Latest news with #DavikaHoorne
CNA
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Thai film A Useful Ghost wins top prize at Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week
– one of three "made-with-Singapore" films at this year's Cannes Film Festival – took home the Grand Prix Ami Paris trophy, the top prize at the annual event's Critics' Week. Critics' Week, or Semaine de la Critique, is a section dedicated to discovering and promoting new talent. It is a parallel section of the main 78th Cannes Film Festival, which runs until May 24 in France. Inspired by the popular ghost story in Thai folklore, Mae Nak, A Useful Ghost is directed by Thailand's Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke and co-produced by Singapore-based Momo Film Co, along with French and German counterparts. Starring Thai actors Davika Hoorne and Witsarut Himmarat, the film is about a wife who dies due to dust pollution and unexpectedly returns in the form of a vacuum cleaner unravelling an unconventional human-ghost love story. Singaporeans involved in the film include sound designer Lim Ting Li and product designer Sim Hao Jie. According to a press release by Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA), Tan Si En, co-producer for this film and founder of Momo Film Co, said before the film's win: "It's incredible to have A Useful Ghost selected for Cannes Critics' Week which has always supported strong directorial voice, originality, and bold storytelling. 'I'm proud to see Southeast Asian storytelling resonate on such a global stage.' The film received support from IMDA's Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant under its Media Talent Progression Programme. The Singapore release date for this film will be announced later. The other "made-with-Singapore" films are Renoir and Before The Sea Forgets, which were partially produced with Singapore grants or with homegrown talents. The former, directed by Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa and co-produced by Singapore-based Akanga Film Asia, is in the festival's main competition and competing for the top Palme d'Or award. It received IMDA support via its Go-Global Grant, also under its Media Talent Progression Programme. The latter is a short film by Vietnamese director Le Ngoc Duy, which was produced by Singapore production houses 13 Little Pictures and WBSB Films. It's part of Directors' Fortnight, another section in the festival.
Geek Vibes Nation
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
'A Useful Ghost' Review - A Sentimental, Absurd Take On Grief
The Cannes Film Festival is often littered with under-the-radar gems. It's a place where unique ideas can be showcased on one of the biggest stages the film industry has to offer. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's feature directorial debut, A Useful Ghost , is a perfect example of these overshadowed films. The film follows Nat (Davika Hoorne), the recently deceased wife of March (Wisarut Himmarat), as her ghost possesses a vacuum cleaner to keep him safe from the dust epidemic that took her own life. Yes, you read that right. Nat's ghost possesses a vacuum cleaner. This is only the premise of Boonbuchachoke's zany film, but the approach is more sincere than it may sound. The first half of the film shows Nat comforting March and acts more as a family drama than anything else. March's family despised Nat when she was among the living, and hates her even more now as she embodies the vacuum cleaner. Their love is so strong that it supersedes the classic 'till death do us part' vow made in weddings. Before we meet Nat and her vacuum cleaner, the film establishes the existence of ghosts through various appliances being possessed by dead workers at March's mother Suman's (Apasiri Nitibhon) factory. The deadpan reactions from most of the factory workers show that this isn't necessarily a novel encounter in this world. These ghosts exist all around us, and their schemes are more disruptive than frightening. Courtesy of Cannes Boonbunchachoke's ability to balance the absurdism of his premise with sincerity is unbelievable. I came into this film expecting a more thought-out version of Rubber (2010) but was left with much, much more. Don't get me wrong, there is a heightened Rubber -esque quality once the film shifts from its family drama towards the end, but there are compelling emotional beats that help it soar above other similar films. At various points in the film, we see through March's eyes and Nat's vacuum cleaner transforms back into her body, and these are the most poignant moments. Hoorne's performance is incredibly moving, wanting only to be with March and protect him from the dust ailments that killed her. Her portrayal of love towards March and hurt when others try to keep them apart is crushingly raw and is the emotional core of the film. I will admit, the sincerity of the film's first half works better than the absurdism found in the second, but they still work together in an odd kind of way. It's a testament to the team's control over the material that it never completely falls apart. The premise is unique enough to carry the film through its less cohesive moments. 