At least 12 companies have so far shown interest in making movies or documentary based on the incredible rescue of the 12 Moo Pa Academy footballers and their coach from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district earlier this month, Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said today.

He said the 12 companies made their requests through the Foreign Ministry and Thai private companies. The Culture Ministry will make an appointment to meet with their representatives in early August.

The Cabinet on Tuesday agreed to the setting up of an ad hoc committee to handle commercial interests, including filming permissions, related to the dramatic rescue operation that captivated the world.

The culture minister said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asked the committee to thoroughly examine the contents of all requests to make sure they do not infringe upon the rights and privacy of the children and their familites, he said.

He said some other companies also want to produce a book based on the real event. All the requests have been passed on to the ad hoc committee.

The government, he said, also has plans to record the rescue event for national archive. It would be produced in the three languages, Thai, English and Chinese, and expected to be completed in October.