EXCLUSIVE: Singapore-based sales company Mokster Films has bolstered its Cannes slate with Sukosin Akkarapat’s The Amulet Game, a Thai crime drama set in the shadowy, high-stakes world of amulet trading.
It marks Mokster’s first collaboration with Thai producer Panchalee Nithijiraroj of rising banner Studio 59.
Set against Thailand’s unique amulet trading scene, the film explores a world that functions as both a deeply rooted religious practice and a volatile, largely unregulated investment market, where rare pieces can command millions, drawing in collectors, speculators, scammers and power brokers alike.
The story follows a young man who is determined to learn the business from the inside after being outplayed by an amulet master, only to begin manipulating it, turning belief into profit and building a booming empire. As greed takes hold, his rapid ascent attracts gangsters and corrupt officials, pushing him into increasingly dangerous territory.
Director Sukosin, who was named best new filmmaker at the Bangkok Critics Assembly in 2021 for Please (Her), co-wrote the script with Cheewatan Pusitsuksa. The cast includes Thiti Mahayotaruk (The Con-Heartist), Krissada Sukosol Clapp (Khun Phan), and Chinaradee Anuphongphichat (The Cage Of Karawek). Production began last July in Bangkok. A release date has yet to be set.
The project marks a new chapter for Panchalee, formerly a producer at M39 Studio where she oversaw 13 Thai features between 2019 and 2023, including commercial hits Tid Noi: More Than True Love and The Djinn’s Curse.
“The Amulet Game represents the kind of story we want to champion at Studio 59 – deeply rooted in Thai culture, but global in its themes and energy. It explores how belief can be shaped, commodified and exploited,” said the producer, who launched Bangkok-based Studio 59 in 2025.
Nelson Mok, CEO of Mokster Films, said: “In many ways, the film reflects today’s culture of trading cards and blind boxes, fun hobbies in their own right, but where for some, collecting becomes speculation and passion turns into a form of gamified risk.”
Mokster Films’ Cannes sales slate also includes Taiwan’s first rotoscope animated feature Welcome To Dolly’s House, which is set to open the Contrechamp Feature Films competition at Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.
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