The Adventure of Sudsakorn was not only the first but also, for now, the last feature-length cel animation produced in Thailand. Written and directed by Payut Ngaokrachang, the father of Thai animation, the surreal fable was based on Phra Aphai Mani, a 30,000-line epic by the Thai poet Sunthorn Phu in the 19th century.

The story follows Sudsakorn, the son of a mermaid, as he embarks on a journey in search of his father Phra Apaimanee, with the magical Nilmangkorn horse as his steed. Taking more than two years to complete, the 82-minute hand-drawn creation started off with 100 illustrators working day and night for the first six months; soon, only nine remained due to insufficient funding. Payut, even though he was losing his eyesight, did the key drawings, layout, and design himself. Due to financial difficulties and the director’s health issues, the film eventually came to a forced end where Sudsakorn failed to meet his father.

The screening on 5 August will be accompanied by a post-screening talk with Chalida Uabumrungjit, Director of the Thai Film Archive, and rarely seen behind-the-scenes footage showing Payut and his students taking inspirations on an island for swimming scenes.

Payut Ngaokrachang (1929–2010) is known as a pioneer of Thai animation. Taking an interest in nang drama (shadow puppet plays) and Felix the Cat at a young age, he started conceptualising his first animation in 1955 while recovering from illness. As a result, Haed Mahasajan (The Miracle Incident) (1955) was born. The work caught the attention of the US Embassy, which later hired him to create anti-communism animation such as Hanuman Pachoenpai Krangmai (The New Adventures of Hanuman) (1958) and Dek Kab Mee (A Child and a Bear) (1959). After releasing The Adventure of Sudsakorn (1979), Payut dedicated his life to education and passing down valuable knowledge to future generations.