'Old Guy' (2025) Review - A Tried And True Formula Lacks Excitement Courtesy of Cannes A Useful Ghost explores some important themes, particularly looking into grief and how those who leave us are still with us somehow. Of course, the script takes it to extremes, but these themes still resonate. For March, the only thing that can make him well is anything that reminds him of Nat. He barely had time to grieve her before she reappeared in cleaning appliance form. Holding on for too long removes his ability to process his pain and move past this, only prolonging the healing process. In turn, Nat can't let her soul rest until she sees that March is safe from the dust and any other ghosts that may wish him harm. Their love for each other is admirable, but it is keeping them from moving on from the pain they feel. It's also nice to think about our loved ones staying with us somehow when they've passed on. This is a bit more interference than I would want from someone in the spirit realm, but Nat is certainly looking out for March better than any of his living relatives do. Overall, A Useful Ghost succeeds in its goals of approaching grief in a goofy yet sentimental way. Boonbunchachoke is certainly an up-and-coming director to watch out for in the coming years, and it will be fun to see him create an even tighter narrative. A Useful Ghost held its World Premiere in the Critics' Week section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Director: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke Screenwriter: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke Rated: NR Runtime: 130m
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
One To Watch: Why Davika Hoorne Left Her 'Comfort Zone' To Play A Haunted Hoover In ‘A Useful Ghost'
'I've never been a vacuum cleaner before… it's very out of my comfort zone,' says Thai model and actress Davika Hoorne on her role in Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's Cannes Critics' Week title A Useful Ghost. She plays a woman who dies of dust pollution and then returns as a ghost in the form of a vacuum cleaner, determined to save her family from a similar fate. 'I had to get to know the vacuum cleaner, my partner,' says Hoorne, adding she put herself in the hands of the director to pull off the performance. 'His picture was very clear. There was a bit of improv but mostly it was what he wanted.' More from Deadline Scarlett Johansson On Why The Script For Her Directorial Debut 'Eleanor The Great' Made Her Cry: 'It's About Forgiveness' – Cannes Cover Story 'Bono: Stories Of Surrender': On Irish Fathers & Sons, Processing Family Tragedy & How A Need To Be Heard Propelled A Dublin Kid To Become One Of The World's Biggest Rock Stars Kering & Cannes Film Festival To Honor Brazilian Filmmaker Marianna Brennand With Prestigious Women In Motion Prize Alongside Nicole Kidman At Glitzy Sunday Night Soiree RELATED: It is not the first time Hoorne—who is one of Thailand's best-known actresses and influencers with strong followings on Instagram and TikTok—has played a ghost. Having forged a successful career as a model, she broke through as an actress in 2013 Thai folklore-inspired horror comedy Pee Mak, playing a woman called Nak, who dies while her husband is away at war but remains in their village to welcome him back. Pee Mak remains Thailand's all-time second highest grossing feature. RELATED: Hoorne's performance won her the epithet of 'Thailand's most beautiful ghost' and she has since starred in a string of mainstream shows and movies, including My Ambulance, Heart Attack, Astrophile and The Empress of Ayodhaya. Lead produced by Cattleya Paosrijareon and Soros Sukhum at Bangkok-based 185 Films, the credits of which also include Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria and Kristen Tan's Pop Aye, A Useful Ghost marks quite a departure for Hoorne. 'I'm incredibly thankful for this opportunity, but I admit it's crazy that I accepted it. It's not something you usually see in Thailand,' she says. 'I normally do stories that are predictable, that make money, but this one is fulfilling my actress energy. The team working on it is incredible and so many people were rooting for it to get made. The first time I read the script, I said yes right away. I felt the movie had the potential to go far, and even if it doesn't, I'm still very proud of this project.' As well as introducing Hoorne to audiences outside of Asia, traveling to Cannes with A Useful Ghost also fulfils a long-held ambition for the actress, who says she has turned down offers to walk the festival's red carpet as a model in the past. 'A lot of people go there for the fame, for the fashion, but I told myself that I'm not going to walk the red carpet without a movie. I've been waiting for 10 years, and now this is like a dream come true.' Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? Everything We Know About Ari Aster's 'Eddington' So Far
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes Critics' Week Winners: Thai Film ‘A Useful Ghost' & ‘Imago' Take Top Prizes
