On Saturday evening, to kick off the opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival’s 51st edition, a cluster of directors, producers, and other film insiders gathered at Thai Tavern downtown for an evening celebrating Thai cinema, co-hosted by Amazing Thailand and CULTURED. It’s the time of year when the film industry’s biggest players flock to eastern Canada to acquire movies, ink deals, and forge the connections necessary for their next project. So, spirits were high after a the world premieres of a number of Southeast Asian film productions including Always Lalisa, a documentary on K-pop superstar Lisa directed by Sue Kim, and Inherit, a chilling thriller by Shutter director Banjong Pisanthanakun.
The Occasion: Thailand’s jaw-dropping locations have been having quite a moment onscreen in recent years thanks to productions like The White Lotus season four and blockbusters like The Creator, which both filmed across the country. As a result, curious film and TV executives dropped in all night long to see what was going down in the room where the team was celebrating their latest location scouting initiative, Amazing Location: Scene to Scenic.
The Locale: Downtown Toronto may not hold a candle visually to the white sand beaches, lush jungles, and cosmopolitan streets of Thailand, but Thai Tavern brings a taste of Bangkok’s bustling pubs with warm wood paneling adorned with pop culture ephemera, including concert posters for the likes of Queen and Cher. A karaoke room kept the festivities going all night long.
The Crowd: Guests for the evening included TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey; TIFF Senior International Programmer Giovanna Fulvi; TIFF Southeast Asian Programming Lead June Kim; Shutter director Banjong Pisanthanakun; actor Enchong Dee; producers Cod Satrusayang, Marcus Hu, and Raymond Phathanavirangoon; Undertone director Ian Tuason; Four Seasons in Java director Kamila Andini; Ah Girl director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla; filmmaker Danaya Chulphuthiphong; and Chomwan Weeraworawit, a longtime champion of independent Thai cinema.
Food and Drink: Most festival-goers spend the weekend squeezing in a power bar or an apple in between screenings, but Saturday night, attendees were dining well on som tum, papaya salad prepared traditionally to-order in a mortar and pestle, and heaping bowls of tangy Khao soi. Trays of satay and other skewers whirled around the room while a central cornucopia burst with crudité, tapenade, and hand-carved fruit, a Thai tradition.
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