Seeking to protect boys, Thailand wants control over films

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Thailand says it is concerned filmmakers and media may take advantage of the young soccer boys who were rescued from a flooded cave, and wants to control how movies portray their ordeal and heroic rescue.

Culture Minister Vira Rojpochanarat said he will propose at next week’s Cabinet meeting that a special committee oversees the production of films, documentaries and videos related to the experiences of the 12 boys and their coach who were trapped in a cave for almost three weeks.

With the boys returning home, attention has turned to how the media are handling the post-rescue story. There has been criticism of several news outlets that are considered to have ignored official advice to leave the boys alone for at least a month to try to avoid the psychological stress that recounting their ordeal might trigger.

The 12 boys and their soccer coach who were rescued from a flooded cave arrive for a news conference in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Friday he had instructed officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to make sure the young soccer players and those associated with them are not bothered while they are going through a period of mental rehabilitation.

The rescue, carried out successfully against high odds, was a rare bit of feel-good news from Thailand. Even as the world watched the cave saga, a boat sinking off a southern resort island claimed almost 50 Chinese tourists.

The government’s Thailand Film Office already regulates the production of films shot in Thailand by foreign companies, including vetting scripts and issuing filming permits, but Vira said the committee would oversee content, licensing and the protection of privacy of the rescued team and their families.

Speaking after a film board meeting Thursday, Vira said that five foreign film production companies had shown interest in making a movie or documentary about the cave rescue and some had already been on location to collect information.

Thai film producers have also shown interest but have not yet contacted the government, Vira said.

The boys and coach of the Wild Boars soccer team were released from the hospital on Wednesday and at a news conference described how they got trapped in the cave, and after 10 days cut off from the outside world, were astonished to see two British divers rising from muddy waters and assuring them work was underway to rescue them.

“This (story) has all the right elements,” Vira said. “If you talk about drama associated with filmmaking, it has everything. It has loss as well as jubilation. The content and story it has for filmmaking are very complete. Even if you don’t create additional drama, these events had every flavor.”

Several murals and sculptures have already been commissioned to mark the epic cave adventure. Many focus on Saman Gunan, a former Thai navy SEAL who volunteered to help with the rescue effort and died while diving on a mission to supply the cave with oxygen tanks essential to helping the boys escape. Saman is being treated as a national hero.

(Cover: Some of the twelve Thai boys, rescued from a flooded cave after being trapped, arrive to attend a press conference in Chiang Rai, July 18, 2018. /VCG Photo )

Source(s): AP