"Khan Kluay", the first 3-D full-length animation produced here, will be screened in two months by Kantana Co. It tells the story of a wild elephant called by destiny to be the war mount of King Naresuan.

The film about a ghost is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. The title has not yet been disclosed, but some film industry sources said Sahamongkhol Co should call it "Dracula Tork".

"After working for years on short animated TV series, we felt it was about time to move to a

bigger screen," said Auchara Kijkanjanas, the producer of "Khan Kluay".

Boyd Kosiyabong, a well-known singer-composer who fell in love with cartoons and animations and is the producer of the ghost film, told The Nation the same thing had happened to him.

"While making animated series for TV, something nudged us inside to do longer versions without having to rush, and it's an animated film. It's a feeling of challenge."

Boyd said production on his film had begun several years back, while Auchara said her "Khan Kluay" had taken almost five years.

" 'Khan Kluay' is based on Thai history, the great war between King Naresuan and the Burmese army. We imagined the king's elephant during the war and animated him as the main character of the film," Auchara said.

Boyd said his film's story would soon be made public after some marketing issues were ironed out.

The first step into this new era of Thai film was certainly not easy, the producers said.

"Trouble? We've had to face it in every area, every step of production from developing the script to researching it until final editing on the computer screen now," Auchara said.

"Yes, there are problems all along the way. It's new to us, and we're working under constraints in every area from budget to human resources," Boyd said.

Money is the first obstacle and limitation for both productions. Even though Kantana's executive board approved Bt100 million for "Khan Kluay", the five years of learning and the work of 100 production-crew members have cost almost Bt150 million so far.

Sahamongkhol has set Boyd and his co-producer Prachya Pinkaew a budget ceiling, which was not revealed, but the final expenditure figure will not emerge till the end of the year.

"An open heart is a requirement for financial backers of animated films as everything is based on trial and error. They can't expect an inflexible budget for this kind of film," Boyd said.

"We are very lucky as the film's production was initiated by an executive of ours [Jaruek], so he tends to understand the real situation with the spending," Auchara said.

Kompin Kemgumnird, director of "Khan Kluay", who left Walt Disney to work on this project four years ago, said human resources was one major difficulty he had encountered as he had had to develop both the work method and technical skills for each of his crew by himself.

"We had a film school in our company to train personnel. Fortunately, it has now grown into an official programme at Mahidol University, co-developed by Kantana," he said.

Chaiwat Thawewongsangthong, the new president of the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, said his organisation would soon be ready coordinate between animation film-makers and government authorities, especially the Culture Ministry, to promote Thai animated films.

Chaiwat admitted that the federation had done nothing special to promote Thai animated films, as its policy was to treat all local films equally, but with the breakthrough of these two, promotion in the world market would be reviewed.

"We have just discussed setting up a fund to support film-makers in Thailand, to develop movie quality for both domestic and foreign audiences. An initial Bt200-million budget proposal will be submitted soon to the Cabinet for the establishment of the fund," Chaiwat said.

"Apart from lowering taxes on the film industry, if the authorities want to support Thai animations, one thing they can do is set a quota for Thai films screened in domestic cinemas. That is one way domestic film-makers can survive," Boyd said.

International film festivals like Cannes and Busan are also seen as good opportunities to sell the films abroad, the two producers said.

In competing with works from the US, Japan and Korea, which have a long history in this kind of film, both producers said they would not highlight high technology but sell a "Thai perspective" to the international audience.

" 'Khan Kluay' tells Thai history, shows animated elephants in a Thai style, shows the life of Thai elephants in a Thai context. The charm of the film is the Thai perspective on the story," Auchara said.

"My film will highlight the fun of ghosts and the way they appear through Thai eyes," Boyd said.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation