Australian support for Thai cave rescue film "Thirteen Lives"

Ron Howard's upcoming drama "Thirteen Lives" which is based on the real-life story of 2018's Tham Laung cave rescue, will head to Australia to shoot it's March schedule. The Australian government has invested approximately 9 million dollars in the project .

The film is produced under the banners of MGM and Imagine Entertainment. The project is being actively supported by the Australian government and is hoped to generate employment and revenue for Australian businesses. The film will use the Australian Gold Coast as the setting for the film which has a similar humid and hot climate to its Thai counterpart.

"I understand this project will also undertake a significant amount of cutting-edge visual effects work here, a great opportunity for our local post, digital and visual effects companies," said Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts. He also predicted that the project would inject around 70 million dollars into the Australian economy and create 435 jobs for cast and crew.

The film is inspired from events in the Thailand cave rescue where a team of children and their coach were trapped and eventually rescued after days. The film celebrates the global effort and cooperation of divers from around the world that undertook the perilous task of getting the entire team to safety.

Another independent film which directly adapted the Tham Laung rescue to screen was 2019's "The Cave" directed by Tom Waller, which was screened at the International Fil Festival of Kerala.