Over the past three years, Thailand’s film industry has gained momentum following the pandemic restrictions. People are spending more time outside and returning to cinemas.
Jina Osothsilp, Chief Executive Officer of GDH 559 Co, Ltd.
This year, the Thai blockbuster family drama Lahn Mah left millions of filmgoers across Southeast Asia in tears.
Known in English as How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, it was selected as Thailand’s entry at the 97th Academy Awards.
Since it premiered six months ago, the movie has raked in almost 2 billion baht worldwide.
It was the highest-grossing Thai film of 2024, with 184 million baht in combined receipts in Bangkok and Chiang Mai alone as of early October.
The National Federation of Thai Film Associations has selected it to represent Thailand as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 97th Academy Awards.
Not only is the selection the latest achievement for the blockbuster, but it also represents the culmination of the work of GDH studio head Jina Osothsilp and her team, powered by the backing of its studio.
Ms Jina, chief executive of GDH 559, whose name stands for gross domestic happiness, said GDH has been pushing Thai films to screens abroad since its inception in 2016, especially in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia as well as other Asian markets such Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, to great acclaim.
The films shown abroad were mostly horrors and thrillers, genres seen as having universal appeal.
But the company has recently been trying to push out comedies and local thrillers such as How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, a film which explores concepts such as filial piety and patriarchy through a story about love and relationships across different generations in a family, as another step to raising the popularity of Thai films.
“Our company was founded on the principle of producing quality films that meet international standards, elevating the Thai film industry for future generations,” said the GDH executive. She reminisced about her early days at an advertising company, where she and her team pushed creative boundaries to deliver impactful commercials.
These principles remain unchanged at GDH, where the team strives to think outside the box, creating entertaining films that balance commerce and art.
“The company does not solely target mass-market films for guaranteed box office success; we also embrace diverse ideas,” said Ms Jina.
Moreover, films do not have a perfect formula to guarantee success; thus, the team must be scrupulous regarding every detail and meticulous about every production step. Everyone from scriptwriters, lighting crew and camera operators to actors, producers and directors must work together in unison, she added.
“When the film is released, regardless of the audience feedback, we believe we’ve given it all,” Ms Jina said.
“If audiences are inspired by the film’s message and apply it to their lives, which change themselves, those around them and society in a positive and meaningful way, that is the true success of filmmaking,” she added.
Ms Jina has always believed that behind every success is a great team, whether it’s the talented actors or the skilled crew members behind the scenes.
“Everyone is part of an amazing team, and we believe that the success of this film will encourage filmmakers to create fresh, new content, elevating the standards of the film industry,” she said.
“We feel that family films about love and gratitude are truly universal. Initially, there was some concern that a movie like this might not make a lot of money. But we wanted to create a good film, and we believe that good films should enlighten the audience. When we, as a board, read the script, we all admired it and believed it was an excellent script. We felt that if we didn’t make this movie, we’d regret it deeply,” Ms Jina said.
“A tearjerker might not guarantee success at the box office, but we believed in the quality of the script and the team’s passion to make it happen,” she added.
Such instincts proved right and the movie received positive feedback and an overwhelmingly warm welcome from audiences across the country and abroad. On the promotional tour in Vietnam, many young people left the cinema in tears and ran up to hug Grandma Taew, the 78-year-old actress who played the film’s titular matriarch, remarking how the movie reminded them of their grandma and thanking the company for making a great film.
She said the company has been passing on opportunities for new directors who have experience in making TV series and commercials to join the team under the supervision of the producers, bringing diverse ideas to the screen.
In August, the company released the romantic drama The Paradise of Thorns, the first feature film directed by Naruebet Kuno, known for the famous TV series I Told Sunset About You in 2022.
The film tells the story of Thongkam and Sek, a gay couple who own a home and durian orchard in Mae Hong Son.
Sek dies unexpectedly, and the property is inherited by Sek’s mother, leaving Thongkam without legal rights to their shared property.
The fight for his rights is a reflection of the challenges faced by same-sex couples in Thai society. The film has been selected for screening at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival.
Ms Jina said the success of Bad Genius (2017) in China offers solid proof that Thai filmmakers are capable of generating excitement in the international market.
Jina Osothsilp
Chief Executive Officer of GDH 559 Co, Ltd.