This weekend marks a major milestone for 22-year-old Thai filmmaker Srikhumrung Yukol (Mangmoom). She is among almost 200 students who will be awarded their degrees at Bond University’s Graduation Ceremony tomorrow [Saturday June 3] afternoon.
The daughter of Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol (Prince Chatri) of Thailand, Director of the world-wide acclaimed Suriyothai, Mangmoom enrolled in Bond’s two-year Bachelor of Film and Television during a visit to the campus with her family in December 2003.
Prince Chatri and his film producer wife, Mom Kamla Yukol, opted to send their daughter to Bond after top Australian Film Director and good friend Baz Luhrmann recommended it as the best Film and Television course in Australia.
Mangmoom says with both of her parents working in the film industry, her own passion for filmmaking began at an early age.
“I definitely got my passion for film-making from both my parents, because I grew up on a film set,” she said, in a recent interview with the Bangkok Post.
“I grew to love film-making and everything else about film. After I turned 15 I had to go abroad to study so I didn’t get much time to spend on the film set any more. But my passion continued after I graduated from high school (St George School in Montreux, Switzerland).
“I decided to come to Australia and study filmmaking. During my holidays I would go back to Thailand to spend time with my family and hang out on my Dad’s film set.
Mangmoom says while filmmaking is her “ultimate goal”, her study may not be over just yet.
“I would also like to study Business Administration or some management course because I want to help out with my family’s business and I think that knowing only film-making is not enough to run a production company. So I want to learn the business side of it too,” she said.
Some of Mangmoom’s masterpieces, including her final assessment piece Whisper, are on hand via her personal website.
Bond University’s Graduation Ceremony will commence at 2.30pm on Saturday June 3, in the Sports Hall. Almost 200 undergraduate and postgraduate students are expected to attend, with the Occasional Address to be given by Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward.