Award-winning Thai filmmaker Baz Poonpiriya (“One for the Road”, “Bad Genius,” “Countdown”) will direct the English language horror / mystery / thriller “The Innkeeper” for Peter Luo’s Starlight.
“The Innkeeper” is the first project hatched under Poonpiriya’s first look development deal with Starlight. Peter Luo (“Crazy Rich Asians” “Midway,” “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” “Marshall”) will produce the film.
Set against the backdrop of the Southeast Asian financial crisis in 1997, the thriller will evoke Poonpiriya’s unique and exceptional visual storytelling.
The finding of Noah’s disappeared twin brother in a desolate Thai hotel turns out to be the discovery of his own fear.
The scipt is written by Eakasit Thairath (“Phobia,” “Warrior King 2,” “Long Weekend”) and Baz Poonpiriya, with revisions by Logan Martin (“Meat”).
The film will be shot in both the U.S and Thailand in 2022.
Said Luo, “Baz’s work is boundary-breaking in many ways and ‘The Innkeeper’ is a film that will further demonstrate his unique visual storytelling gifts and wow audiences globally. We’re thrilled to have our longstanding collaboration deal and excited to make this our debut project together.”
Poonpiriya graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts in stage directing from Srinakharinwirot University. He worked on a variety of projects afterwards including television commercials and music videos before directing his first film, “Countdown” in 2012. This film won awards at the Thailand National Film Association Awards. “Bad Genius,” his second film, was selected as part of 2017’s Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival programming. The story about a high school student cheating at school and during an international exam really resonated with audiences. After its release in May 2017, “Bad Genius” became Thailand’s highest grossing film of the year, and hit # 2 at the Chinese box office. Poonpiriya won Best Director at the Thailand National Film Association Awards (2018).
