Nattawut "Baz" Poonpiriya (Thai: นัฐวุฒิ พูนพิริยะ, born 1981) is a Thai director, working extensively on television commercials and music videos, but best known for the thriller films Countdown and Bad Genius. Nattawut graduated Master of Fine Arts in stage directing from Srinakharinwirot University. After graduating, he worked mainly on television commercials for three years before moving to New York to study graphic design at Pratt Institute. He returned to Thailand in 2011, and worked as a music video director before directing his first feature film, the horror thriller Countdown, for GTH in 2012. The film won three categories at the Suphannahong National Film Awards. Nattawut then made a hiatus from feature films to focus again on advertising. His second feature, Bad Genius, was released in 2017, and won a record-breaking twelve categories at the awards.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 24, 1981 (45)
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Director, writer and producer
- 5 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
Known for
What are Baz Poonpiriya's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 0 · Dark 2
Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Baz Poonpiriya's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Baz Poonpiriya's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
Gohan(2026)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Zi Mui (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Not Friends(2023)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Thai Cave Rescue(2022)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
One for the Road (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
The Reels Deal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
i STORIES (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Girlhattan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Bad Genius(2017)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
REUNION (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Present Perfect (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
The Library (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Countdown(2012)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Seven Something (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
The Misbehavers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
The Untitled Snooker Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 16 titles, 15 of them dated from 2010 to 2026.
How do Baz Poonpiriya's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 92nd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 91st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 5 titles divides audiences: 3 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 54/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Baz Poonpiriya work with?
People who share at least 2 of Baz Poonpiriya's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Vanridee Pongsittisak shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Atta HemwadeeShared titles: Gohan (2026), Not Friends (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Atta Hemwadee
Cinematographers and editors
- Panayu KunvanleeShared titles: Gohan (2026), Countdown (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Panayu Kunvanlee
- Pasit TandaechanuratShared titles: Gohan (2026), Not Friends (2023)See all 2 shared titles with Pasit Tandaechanurat
- Phaklao JiraungkoonkunShared titles: Gohan (2026), Bad Genius (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Phaklao Jiraungkoonkun
- Chonlasit UpanigkitShared titles: Not Friends (2023), Bad Genius (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Chonlasit Upanigkit
Producers
- Vanridee PongsittisakShared titles: Gohan (2026), Not Friends (2023), Bad Genius (2017), Countdown (2012)See all 4 shared titles with Vanridee Pongsittisak
- Chenchonnee SoonthonsaratulShared titles: Not Friends (2023), Bad Genius (2017), Countdown (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Chenchonnee Soonthonsaratul
- Jina OsothsilpShared titles: Not Friends (2023), Bad Genius (2017), Countdown (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Jina Osothsilp
- Jira MaligoolShared titles: Not Friends (2023), Bad Genius (2017), Countdown (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Jira Maligool
