Poj Arnon ( th, พชร์ อานนท์; formerly spelled: พจน์ อานนท์) is a Thai

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. He is best known for his 2007 film ''

Bangkok Love Story ''Bangkok Love Story'' ( th, เพื่อน...กูรักมึงว่ะ; ; literally "Friend ... I love you") is a 2007 Thai film written and directed by Poj Arnon. A gay romantic crime action drama, it is the story of a man who falls ...

'', that won him the Grand Prize (International Competition) at the

Brussels International Independent Film Festival The Brussels Independent Film Festival, previously known as the Brussels International Independent Film Festival, or le Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bruxelles, has taken place since 1974. It originally focused on Super 8 films ...

Biography

Career

Poj began his career in the 1980s as an advertising sales manager for ''Ter-Kab-Chan Magazine'', eventually becoming the magazine's chief editor. His work on the magazine enabled him to scout out and groom many of the Thai teen movie stars of the era. He started working in the

Thai film industry The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparke ...

in 1992, working as an assistant director on ''Sa-Daew-Haew'' by

Five Star Production Five Star Production Co. Ltd. ( th, ไฟว์สตาร์ โปรดักชั่น) is a Thai film production company. It was founded in 1973 by Kiat Iamphungphorn and is today headed by his children, Aphiradee and her younger brothe ...

. He made his directorial debut in 1995 with ''Crazy'', which was about a character from a Chinese martial arts television series who finds himself in the real world of modern-day

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Next was ''Bullet Teen'' (1998), a drama about four troubled urban youths. ''Go-Six'', his 2000 romantic drama about a love triangle involving a young man and two women was scandalous at the time because of the ambiguous sexuality of one of the women characters. Poj returned to the scene in 2003 with ''

Cheerleader Queens ''Cheerleader Queens'' ( th, ว้ายบึ้ม! เชียร์กระหึ่มโลก; aka ''I'm Lady'') is a 2003 Thai film directed by Poj Arnon. Plot Four kathoey—Mod, Som, Kam-pang and Wa-wa—move from a rural town to at ...

'', about a group of teenage Thai

transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

s, or

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 ...

, who become high school

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

. In 2004, he shifted to RS Film, again tackling kathoeys with the crime comedy '' Spicy Beauty Queen of Bangkok'', starring

Winai Kraibutr Winai Kraibutr ( th, วินัย ไกรบุตร; born June 16, 1969 in Krabi Province) is a Thai actor. He is from Krabi. He has appeared in a number of films that have achieved significant success at the Thai box office. He is cons ...

as the leader of a gang of transvestite bank robbers. He next moved to

Sahamongkol Film International Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. ( th, บริษัท สหมงคลฟิล์ม จำกัด, also Sahamongkolfilm, Mongkol Film or SM) is a Thai motion picture production and distribution company. It is the leading movie co ...

to direct the childhood drama '' Beautiful Wonderful Perfect'', about a girl who befriends a boy with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. Also entitled ''Er rer'', the film was critically acclaimed in Thailand and was screened at overseas film festivals. His followup was an action comedy, ''

Chai Lai ''Chai Lai'' ( th, ไฉไล, English title: ''Dangerous Flowers'' and also known as ''Chai Lai's Angels'') is a 2006 Thai action film about five female top-secret crimefighters, each with the codename of a flower, Lotus, Hibiscus, Rose, S ...

'', about five female crimefighters. Poj was back with Five Star Production in 2007 for '' Haunting Me'', a comedy horror film about a three aging kathoeys battling ghosts in their apartment building. Since 2007 he has directed more than ten additional movies.

Awards

*In 2007, Poj Arnon won the Grand Prize in the International Competition at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival for his film ''Bangkok Love Story''. *In 2008, he won the Best Screenplay prize for his film ''Bangkok Love Story'' at the

Thailand National Film Association Awards The Suphannahong National Film Awards ( th, รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์, also known as the Thailand National Film Association Awards) is the primary film award of the Thai film ...

Filmography

Director

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

: ''Crazy'' *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

: ''Bullet Teen'' *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

: ''Go-Six'' *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

: ''

'' *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

: ''Spicy Beauty Queen of Bangkok'' (''Plon naya'') *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

: '' Beautiful Wonderful Perfect'' (''Er rer'') *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

: ''

'' (''Dangerous Flowers'') *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: '' Haunting Me'' (''Hortaewtaek'') *

: ''

'' *

: '' The Three Cripples'' *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: '' Sassy Player'' *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: '' Sorry Saranghaeyo'' *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

: ''Small Ru Gu Naew'' *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: ''Make Me Shudder'' *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: ''Make Me Shudder 2:Shudder Me Mae Nak'' *

: ''Dangerous Boys'' *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

: ''Make Me Shudder 3'' *

: ''Iron Ladies Roar'' *

: ''There's Something About Tott'' (''Love Heaw Feaw Tott'') *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

: ''Joking Jazz 4G'' *

: ''The Fast And Furious 888'' *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

: '' Zombie Fighters'' (''Kud Krachak Krien'') *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

: '' Toot Too Ku Chart'' (''The Last Heroes'') *

: ''Joking Jazz 5G'' *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

: ''Pojaman Sawang Ka Ta'' *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

: ''Hor Taew Tak 8'' *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

: '' Tell the World I Love You''

Producer

: '' The Intruder''

Writer

* 2007: ''

'' * 2007: ''The Three Cripples'' * 2009: ''Sassy Player'' * 2010: '' The Intruder''

External links

*
Profile at Five Star Production
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnon, Poj Living people

Poj Arnon Poj Arnon ( th, พชร์ อานนท์; formerly spelled: พจน์ อานนท์) is a Thai film director. He is best known for his 2007 film '' Bangkok Love Story'', that won him the Grand Prize (International Competition) at ...

1970 births

LGBT film directors