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"Movies are as much a niche product as coffee, and as much a business proposition," said Brunner, who recently completed his first feature film, "Bitter Sweet", which uses the coffee industry as the background to a multinational love story.

The film was shot in the rarely seen coffee plantations of Krabi, with the closing shots in Brunner's own coffee-making plant. Inspired by "Sideways", which boosted the sales of Merlot and Pinot Noir wines, Brunner wanted the same result for coffee.

The Boncafe factory in Thailand sells 1,000 tonnes of coffee domestically, with an annual turnover of US$20 million (Bt712 million).

Brunner has converted one of his holding companies - Angel & Bear - into a movie production unit, and for "Bitter Sweet" teamed up with a couple of American production companies, including Jon Karas's Capitol Motion Pics.

The latter will supervise the film's sale in the US, while Brunner plans to handle the film's release in Thailand.

The film is set for its North American premiere today at the WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival.

"We have also spoken to sales agents in other countries, and are targeting all markets that are commercially viable, including DVD, cable and satellite," said Brunner.

"Bitter Sweet" was entirely shot in Thailand, including the post-production work.

It has a big Thai-American cast, including popular Thai names like Napakpapha (Mamee) Nakprasit and Akara Amarttayakul, and James Brolin and Kip Pardue from Hollywood. To make the film more marketable, pop-singer Tata Young makes a guest appearance. It is directed by American director Jeff Hare, who promised to come back to Thailand for the next film.

Karas of Capitol Motion Pics has just completed shooting his second film in Thailand, "Shadows", with a Thai-American cast, including Hollywood star William Hurt.

Brunner plans "to continue making Thai films with a multinational cast, in order to target the international market". Their common feature will be that all the films will be set and shot in Thailand, with a Thai crew.

Brunner said that, in spite of the high rates of the Hollywood stars, which can range between 5 per cent to 50 per cent of the film's production cost, it was still "extremely cost-effective" to make a film in Thailand.

"Bitter Sweet" was made within a budget of $5 million, including some expensive aerial shots. The movie was shot with the new HD-Sony Red Cam, which also helped to cut costs.

"I'm aiming at both the festival circuit and the commercial circuit, which I'm told is contradictory," Brunner said. "But I'm a businessman and I love challenges. Besides, a small film like 'Slumdog Millionaire', which made big money, has given us all hope."