Biography

Puvanai "Top" Tarasin is an award-winning Thai film director and first assistant director, based in London, UK. He was born in Bangkok, Thailand and grew up in Queens, New York. He remained in the United States until 1990 before moving back to Bangkok. In 1994, he and his brother began attending boarding school in Oamaru, New Zealand, attending St. Kevin's College there. In 1999, Top was accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand where he majored in Film.

In 2003, Top returned to Bangkok, Thailand, working as an English-language news editor and reporter for Channel 3 and Radio Thailand. He began working at local film production company Phoscine in 2006, starting as an assistant director before directing his own commercials one year later. For the next nine years, Top would go on to direct commercials for clients such as Honda, Toyota, Hershey's, Red Bull, Canon, Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric, Shiseido, and the 2009 Southeast Asian Games. In 2016, he was hired as creative group head and film director for online advertising agency Ad Hoc Co., Ltd.

In 2017, Top co-directed the short Scarecrow (2017) with cinematographer Liam Morgan - a dark, surreal film about a primordial being arising from a muddy Earth to stalk a "newly-born" woman across a barren landscape. This film was officially selected for numerous festivals including the 2017 Mykonos Biennale Film Festival in Greece, the 2017 Blow Up Art House Film Festival in Chicago, and the 2018 Revelation Perth International Film Festival.

In 2018, he directed Blast Off (2018) (in association with the East London Independent Filmmakers collective) - an absurdist comedy, and As It Comes (2018) - a personal meditation on memory, the indifference of nature, and the transformative power of small occurrences. The latter film competed in a dozen international film festivals, including the May 2018 Independent Shorts Awards, the 2018 Diversions International Short Film Festival in Croatia, and the 2018 ARFF Barcelona.

In 2019, he directed Your Reality (2019) - a devastating look at gaslighting abuse, written and produced by Tatjana Anders. The film won Best Short / Best Acting Performance at the Sept-Oct 2019 White Deer International Film Festival, Semi-finalist at the Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival September 2019, Semi-finalist at the Rome Independent Prisma Awards 2019, and Honorable Mention at the August 2019 Florence Film Awards.

In 2020, Top directed The Bunker (2020), an end-of-the-world scenario for the Light This Location competition by Aputure. The film won Best Cinematography at the 2020 Thundr Short Film Showcase.

Top is also an experienced 1st AD, working on feature films and shorts including British Made (2019), Your Eyes on Me (2020), To Nowhere (2020), The Complex (2020), Nora (2018), and The Bangkok Job (2023).
- IMDb mini biography by: Top Tarasin