for the TV series Diary of Tootsies (2016), The Collector

(2018) and Voice (2019). He is also the first and only Thai runway model in South Korea.

Ploi Horwang – ALICE

Ploi Horwang is an actress, model, fashion designer and Thailand’s most influential fashion

blogger. She debuted as a member of the girls group “Project H” in 1999 and graduated from Istituto Marangoni London. She has her own clothing line, “Him and Her”. She also designs for her fashion magazine of the same name.

Aokbab Chutimon – NOONA

Aokbab Chutimon is a Thai model and actress, best known for her role in the 2017 film Bad Genius directed by Baz Poonpiriya. She is the first Thai actress to win the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival in 2017.

Noon Siraphun – ROONG

Noon Siraphun is a Thai actress best known from the film Puen Sanit (2005) and the TV series Hua Jai Sila (2019). She has received numerous awards including the Nataraj Award for Best Actress and was nominated at the Suphannahong National Film Awards for Best Actress in 2005.

Violette Wautier – PRIM

Violette Wautier is a Thai singer and actress of Belgian descent. She won the Suphannahong National Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress in 2016 for the film Heart Attack (2015).

For more on the director and film, visit: www.IMDB.com

For more on the film visit: https://www.sundance.org/