''The Iron Ladies'' ( th, สตรีเหล็ก or ''Satree lek'') is a 2000 Thai

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun and written by Visuttchai Boonyakarnjawa and Jira Maligool. It was Thongkonthun's directorial debut. The film follows the true events of a men's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team, composed mainly of gay and

kathoey ''Kathoey'' or ''katoey'' ( th, กะเทย; ) is an identity used by some people in Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminate gay men in other cases. Transgender wom ...

(

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

) athletes. In 2003, the combined sequel and

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

called ''The Iron Ladies 2'' (Satree Lek 2) was released. The film is based upon how the characters of ''The Iron Ladies'' met, and how they would later reunite for another volleyball tournament.

Plot

The film was released in 2000 and is set in 1996, when the real team competed and won the national championships in Thailand. The two main characters, Mon and Jung, play two gay transvestites, who had been constantly overlooked by volleyball coaches because of their appearance. However, when a local team changes coaches, the new coach holds tryouts for a new team. When Mon and Jung are selected, most of the old players resign, leaving the new coach, Coach Bee, in a sticky predicament. Mon and Jung are then forced to enlist the help of other gay and transsexual friends who they used to play volleyball with in university. These new players include Wit, who hasn't told his fiancée he is gay, Pia, a transsexual dancer and Nong, a gay army conscript. When the competition begins, all but one player in the team are gay or transsexual. Because of their appearance on court, many of the match officials intend to ban the team, soon dubbed "The Iron Ladies", from the tournament. However, seeing how much the team is liked by the crowd soon changes many of their opinions. At the end credits of the film, the real "Iron Ladies" are shown as they were at the time of making the film.

Cast

* Jesdaporn Pholdee – Chai * Sahaphap Tor – Mon * Chaicharn Nimpulsawasdi – Jung * Giorgio Maiocchi – Nong * Ekachai Buranapanit – Wit * Kokkorn Benjathikoon – Pia * Shiriohana Hongsopon – Coach Bee * Phomsit Sitthijamroenkhun – April * Sutthipong Sitthijamroenkhun – May * Anucha Chatkaew – June * Kittipat Samarntragulchai - Dao

Reception

The film grossed 99 million

Baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...

(US$3,000,000) in Thailand. It was the first Thai film to be released commercially in the United States.

Accolades

A hit in Thailand as well as the international film festival circuit, the film has been nominated twelve times and won ten awards, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards,

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

and the reader award of German

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

magazine Siegessäule at the Berlin International Film Festival. It also played at the

Pusan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

, the

San Francisco Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...

, the

Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, the

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...

, the Seattle International Film Festival, the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the Swedish International Comedy Film Festival.

References

External links

* * * *
The Iron Ladies
' at the Thai Film Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Ladies, The 2000 films Kathoey Comedy films based on actual events Sports films based on actual events Thai LGBT-related films 2000s sports comedy films 2000 LGBT-related films 2000s sex comedy films Thai-language films Transgender-related films Volleyball films Thai sports films Thai national heritage films Films set in 1996 2000 comedy films 2001 comedy films 2001 films Films directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon LGBT-related films based on actual events