Thai film company to retell cave boy saga

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The world will soon experience the dramatic rescue of the 12 young footballers and their coach from a flooded Thai cave on the silver screen.

A Thai production company, called De Warrenne Pictures, has announced a film based on the nerve-wracking extraction of a football team through Thailand's treacherous Tham Luang cave in July.

According to reports, shooting for the film titled "The Cave," is scheduled to begin in November.

"The project is already set," producer Katrina Grose told AFP. The movie will be directed by Tom Waller – a Bangkok-based filmmaker of mixed Thai-Irish descent.

The operation to save the boys, who wandered into the cave after a football training session and got stuck as floodwaters surged in, involved expert cave divers from across the world.

They were found after 11 days, huddled on a muddy ledge without food or fresh water, floodwaters lapping ominously below them.

An ex-Thai Navy SEAL died in the run-up to the daring extraction of the group, who were heavily sedated as they were carried, pulled and dragged free from deep inside the cave.

There has been a frenzy of media interest in the extraordinary tale of human triumph over adversity.

Documentary makers and Hollywood producers have tussled to get films off the ground, with journalists also spinning book deals from the real-life rescue mission.

Initially after their rescue officials imposed a blanket ban on coverage, fearing for the boys' mental health with the world's media camped up in rural Thailand.

But efforts to shield the team have crumbled with TV networks jostling for interviews and the Thai junta organizing a seemingly endless stream of media events.

In one of the most bizarre events last Thursday, the boys were encouraged to crawl through a mock-up tunnel in a recreated cave in a Bangkok mega mall, where a zone has been dedicated to the rescue.

(Cover: "Thai cave" boys posing for a group photo at a media event /Photo by AFP)

Source(s): AFP