A road movie produced by a Palme d’Or winner, an anthology helmed by rising directors and a supernatural thriller arrive at the festival and market from Southeast Asia.
Festival
9 Temples To Heaven (Thai-Sing-Fr-Nor)
Dir. Sompot Chidgasornpongse
The first Thai feature selected for Directors’ Fortnight since 2007 is a road movie about a family of nine who embark on a nine-temple merit-making day trip for their 83-year-old grandma. Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul serves as producer along with Kissada Kamyoung in this co-production between Kick The Machine Films, E&W Films, Petit Chaos and Needle In The Haystack. 9 Temples marks the fiction directorial debut of Sompot, who was Apichatpong’s assistant director for two decades on titles including Memoria. His documentary feature Railway Sleepers, also produced by Apichatpong, played at Busan and the Berlinale.
Contact: Playtime
Next Step Studio Indonesia (Indo)
Dirs. Mohammad Reza Fahriyansyah (Indo), Ananth Subramaniam (Malay), Shelby Kho (Indo), Sein Lyan Tun (Myan), Reza Rahadian (Indo), Sam Manacsa (Phil), Khozy Rizal (Indo), Lam Li Shuen (Sing)
This anthology comprising four short films, each co-directed and co-written by an Indonesian director and a Southeast Asian counterpart, premieres in Critics’ Week. All were shot in Jakarta, with support from Filming In Jakarta. Producers are Yulia Evina Bhara and Amerta Kusuma from KawanKawan Media. Next Step Studio is a new talent development programme presented by Critics’ Week and created in collaboration with Dominique Welinski of French production banner DW.
Contact: Rediance
Market
Blood Moon Rite 8 (Viet)
Dir. Phan Gia Nhat Linh
This satirical comedy is an adaptation of Japanese cult hit One Cut Of The Dead and recently had its international premiere at Udine’s Far East Film Festival. The story follows a film director who starts shooting an ambitious horror, involving a single 35-minute take, about an attack by reanimated corpses. Producer is Charlie Nguyen, with an ensemble cast comprising Van Son, Miu Le and Lien Binh Phat along with Korean actor Kim Kang-woo. Backers are Anh Teu Studio, SATE and Chanh Phuong Film. Director Linh’s credits include Sweet 20 (2015) and Em & Trinh (2022).
Contact: Lotte Entertainment
The Burning Giants (Thai-Sing-Fr-Neth)
Dir. Phuttiphong Aroonpheng
Venice award-winning director Phuttiphong’s latest is about a mysterious man with a bizarre skin condition who is captured by Thai forestry officers and a woman who believes he is her sister’s missing husband. It is set deep inside a mountain forest covered in strange thick smoke, where an ancient war between ogre soldiers and a king’s army unfolds. Backers include Diversion, 13 Little Pictures, Nord-Ouest and Sluizer Film Productions. It marks Phuttiphong’s third feature after 2018 debut Manta Ray, which won a raft of international festival awards, and 2023’s Morrison.
Contact: Diversion
Finding Mojo (Malay)
Dir. Min Lim
This romantic comedy follows an ambitious man who goes undercover to retrieve a missing prized cow in a remote village in north Malaysia, only to find himself torn between corporate loyalty and an unexpected romance. The cast includes Indonesia’s Adipati Dolken Adi and Malaysia’s Mimi Lana and Wan Hanafi Su. Produced by Mocha Chai Laboratories and Double Vision, it marks the feature debut of director Lim, a regional showrunner whose credits include an adaptation of The Bridge for HBO Asia and Viu. The local theatrical release is scheduled for summer through Astro Shaw.
Contact: Fumie Suzuki Lancaster, SC Films International
Inherit (Thai)
Dir. Banjong Pisanthanakun
Thai horror master Banjong reunites with his Pee Mak leading actress Davika Hoorne — star of last year’s Critics’ Week top prize winner A Useful Ghost — for this adaptation of classic Thai novel Tayat Asun. She plays a long-absent 80-year-old grandmother who suddenly reappears looking like a young woman and seeks to pass the curse from an ancient centipede spirit onto her 18-year-old granddaughter. Producer GDH 559 — known for Pat Boonnitipat’s 2024 box-office phenomenon How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies — handles sales in Asia.
