Filmmaker gets close to Asian pop band BNK48

Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit wasn’t sure whether to believe it when he was offered unfettered, behind-the-scenes access into the normally closely guarded and secretive world of one of Asia’s biggest pop idol bands, BNK48, pictured.

Turns out the director got closer than he could have ever dreamed.

“There were no restrictions placed on me,” said Nawapol, whose quirky arthouse films chronicling youth in the digital age have made him one of Thailand’s most beloved auteurs.

“I just sat the band members down in front of the camera and we started to talk to each other. For them it was like confessions, like therapy.”

The result is the engaging documentary BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry, which frames the rise of a Thai pop sensation from complete unknowns to having hundreds of millions of fans.

Previous documentaries on Asia’s pop idols have been carefully controlled by band management.

The film presents the young hopefuls of BNK48 and their real stories. – AFP