Enter ‘The Paradise of Thorns’ with director Boss Kuno and lead actors Jeff Satur and Engfa Waraha

“It’s a film about class, about the rich and the poor. If we want to focus on farmers or agriculture in Thailand, what would that look like? We thought of durians—Thailand’s most expensive fruit, the king of fruits. It may seem like typical farming, but when sold, it can make millions and turn someone into a near-millionaire.”

Boss continued, “The film’s atmosphere revolves around characters growing durians in Mae Hong Son, a province with one of the highest poverty rates in Thailand. So, we asked ourselves—what if we tell the story of farmers cultivating Thailand’s most expensive fruit in its poorest province? What would happen then?”

Once the setting was established, Boss shared the thought process behind the narrative. “We wanted the main characters to be relatable and easy to understand, so we started with a simple couple working together on a durian orchard. Other fruits typically take a year or two to grow before they can be sold, but durian takes five years to harvest. This represents the effort, love, and dedication, as well as the hardships, of a couple’s life together.”

Was it difficult to incorporate social issues into the story? “We didn’t set out to tell a story focused on a specific social issue,” he says. “We began by establishing the characters and allowing them to encounter their own stories. They are characters who love their durian orchard and have built it together over five years. The story naturally leads them to encounter elements of inequality—everything unfolds organically through the plot,” he explains, providing an example. “For instance, in the trailer, there’s a scene where the main characters, Thongkham [played by Jeff Satur] and his mother-in-law [played by Sida Puapimol], discuss ownership of the durian orchard. Their conversation reflects underlying inequality.”

Finding the right location, a central element of the story, was no easy task. “We weren’t looking for a durian orchard on flat land, as most are. We wanted one situated on a hillside because the story is set in Mae Hong Son. However, there aren't any durian orchards in Mae Hong Son large enough to support the story, and the location might not accommodate the scenes we needed,” he explains.

“On the day we were scouting, we visited many provinces. Eventually, we found a durian orchard in Trat, just as we were heading back. Behind this orchard, we discovered a section of unused land on a hill, matching exactly what we needed—a vast orchard with a hill and a house, just like the scene in the closing shot of the trailer.”

Boss noted that finding this location was one of the toughest challenges in the scouting process, but there was another challenge: the house where the characters live. “We found the perfect hill location, but who would build a house on a hill? So, we had to construct a new house there. The advantage of building a new house is that we could design it exactly as the script required. However, with a crew of over a hundred people, we had to carefully plan how to use the location to ensure safety and prevent damage to the high-value durian orchard,” he says.

The film marks the lead acting debut of Jeff Satur and Engfa Waraha. Tatler spoke with both actors about their roles.

“I play Thongkham. He’s a fighter, but he also has a certain innocence, a bit naïve to the world. Despite his fighting spirit, he carries a lot of gentleness within him,” Jeff says. “The challenge in playing this role is that one aspect of him contrasts with who I am, but in another way, there are similarities. He’s a fighter with kindness and some naivety, much like myself, but our approaches to problems might differ.”

The role needed a bit of preparation, he says. “Because the script is so intense, if I fully immerse myself and think of myself as Thongkham, I might get too emotionally affected by the character. After workshops, I decided to write a diary to build the character. Then I would switch places, letting him enter into me, allowing Thongkham to fulfil his role,” Jeff says.

Furthermore, there was a reason he took a special pride in working on the film: “While we were filming, the marriage equality law hadn’t passed yet, and this is something I’ve always felt deeply about. Being able to convey this story for someone who doesn’t have enough power to speak up is a great honour for me.”

"This project was incredibly challenging,” Engfa Waraha says. “I had to completely shed my image as a beauty queen. This is one of the toughest works I've done this year. With the story's intensity and the energy from everyone involved, there was no room for hesitation. We had to rely solely on our energy and acting, making it a truly worthwhile experience.”

She continues, "Everyone in this project was fully in sync. We forgot our own identities and started from zero together, building the characters from the ground up. That process made us truly believe in the characters we portrayed.”

Engfa hopes that this will open new doors in her career. “I think this project will show people that I can be an actress. I don’t know what a great actor means to everyone, but after this, I’m no longer afraid of any role. Starting with something so difficult that I didn’t think I could do, and now that I’ve achieved it, I feel like I’ve developed an immunity that shows me I can be an actress.”

As a director, Boss also shares his reasons for choosing Jeff and Engfa for the roles, along with his impressions of working with them: “The theme of love is central to this film. In Jeff’s role, he must love someone deeply and put all his energy into taking care of the durian orchard with them. He needs to appear tough, resilient, and strong, embodying the characteristics of a hardworking farmer. Jeff possesses qualities that are perfect for this film, from his balance of masculinity and femininity to the natural way he expresses himself through his personality and eyes. When we dressed him in the farmer’s outfit and had him hold the tools, there was something intriguing about it—a certain exotic quality we saw in him,” Boss says about the choice of Jeff Satur.

“As for Engfa, her character is a farmer from Mae Hong Son. Her family is poor, living in the mountains, and life is tough. She needs to be resilient, to fight for her life, with dreams and hopes that life will improve. Engfa embodies toughness and resilience, and she has a look in her eyes that conveys that fighting spirit. From the moment we started casting, Engfa stood out as an extraordinary choice. She doesn’t need to say a word—her eyes alone can immediately tell the story of the film,” Boss says.

As many are aware, Boss Kuno has made a name for himself in the TV series world, with this project marking his first time directing a feature film, which he sees as a significant challenge. “Coming from the world of series, where I enjoy working on multiple episodes—usually around 5 to 7, but I've done as many as 18 episodes—it’s fun to see characters grow gradually. The difficulty with a film is figuring out how to tell the story within two hours,” Boss says.

When asked about his expectations for the film, Boss says: “This film started from something I felt deeply about, and I wanted to convey it through visuals and sound. Honestly, my only hope is that people watch it and understand what I’m trying to communicate. I’m not aiming for massive change—if people understand the issues raised in the film, that would be great. I just want the audience to connect with what the film is telling while also enjoying it. In the end, the film subtly weaves in various dimensions of inequality, and if anyone picks up on even the smallest part of it, I’d be happy.”

He adds, “It’s a new style for me, and I think it’s a style that Thai cinema doesn’t see often. It might look like a life drama, but it has a certain spice to it—a flavour familiar to Thai audiences, similar to TV dramas but not quite the same. It feels more real, more like real life, as they say, ‘reality is stranger than fiction.’ There’s also a thriller aspect tied to people’s greed and their desire to claim what they believe is their right. How far will that take them? I think all these elements combine to create something new and captivating.”

This article is translated from the original Thai, written by Asa Ngamkala.

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