Village Roadshow vet Thai'd to GMT
Dibbayawan takes helm of startup
After a major management disagreement, Dibbayawan was ousted as senior VP at Thailand's Entertain Golden Village. EGV, Thailand's largest screener, is a joint venture between Village Roadshow and the Thai Poolvoralaks family.
GMT will act as sales agent for Asian films. It will push a new slate of pics from Mongkol Films, the territory's biggest independent distributor and exhib. With the recent success of Thai product in the international marketplace, Mongkol has relaunched its production arm, budgeted for eight to 10 films a year.
Content is king
Australian Dibbayawan, who worked for Village for six years, sees a global demand for alternative product. "At the end of the day, whatever platform you work in, content is what everyone is looking for," he said.
GMT's first project is international sales for "Suriyothai," a three-hour Thai historical epic helmed by Chatri Chalerm Yukol. Pic, which reportedly cost $20 million, making it the most expensive Thai film ever, will be released locally Aug. 17.
