FOCUS talks to Worateera Suvarnsorn of the Thailand Film Office

With a new dedicated film incentive in tow, Thailand looks set to take the international production industry by storm. We spoke to Worateera Suvarnsorn of the Thailand Film Office to hear about her plans for FOCUS 2017.

Worateera, you attended FOCUS 2016. What brings you and Thailand Film Office (TFO) back this year?

A great experience from last year tells me to beard the lion in his den. This international arena brings well-known professionals in the film industry to the same event. As you may know, Thailand is a film-friendly destination for foreign filmmakers and FOCUS is place where the TFO can meet and invite professionals with the similar interests, whether it be location managers, exhibitors or producers to consider Thailand for their next shoot.

Will you be putting special emphasis on promoting the new Thailand filming incentive at FOCUS 2017?

Of course, we just launched our incentive last year and we want more foreign filmmakers to be aware of the scheme. If they’re interested in cost-effective, standout locations with professional local crews for their productions, they will find Thailand’s incentive programme to be very appealing.

You launched the incentive with a 15% to 20% rebate for qualifying productions with a local spend of over USD1.4 million (THB50 million). Are there any planed changes for this incentive?

There shouldn’t be any changes for a while because the Thai Government has carefully considered the current model as a means to benefit both foreign filmmakers and our local economy. So far, the qualified applicants have been happy with what we offer.

The first production to benefit from the Thailand filming incentive was UK director Vicky Jewson’s action drama, Close. Have you had a big demand for the incentive since this first production?

Since the incentive scheme has been announced, we have continuously received inquiries from international film makers. So far, there are a number of productions eligible for our incentive. Given the current rate, at least 5 productions are expected to have applied for the incentive this year.

What was the most common question you received from producers at FOCUS last year about Thailand as a film location destination?

They usually wanted to know about the process of applying for filming permits, shooting locations in various regions in Thailand, as well as the incentive programme.

In the first quarter of 2017, 239 foreign productions filmed on location in Thailand; bringing revenue of over USD25 million. Has the rest of the year so far kept up that kind of pace?

It’s a pleasure to see that we have reached that momentum and it is likely that by the end of this year we will welcome more even more filmmakers and a greater revenue than last year.

In a sentence, how would you describe FOCUS to a producer thinking of attending FOCUS for the first time?

FOCUS is a perfect event where international film commissions can invite filmmakers from around the world to shoot in their own countries.

How do you like the FOCUS venue, exhibition layout, organisation and facilities?

The venue that is not too far from centre of the city, all types of exhibition and facilities should be gathered and well-organized in the same area, easy to access.

Thank you Tracy, I look forward to seeing you and the Thailand Film Office team at FOCUS.

FOCUS 2017 will take place at London’s Business Design Centre, December 5^th and 6^th. To register your attendance for the event, click here.

Mini bio:

Worateera Suvarnsorn currently the holds the position of Director at the Thailand Film Office. She earned a Bachelor of Communication Arts at Bangkok University in 1993 and earned Master of Business Administration (Marketing) from National University, USA in 1996. She has worked in various positions in the film and tourism industries. Before her tenure at the Thailand Film Office, Worateera served as the Chief of Academic and Tourism Business Protection Fund Section, Bureau of Tourism Business and Guide Registration, Department of Tourism.