It may not have raked in the highest takings at the box office, but last year's chilling thriller "13 Game Sayong" ("13 Beloved") looks set to clean up at tomorrow's Subhanahongsa Awards, with a massive 13 nominations for a total of 16 prizes.

Hot on its heels is the coming-of-age horror flick "Dek Hor" ("Dorm"), which has been nominated for 10 Subhanahongsa awards and also leads the list in the Critics Awards that takes place later in the month.

The Subhanahongsa Awards, also known as the National Film Awards, are the Kingdom's equivalent to the Oscars, organised annually by the Federation of Film Associations of Thailand.

Prof Suraphol Virunlak leads a jury made up of film director Jazz Siam, veteran actor Pairoj Sungworributr and critics Krisada Kerddee and Malee Bunyasreesawas.

Last year's awards were rocked by accusations of nepotism after the award for Best Actress was given to the youngest daughter of then-federation president Somsak Techaratanaprasert.

The award dispute coincided with the ongoing conflict between Somsak and several major production companies over participation in the Bangkok International Film Festival that led to the withdrawal of five studios from the federation and the subsequent resignation of Somsak.

The federation is now attempting to reunite the film industry and even though the five studios have maintained their independent status, all except Five Star Entertainment have agreed to allow their films to take part in the national awards.

Five Star is still smarting over the federation's decision to ditch the original selection of Pen-ek Ratanaruang's "Invisible Waves" as Thailand's entry for the 2006 Oscar's Best Foreign Film award, in favour of "Ahingsa Jikko Me Kam" ("Ahimsa... Stop To Run").

The conflict has left two acclaimed films - Wisit Sasanatieng's "Pen Choo Kab Phee" ("The Unseeable") and "Waves" - out in the cold, but both have received nine nominations for the Critics Awards, while "13" has six, including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay.

The Critic Awards are organised by the Bangkok Critics Assembly and respected for their fairness and neutrality.

Despite the federation's attempts to bring prestige back to the Subhanahongsa Awards, questions have been raised about this year's nomination for Best Visual Effects for the Pang Brothers' Cantonese-language movie "Phee Yak Klab Ma Kerd" ("Re-Cycle").

"We have to be open-minded. The film's crew are mostly Thai and the movie was shot in Thailand," says jury chairman Suraphol.

Co-produced by Thailand's Matching Film and Hong Kong's Universe Holdings, the film has a Hong Kong cast and features Thai singer Jetrin "Jay" Wattanasin in a cameo role.

"Re-Cycle" has not been selected as a Thai film for the Critics Award. On the other hand, the assembly has welcomed Pen-ek's pan-Asian "Invisible Waves", which sees Japanese actor Asano Tadanobu and Australian Hong Kong-based Christopher Doyle nominated for the Best Actor and Best Cinematography awards respectively.

The Subhanahongsa Awards ceremony is being held in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Politicians Suwat Liptapanlop and Somchai Chatpattanasiri, a former MP who holds the film distribution rights for the Northeast, are providing the sponsorship necessary to cover the Bt10 million event.

The guests will stay at the brand new Panjadara Hotel, which is owned by Somchai, and the celebrations will be held in a new downtown park.

Somchai is a member of the film federation's committee and was tipped to become its new president after Somsak resigned. However, he withdrew from the list due to his MP status.

"We can't get enough sponsorship to hold the event in Bangkok," says committee member Laksaya Pongchaisreekul.

That may well be true, but the move to the Northeast ensures that the awards ceremony will have a political agenda.

The Bt77-million park is a massive project that was heavily promoted by Suwat during his time in government. Critics say the event aims to popularise his pet project.

The awards ceremony also coincides with Suwat's birthday and the stage performances planned are light-and-sound presentations that promote the province rather than the film industry.

"The date is a coincidence. The ceremony has been rescheduled several times to accommodate airing times. We wanted to broadcast the show on Channel 7 as we have in the past, but finally only Channel 3 was available and only on February 9," Laksaya explains.

The awards will be presented tomorrow near the Suranaree Monument area in Nakhon Ratchasima.

The Critics awards will be announced on February 22 in a simple, brief ceremony at the Grand Hotel, Bangkok.

Parinyaporn Pajee

The Nation