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's zany romantic drama A Useful Ghost has won the top prize at Cannes Critics' Week. The feature, which is the first Thai film to play in the parallel section for a number of years, won the inaugural AMI Paris Grand Prize. More from Deadline 'A Useful Ghost' Teaser: Thai Star Davika Hoorne Makes Cannes Debut As Deceased Wife Who Returns As Vacuum Cleaner One To Watch: Why Davika Hoorne Left Her 'Comfort Zone' To Play A Haunted Hoover In 'A Useful Ghost' Carla Simón's 'Romería' Gets 11-Minute Ovation In Cannes Debut This year's jury was presided over by Spanish director Rodrigo Sorogoyen (The Beasts, Riot Police, The New Years), who was joined by Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah UK actor Daniel Kaluuya, Moroccan journalist Jihane Bougrine, French-Canadian cinematographer Josée Deshaies and Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara. A Useful Ghost co-stars top Thai actress, model and influencer Davika Hoorne as Nat, a woman who dies of dust pollution and then returns as a ghost in the form of a vacuum cleaner, determined to save her family from a similar fate. The feature, which is the first Thai film to play in the parallel section for a number of years, won the inaugural AMI Paris Grand Prize. The movie co-stars top Thai actress, model and influencer Davika Hoorne as Nat, a woman who dies of dust pollution and then returns as a ghost in the form of a vacuum cleaner, determined to save her family from a similar fate. Witsarut Himmarat plays her husband March, whose wealthy manufacturing family reject this unconventional human-ghost relationship. In other prizes, the French Touch Prize of the Jury went to France-based Chechen director Deni Oumar Pitsaev's Imag The autobiographical documentary explores the director's plans to build a futuristically designed house at odds with the landscape and local traditions on a small plot of land in a Georgian valley at the foot of the Caucasus, on the border of Chechnya. Quebecois actor Théodore Pellerin won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for his performance in Pauline Loquès's Nino, about a young drifter, who spends three days wandering the streets after losing the keys to his apartment. Leitz Cine Discovery Prize for short film was won by Randa Maroufi's L'mina, about an unofficial coal mining town in Morocco. In collateral prizes, Shih-Ching Tsou's Left-Handed Girl won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution, which will support the French release of the film by Le Pacte. The SACD Award for best screenplay went to director Guillermo Galoe and Victor Alonso-Berbel for Sleepless City, on which they took co-writing credits. The Canal+ Award for short film went to Erogenesis de by Xandra Popescu Best of Deadline Every 'The Voice' Winner Since Season 1, Including 9 Team Blake Champions Everything We Know About 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' So Far 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Malay Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Thailand's wild LGBTQ ghost romp ‘A Useful Ghost' bags top Critics' Week prize at Cannes
CANNES, May 22 — Film director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, who won a top prize at the Cannes Festival on Wednesday, recruited a major influencer for his off-the-wall gay comedy with a political punch. In A Useful Ghost, Davika 'Mai' Hoorne — a model and actor with 18 million followers on Instagram — plays a woman who returns from the dead and haunts a vacuum cleaner to comfort her husband. The film features sexy ghosts and a brawl between electrical appliances, but is also a meditation on sweeping unpleasant political events under the carpet. It won the top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section of Cannes film festival on Wednesday. In Thailand, LGBTQ love or coming-out stories are common, Ratchapoom told AFP during the festival. 'But I want queer characters to do more than that, to do more politics as well,' he said. 'We need more diverse queer stories to be told.' In his wacky satire, the ghost's in-laws are at first deeply displeased that she has returned, but then they put her to work hunting down another lost soul disturbing the family factory. A minister takes note of her talent, and brings her in to find and terminate the dissident ghosts that are haunting his home, including people killed in real-life deadly protests. In 2010, more than 90 people were killed, the vast majority of them civilians, when the army cracked down on so-called 'Red Shirt' protests demanding new elections after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a coup. 'Very brave' After the demonstrations, there was 'a lot of debris, mess on the street and the city of Bangkok started this campaign to cleanse' it, the filmmaker said. People with water and brooms appeared out of nowhere 'to cleanse the blood, the dirt... all the evidence, and I found it pretty weird'. He recounted once reading a story about authorities cutting down a mango tree to ensure no one would remember an officer executing a suspected Communist under it. 'In Thailand, the state always tries to erase something they don't like,' he said. The film's lead actress Davika — who also starred as a ghost more than a decade ago in Thailand's highest-grossing film Pee Mak — is among his fans. You have to be 'very brave to shoot this kind of story, to speak up globally', she said. 'Because in Thailand, most of us are not allowed to say this,' she added, without elaborating. Thaksin, some of whose supporters were killed in 2010, returned from exile to Thailand in 2023, with his party taking over government that year and his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra becoming prime minister the following year. He remains popular with his support base, but he has long been disliked by Thailand's pro-royalist and military establishment. Thaksin is due to appear in court in July in a royal defamation case. Thailand legalised same-sex marriage in January, the largest nation in Asia to do so. — AFP