Contact: Barunson E&A
Land Of Evanescence (Viet-Phil-Fr)
Dir. Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang
This documentary has been selected for the Docs-in-Progress platform at the Cannes market. In the film, Vietnamese director Trang explores the link between her recurring nightmares and generational trauma inherited from the Vietnam War. Produced by Fusee and Trance Films, it marks the first feature for Trang, an independent producer whose credits include Un Certain Regard 2024 selection Viet And Nam. She debuted as a director in 2022 with horror short After Taste, which premiered at Fantasia.
Contact: Fusee
Mr. Hero (Viet)
Dir. Vo Thach Thao
Inspired by social issues about charity fraud, this family drama follows a single father who sets himself up as a viral street hero in a bid to raise funds and save his critically ill daughter, but public sympathy soon turns into outrage. The cast is led by Thai Hoa from 2025 hits Tunnels: Sun In The Dark and Hijacked, Vo Tan Phat and Hong Anh. Timothy Linh Bui produces with HK Film and Singapore’s Beach House Pictures, and Mr. Hero opened in Vietnam on April 24. Thao is a successful TV series director and this marks her feature debut.
Contact: Skyline Media
No Caller ID (Thai)
Dir. Napas Taleangcapun
This female-led supernatural thriller tackles the hot topic of transnational cybercrime. When a gifted girl loses her father and sister to a sprawling scam empire, she uses her spiritual abilities to turn the tables on the scammers and exact her revenge. Pleng Chontida, Sanya Kunakorn and Best Nutthasit head the cast of this first feature from veteran commercials director Napas, co-founder of advertising agency Strippers Films. It is one of the first projects on the inaugural slate of Shinesaeng Ad.Venture’s new production arm Common Ground.
Contact: Amy Vilailertsombat, Shinesaeng Ad.Venture
On The New Road (Viet)
Dir. Tran Bao Son
This big-budget action drama follows a Vietnamese immigrant who becomes a hitman for a New York gang and goes on a rampage of revenge after his sister is pulled into a gang war. It is the feature directorial debut of Vietnamese American actor and producer Son, inspired by his experiences living between New York and Ho Chi Minh City. Produced by TBS Entertainment, the film also stars Son (whose acting credits include Hollow), Juliet Bao Ngoc and Doan Quoc Dam.
Contact: Mockingbird Pictures
Queen Of Malacca (Indo)
Dir. Angga Dwimas Sasongko
This action crime thriller will be presented at the Frontières Platform’s buyers showcase during the market. The story fuses Southeast Asian mysticism with action and drama as it follows a woman who transforms herself from a trafficking syndicate victim into the perpetrator of a criminal empire. Claresta Taufan, Dion Wiyoko and Lutesha lead the cast. Angga’s recent directing credits include Stealing Raden Saleh and 13 Bombs. He is the founder of Visinema Group, the studio behind Indonesia’s most successful animated feature Jumbo. Blue Finch Films handles global sales excluding Southeast Asia, which is repped by Visinema.
Contact: Blue Finch Films
The Sea Speaks His Name (Indo)
Dir. Yosep Anggi Noen
Starring Reza Rahadian and Dian Sastrowardoyo, this political drama is based on a 2017 novel by Leila S Chudori. Set in the late 1990s, it centres on the disappearance of a university student activist, whose family searches for the truth. Yosep’s credits include Locarno winning The Science Of Fictions and 24 Hours With Gaspar. Producer Gita Fara is known for Kamila Andini’s 2022 Berlinale Competition title Before, Now & Then. Pal8 Pictures is a new production outfit under the Tempo Media group. The project will be presented at HAF Goes to Cannes during the market.
Contact: Gita Fara, Pal8 Pictures
Zona Merah: Dead City (Indo)
Dirs. Sidharta Tata, Fajar Martha Santosa
This action horror is a spinoff from the zombie survival universe of TV’s Red Zone (Zona Merah), reuniting directors Sidharta and Fajar with producer Wicky V Olindo of Screenplay Films. The story follows the survivors of a zombie outbreak who attempt to escape from a refugee camp run by a virologist, in a world where life outside the fences is just as dangerous. Several cast members reprise their roles from the series including Aghniny Haque, Andri Mashadi and Maria Theodore, with Luna Maya, Bryan Domani and Shindy Huang among the additions.
Contact: Barunson E&A
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