Back to All News
How Emmy-Winning Filmmaker Pailin Wedel Got Hooked on The Trapped 13'
Netflix Staff
Netflix Staff
Entertainment
05 October 2022
GlobalThailand
At one point, the boys were convinced that if they dug hard enough, they would end up at an orange orchard. This was one of the snippets that the world is hearing for the first time in The Trapped 13: How We Survived the Thai Cave , a documentary that features exclusive interviews with the survivors who were rescued from a cave in Thailand after 17 days.
Ahead of the film's debut on October 5, director Pailin Wedel talks about why she embarked on the documentary and what inspired her.
What were you doing when the story of the trapped boys made news?
I was about to get married when the news broke! As a journalist, my phone was just going off with messages from people asking me to cover the news, which I couldn't at that time. When they were found, I actually cried. I couldnt just believe they were still alive! This documentary really focuses on the same questions I had then: How did they survive and what was going through their minds?
How did you come on board this documentary project?
I was initially hired as a researcher for the Thai Cave Rescue series to interview the boys and their parents, as well as Coach Eak. But Netflix had the incredible foresight to ask me to see if there were documentary possibilities during that process. I wasnt convinced at first: Did the boys and the coach do anything interesting as they waited to be rescued? What more was there to say with all the other films in production?
But when I spoke to them for the first time, it dawned on me that there weren't that many people in the world who have heard their perspectives. News articles cover the facts but they aren't able to go in-depth into the emotions, thoughts and feelings of the boys.
The story that came out of these interviews was amazing. It was full of hope, setbacks, perseverance, and even humor. It was inspiring. Thats when I was hooked. A documentary wasnt only possible but important. They had things to say thats never been heard before.
What were some of your initial reservations?
We were very concerned about the boys mental well-being and did not want to produce the documentary if they exhibited signs of trauma. Before meeting the boys, I consulted with Netflixs MIND team (which included mental health experts) on recognizing signs of trauma.
We started by having informal chats with all 12 boys and their parents. While they all did well during the initial chat, we only interviewed those who clearly showed us they wanted to tell their story and were enthusiastic to do so. We combined the interviews for the mini-series with the documentary interviews as much as we could to limit the amount of time they had to spend thinking about the topic.
So what do you think helped the boys to survive?
I was surprised by how big of a role Coach Eak played in keeping them together. I truly believe they survived because of the leadership Coach Eak and his right-hand person, Tee, exhibited. They constantly had tactics to distract and periodically inject the other boys with hope.
At the same time, the boys themselves played a big part in their own survival. When we were filming the re-creations in the cave, full-grown adults on our crew were scared. But because these boys grew up with a lot of challenges, they were tougher than most. Im not sure a group of city kids would survive stuck in the cave as long as they did.
The Wild Boars have a lot of grit and while they don't seem to be traumatized from being trapped in the cave, they live with a lot of guilt for causing such a fuss. Many of them feel they have to be perfect to be deserving of the amount of effort put into saving them.
How has this story inspired you?
We live in a rather bleak world today. But this story reminds us that even when things are at its worst - most people did not even think the boys would be alive - there is always a small hope of survival.
Catch The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave exclusively on Netflix from October 5.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Back to All News
