Many will associate Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun with his horror films such as Shutter, Alone and Pee Mak, but in the coming-of-age romance drama ‘One Day’, director Banjong ventures into a new genre for the first time - Romance.
“One Day” is a romantic film and is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time,” said Banjong at an interview session earlier today. “You’ve seen the romantic-comedy genre in ‘Hello Stranger', so this is something new. I hope to do a movie that will stay inside you, and that you’ll be thinking about it for a long time.”
He added: “ I want to be known for many genres, and not just one type of genre.”
“I have done romantic comedies in the past, and for this one, I didn’t want it to be of that genre, and more of it to be just a romance story, so the difficulty is holding back the comedic elements.”
(Watch the trailer for 'One Day'!)
The film was shot mainly in Hokkaido, Japan during its coldest season. For lead actors Ter Chantavit and Mew Nittha, filming in cold conditions that went down as low as -20°C posed as a huge challenge for them.
Ter, who previously starred in ‘Hello Stranger’ shared that his tongue went numb after a while. “After one or two takes, I couldn’t speak anymore! It was so cold. We had to stop for a break and and rest, before continuing the shoot.”
“I lost my voice,” echoed his co-star Mew, who makes her screen debut with ‘One Day’.
She added:” There’s definitely some kind of pressure because it’s after all, my first movie. The workshops were a bit stressful for me because I was still exploring and find my character but once I did, everything just flowed nicely. Ter and I got to know each other better, which helped a lot too.”
Ter co-wrote the script with Banjong, where they shared that the story’s inspiration came from a real-life neurological condition called ‘Transient Epileptic Amnesia’, also known as (TEA).
“(The topic) was something I could use as a story, which had not been touched on any movies before. Another reason was because I wanted a romantic film that will touch hearts, and a relationship that will last for only one day is somewhat sad yet romantic. And the snow in Hokkaido - the process of how it melts away- all ties in together nicely.
One Day opens InCinemas 27 Oct 2016!
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