Oscar hopes for Thai movie

Suriyothai: An exotic tale of a Thai queen

The makers of the most expensive Thai film ever made are hopeful of Oscar fame as international distributors show interest in the movie.

Suriyothai is an epic historical drama that has surprised its own director with its costs - some 400 million baht (£6.1m).

Suriyothai has been heavily promoted in Thailand

The film's director, Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol, hopes success in foreign markets could help recover the costs.

"If I knew the total cost, I would not have dared to make this movie," he said.

"It's probably one of the biggest films ever made in Thailand or in Asia."

The veteran director said that international film distributors are keen to snap up the rights to the film, which has been a huge success in Thailand.

A further 100 million baht (£1.5m) was spent on promotion in the country, where the film has smashed box office figures.

But the film would have to take three or four times more than Titanic did in the domestic box office to break even.

Foreign markets

The success of the three-hour drama, set in the 15th century, has fuelled hopes it could make its mark in the foreign films at next year's Academy Awards.

Prince Chatri grouped a strong international team behind the cameras.

If I knew the total cost, I would not have dared to make this movie

Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol, director

He enlisted veteran English composer Richard Harvey as music director and award-winning German cameraman Igor Luther as director of photography.

Described as an "exotic" movie, Suriyothai tells the story of a Thai queen, who lived between 1490 and 1540 in the ancient Ayutthaya kingdom.

Elephants

It is set in one of the most turbulent periods of Siamese history and charts the life of a strong woman embroiled in palace politics.

The movie has a cast of thousands - one scene has almost 10,000 people and 200 elephants.

Despite his hopes for the film, Prince Chatri knows there may be difficulties with the film abroad.

"Trying to stick to the historical facts was the hardest thing," he said.

"If you want to put the romantic angle on it, you have to think twice.

"You can't put in too much artistic license here in Thailand."

Prince Chatri will travel to New York next week to meet Hollywood distributors.