EXCLUSIVE: Singapore-based sales company Mokster Films has unveiled new film project Lady Bee, an adaptation of Thai literary classic ‘The Story of Jan Dara,’ ahead of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Lady Bee will star Thai singer-actress Engfa Waraha. Waraha won the Best Actress prize at the 2025 Thailand Box Office Awards for her role in family drama feature The Paradise of Thorns.
Lady Bee is set to begin principal photography in late-2025.
‘The Story of Jan Dara’ is a 1960s novel written by Utsana Phloengtham and the film adaptation seeks to tell the story “for the first time through the eyes of its most enigmatic female character, Lady Boonleung.”
The film is developed and produced by Writer Lab, a subsidiary of Plenti Corporation.
Produced by Pantham Thongsang and Julien Favre, Lady Bee is directed by Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad (Dalah) and Thanika Jenjesda (Me Always You). Both directors also wrote the screenplay, alongside Favre.
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The film follows Lady Boonleung, a woman unbound by the morality or power structures of her time. Driven by a yearning for connection that transcends judgment, she navigates both physical and emotional realms with intensity and grace.
“Lady Bee is a film about transformation, not just of a character, but of an entire narrative tradition,” said producer Thongsang. “By shifting the lens to Lady Boonleung, we reclaim a voice that has long been overshadowed and reframe a story that resonates anew in today’s world.”
