The Iron Ladies (film)

The Iron Ladies ( or Satree lek) is a Thai comedy film from the year 2000. The movie follows the true events of a men's volleyball team, composed mainly of gay and kathoey (transgender) athletes. The movie was directed by Youngyooth Thongkonthun and written by Visuttchai Boonyakarnjawa and Jira Maligool.

A hit in Thailand as well as the international film festival circuit, the film has been nominated twelve times and won ten awards, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards, Toronto International Film Festival and the reader award of German LGBT magazine Siegessäule at the Berlin International Film Festival. It also played at the Pusan International Film Festival, the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

In 2003, the combined sequel and prequel called The Iron Ladies 2 (Satree lek 2) was released. The film is based upon how the characters of The Iron Ladies met, and how they would later reunite for another volleyball tournament.

Plot

The film was released in 2001 and is set in 1996, when the real team competed and won the national championships in Thailand. The two main characters, Mon and Jung, play two gay transvestites, who had been constantly overlooked by volleyball coaches because of their appearance. However, when a local team changes coaches, the new...
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