Manta Ray
- Feature
- 2018
- 105 Minutes
- Thailand, France, China
- Language: Thai
At the foot of the French alps, students at the renowned Lesdiguières Hotel School are on track to become chefs, headwaiters and housekeepers for the world’s most prestigious hotels and restaurants.
Director: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Screenwriter: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Production Company: Youku Pictures, Diversion, Les Films de L'Etranger, Mit Out Sound Films
Premier Status: Regional premiere
Film Critic
End of mistake
Manouchehr Dinparast
Manta Ray is a richly layered humanist tale of friendship that brings your attention to the plight of the most persecuted minority on earth. Near a coastal village of Thailand, by the sea where thousands of Rohingya refugees have drowned, a local fisherman finds an injured man lying unconscious in the forest. He rescues the stranger, who does not speak a word, offers him his friendship and names him Thongchai. When the fisherman suddenly disappears at sea, Thongchai slowly begins to take over his friend’s life – his house, his job, and his ex-wife. The film endeavors to relate the desperate conditions of Muslims’ massacres in Rohingya but to reduce the violence and aggression, it inevitably leans on a story to recount.
Photos
Awards
2018: Zagreb Film Festival, Special Mention, Feature Film, Winner, Croatia2018: Venice Film Festival, Venice Horizons Award, Best Film, Winner, Italy
2018: Thessaloniki Film Festival, Best Director, Winner, Greece
Cast and Crew
Screenwriter: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
DOP / Camera: Nawarophaat Rungphiboonsophit
Editor: Lee Chatametikool, Harin Paesongthai
Music: Christine Ott, Mathieu Gabry
Sound: Chalermrat Kaweewattana
Production Designer: Sarawut Karwnamyen
Producer: Mai Meksawan, Philippe Avril
Cast: Wanlop Rungkumjad, Aphisit Hama, Rasmee Wayrana
Director
Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Phuttiphong Aroonpheng was born in Thailand in 1976. He studied fine arts at Bangkok’s Silpakorn University and filmmaking at New York’s Digital Film Academy. He has directed several experimental shorts and mid-length films including Ferris Wheel (2015). Manta Ray is his feature directorial debut.