How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)
by Josh Kim
Thailand/Hong Kong/USA/Indonesia 2015, 80 min
What can you do to change your fate?
On the morning of the annual military draft lottery, Oat reflects on his childhood, to the time when his older brother Ek faced the same exercise. While the parents of his wealthy boyfriend are able to maneuver their son out of the draw, Ek, part of the lower class, has no options. Unable to convince his brother to do whatever he can to change his fate, young Oat takes matters into his own hands, resulting in unexpected circumstances.
Awards
Audience Award for Favorite Narrative Feature - LAAPFF 2015
Special Mention - Torino GLBT FF 2015
Best International First Feature - Toronto Inside Out LGBT FF 2015
Best International Feature - Filmout San Diego LGBT FF 2015
Audience Award - TLVFest 2015
Best Narrative Feature - Long Beach QFilm Festival 2015
Youth Jury Award for Best Film - Oslo/Fusion IFF 2015
Jury Award for Best Feature - Out on Film Atlanta LGBT FF 2015
Jury Award for Best Director (Josh Kim) - Out on Film Atlanta LGBT FF 2015
Audience Award for Best Film - Ljubljana LGBT FF 2015
Best Supporting Actor (Ingkarat Damrongsakkul) - Thai National Film Association Awards 2016
Best Narrative Feature Award, Best Performance in a Lead Role (Ingkarat Damrongsakkul) - KASHISH Mumbai International Queer FF 2016
Jury Award - Nara IFF 2016
Festivals
World Premiere: Berlinale Panorama 2015
Asian Premiere: Hong Kong IFF 2015
US Premiere: Los Angeles Asian Pacific FF 2015
Dutch premiere: CinemAsia FF 2015
Italian Premiere: Turin GLFF 2015 & Udine Far East FF 2015
Korean Premiere: Jeonju IFF 2015
Filmout San Diego LGBT FF 2015
UK Premiere: Edinburgh IFF 2015
Prague Pride 2015
Frameline 2015
Israeli Premiere: TLVFest 2015
Indonesian Premiere: Q! FF 2015
Greek Premiere: Athens IFF 2015
Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay FF 2015
Bali IFF 2015
Norwegian Premiere: Oslo/Fusion IFF 2015
Taiwan International Queer FF 2015
Mezipatra GLFF 2015
Danish Premiere: MIX Copenhagen FF 2015
Iris Prize FF 2015
Perlen Hannover 2015
Slovak Premiere: Slovak Queer FF 2015
Philippine Premiere: QCinema IFF 2015
Spanish Premiere: Valladolid IFF 2015
Seoul Pride FF 2015
LesGaiCineMad 2015
Reeling Chicago LGBT FF 2015
Latin American Premiere: Mix Brazil 2015
Indian Premiere: Kolkata IFF 2015
AndaLesGai 2015
Singapore IFF 2015
Echoes FF 2015
Slovenian Premiere: Ljubljana GLFF 2015
International Queer & Migrants FF 2015
Chennai IFF 2016
&PROUD Yangon LGBT FF 2016
Bengaluru IFF 2016
Australian Premiere: Mardi Gras FF 2016
Brisbane Queer FF 2016
Canary Island LGBTIQ FF 2016
Finnish Premiere: Cine Aasia FF 2016
Melbourne Queer FF 2016
Queergestreift Festival 2016
Cinhomo LGBT IFF 2016
Hungarian Premiere: Titanic FF Budapest 2016
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer FF 2016
Japanese Premiere: Tokyo GLFF
Nara IFF 2016
Tyneside Cinema 2016
GAZE Dublin FF 2016
Uruguay Premiere: Llamale H
Delémont-Hollywood FF 2016
Swedish Premiere: Flimmer Norrkoping FF 2016
Kino Soprus - Generation Film 2016
Holebi FF 2016
Nara IFF Special Feature Film Screenings 2017
Santo Domingo OutFest 2017
Asia on Screen FF 2018
Malmö Queer FF 2018
Cast & Crew
Toni Rakkaen, Thira Chutikul, Arthur Navarat, Natarat Lakha, Belle Nanthita Khamphiranon, Kowit Wattakul, Ingkarat Damrongsakkul
Production: Add Word Productions, Chris Lee Productions, Electric Eel Films in association with Hidden Rooster Films
Josh Kim
Josh Kim is a Korean-American filmmaker currently based in Asia. Born in Texas on 23rd April 1981, he started production as an intern at NPR in Washington DC and later moved to CNN in Hong Kong. In 2010, he worked as Associate Producer on the Korean remake of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2010. He has since directed videos for Google, UEFA and Elite Models. Recently, he founded a micro-documentary web-series project called Google Glass Diaries which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Fast Company. How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) marks his feature film directorial debut.
