'Hope Frozen' Emmy award

Big congratulations to Pailin Wedel on winning the 49th International Emmy Award for best documentary for her 79-minute film ‘Hope Frozen: A Quest to Live Twice.’

This is the first time a programme from Thailand has won a prestigious Emmy, and it was one of 11 international awards given to work from eight countries.

"We are delighted to be able to gather the global television community, in-person again, in New York to celebrate the world’s best television," said International Academy President Bruce Paisner. "The diversity and geographic spread of tonight’s winners demonstrate once again the universal power of great storytelling and performances."

Pailin wrote, directed and produced the film over a five-year period. It tells the story with exceptional sensitivity of a Thai family’s decision to cryogenically preserve the brain of their deceased two-year-old daughter in the hope of eventually bringing her back to life.

The documentary was first screened in 2019 at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, where it won its first major award as best international documentary.

Hope Frozen has been shown at the FCCT and is available on Netflix.

Pailin has served as an FCCT vice president in the past, and her sister Jinda has also been a board member. Their father, Paul Wedel, is an FCCT past president and honorary life member, and a former UPI bureau chief in Bangkok. Their mother, Yuangrat, is a distinguished academic who has co-authored a variety of books with Paul, the latest being ‘Beads on a String – A Novel of Southern Siam.’

There is no family in Bangkok that has given greater support to the FCCT over the decades, and the club shares their joy in this exceptional international recognition of Pailin.