Report: Inside Thai Night at the Cannes Film Festival 2025

For years now, Thai Night has been one of the most talked-about events at the Cannes Film Festival. Thailand has always had a very strong presence, featuring a host of receptions and talks at the Thai Pavilion, while Thai Night has become an event everyone wants to get in, as it blends together many things people come to Cannes for: glamour, diplomacy, business networking, and cinematic ambition, but also great Thai gastronomy and drinks. It’s not just a carefully orchestrated cultural and cinematic statement, it’s also a luxurious evening designed to position Thai cinema, talent, cuisine, creativity, and production expertise as an integral – and, some might say, indispensible - part of the global entertainment industry. Like every year, our team was present to enjoy a well-organised edition of what just might have been the smoothest-running Thai Night in years.

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2025 marks a notably ambitious year for Thai cinema, with several prestigious films and projects launched. Government representatives, filmmakers, producers, distributors, actors, investors, and international press gather here, some of them to cover and otherwise enjoy Thai cinema, others to look for worthwhile investments or – even more often – to find a budget or enticing incentives in a country that offers an attractive cash rebate percentage as well as lower professional crew and cast expenses than would be required in Hollywood and many other filmmaking countries.

A Celebration of Thai Cinema and Identity

As we enter the iconic ballroom at the Carlton Hotel, we notice that the QR codes of the invitees are scanned swiftly this time around, without many delays. As always, grifters and scammers try to find a way in by the dozens, but all of them – as far as we know – are swiftly caught and turned away, cutting the queus and making sure the guests who actually received a valid ticket get in more swiftly.

Inside, the opulence is evident. This is not just a networking reception; it is a curated cultural experience that fuses cinema with national identity. There is a stage and there is a dance performance, but it’s the entrance of the princess that truly makes a lasting impression – as it always is. Her speech is kept short and her presence is temporary, but it does lend a lot of credibility to the event, and it definitely raises the status effortlessly. Of course, it would be nice to hear the film executives who climb the stage to talk about their movies and production companies better over the background noise of hundreds enjoying their food and drinks once the princess leaves and the buffet opens, but it’s only a tiny criticism in what is otherwise an amazing celebration of Thai film.

The event emphasizes what Thai officials increasingly refer to as “soft power” — the strategic export of culture through entertainment, gastronomy, tourism, fashion, and storytelling. Thailand has spent recent years investing heavily in this approach, and it’s well-featured here.  

The Rise of Thai Cinema on the International Stage

Thai cinema has obviously undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. While the country has long been known internationally for horror films, martial arts productions, and genre cinema, recent years have seen Thai filmmakers gain increasing recognition at prestigious international festivals – an observation that is underscored thjis year, with the win of Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, whose A Useful Ghost manages to haul in the Grand Prize at Critics’ Week. Ut’s a politically charged ghost story that blends satire, supernatural symbolism, and commentary, and it’s a testament to a new kind of openness from all involved. We’re more than excited to find out what 2026 brings – on to next year’s edition!

Test: Dirk Vandereyken & Paula van Unen

Pictures: Ignace Thant