ABSTRACT
Pleng Sut Thai (The Last Song), directed by Pisal Akaraseranee and released in 1985, was considered the very first Thai film with an exclusive focus on non-heterosexuality. However, in 1993, the discovery of Kathoey Pen Het (Because of a Transgender), directed by Ledger and released in 1954 and now believed to be the oldest queer cinematic representation in Thai mediascape, has significantly changed the historiography of Thai queer cinema. With the significant discovery of Kathoey Pen Het, this chapter aims to further fulfill Thai queer cinematic history by exploring every Thai film possible either with or without a non-heteronormative focus, together with the filmic materials (such as film posters, screenplays, film magazines, or booklets) preserved in Thai Film Archive (Public Organization), especially those before 1985. This chapter offers the very first synthesized archival database on the history of early Thai queer cinema.
