Early career After graduating from
Assumption University in 1971, Bhandit became a journalist for
The Nation, an English-language daily newspaper that had just been started by some Thai journalists. Among the stories he covered was the 14 October 1973 uprising (see
History of Thailand (1932-1973)). In 1975, he became a film critic and screenwriter, which eventually led to a career as a director. He made his first film
Khad Cheak, in 1984. In 1987 he made
Duay Klao (
The Seed), a drama about farmers in the north of
Thailand hit by drought. The movie starred folksinger
Jarun Manopetch and won the best picture and best actor honors at the
Thailand National Film Awards.
The Seed was remastered and re-released in 2006 to commemorate the
60th anniversary of the accession of King
Bhumibol Adulyadej. This is the only
Thai film made to date to specifically address King Bhumibol's cloud seeding program. As well other Thai royal projects are depicted in the film. The re-released film also featured a new score of compositions by the king. Other films by Bhandit include
Classmates, which won best picture, best director and best screenplay in 1990;
I Miss You, winner of best picture, best director and best screenplay in 1993, and
Once Upon a Time, the hit comedy film series
Boonchoo. His drama,
Kalla khrung nueng ... muea chao nee (
Once Upon a Time ... This Morning), won awards for best director and best screenplay and was submitted as
Thailand's Best Foreign Language Film for the
68th Academy Awards in 1995.
The Moonhunter Bhandit became controversial in 2001 with the release of
The Moonhunter (
14 tula, songkram prachachon or
14 October: War of the People), a biographical film about 1970s
Thammasat University student activist and communist rebel
Seksan Prasertkul, who co-wrote the screenplay. The English title refers to an episode when Seksan was fighting in the jungles of Thailand and, one night, startled by the rise of the moon, he fired his rifle at it. The
Censorship Board banned the film's trailer, which included
stock footage from 14 October 1973 student uprising, with soldiers and policemen beating up unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators. Bhandit then vowed to not release the film if the board made any cuts, but the board responded that Bhandit was simply using the censorship review process as a means of generating publicity for his film. As it turned out, the film was released without any cuts, a sign, Bhandit said, that Thai society was maturing. The film was
submitted by Thailand for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Subsequent films, the
CGI-heavy
The Tigress of King River, the
science fiction film,
Ukkabat (
Meteor) and the swashbuckling
period film,
The Magnificent Five generated neither controversy nor critical acclaim. Despite health problems including
diabetes and a heart attack, Bhandit continued to work. "What else I can do? Run a noodle shop?" the director was quoted as saying by
The Nation in 2006. "I have to work. I don't have much time because a director of my age is going to be out of fashion soon." In 2008, he made a critical and commercial comeback with
Boonchu 9, which revived his hit teen comedy series highlighting the clash of rural and urban cultures. In 2009, he released the teen romance
A-Nueng Kidthueng Pen Yang Ying, reviving his earlier
Miss You series. He also directed
Maha Nakorn, one of nine shorts by different directors in the
Sawasdee Bangkok anthology. It premiered as the closing film on 30 September 2009 at the 2009 Bangkok International Film Festival, just one day before his death. He was also at work on
Boonchu 10, which studio
Five Star Production planned to go ahead and complete. ==Partial filmography==