‘Bad Genius' director Baz Poonpiriya, GDH launch strategic creative house Bask

Bad Genius director Baz Poonpiriya and Thailand’s GDH 559 have partnered to form strategic creative house Bask for global productions, partnering with Justin Lin as executive producer and Anita Gou as producer.

The new venture aims to offer a fresh perspective on Thai and Asian culture for global audiences. “Our mission is to support Asian filmmakers, giving a voice to those who are often overlooked and making sure they are heard and seen both behind and in front of the camera,” Baz told our sister site Screen.

On its debut slate are a string of in-development projects with Thai filmmakers attached. The first two projects will be directed by Baz and co-developed, co-financed and co-produced separately by Anita Gou’s US-based Kindred Spirit and Perfect Storm Entertainment, Justin Lin’s vehicle behind the Fast & Furious franchise.

Gou is known as the producer of Lulu Wang’s award-winning The Farewell and most recently served as producer of Taiwanese film Locust, which premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week in May.

One of the two Baz-directed projects will be set in Thailand and the other will be produced outside the country. While further details have yet to be revealed, Baz told Screen: “Both projects will focus on shedding light on the often unknown or unspoken issues within Asian cultures or the challenges faced by minorities around the world.”

He added that he believes audiences now crave authentic storytelling. “People want to see narratives that genuinely reflect the experiences and cultures of those who live them,” he said. “With Bask, we celebrate cultural diversity and make sure that voices behind these stories are the ones guiding their portrayal, building a deeper connection and understanding among global audiences.”

The new company will be spearheaded by Vanridee Pongsittisak, the renowned producer behind many GDH and GMM Tai Hub (GTH)’s box office success such as Pee Mak, Bad Genius, Love Destiny and recent breakout hit How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies. She will oversee creative direction and script development along with Baz and will take part as producer in some of the projects.

Baz, also credited as Nattawut Poonpiriya in his films, was a TV commercial and music video director before making his 2012 feature debut Countdown for GTH. After garnering both critical and commercial success for his second feature, high school cheating thriller Bad Genius, which took $38m at the global box office, he directed One For The Road, which was produced by Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai and won a special jury award for creative vision at Sundance in 2021.

Baz recently attended the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) for the premiere of GDH’s Not Friends, the first film that he produced for other directors.

GDH, which unveiled a slate of 10 films earlier this week, will handle distribution in Thailand for Bask, while international sales will depend on the projects and partners.

This story originally appeared on our sister site Screen

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