Laos Enters The Horror Arena With Mattie Do's CHANTHALY

Mattie Do's Chanthaly is a film of firsts. It is, by all accounts, the first horror film produced in Laos. It is also the first Laotian film produced by a female director. But while both of those facts are very interesting from a historical perspective neither would count for much unless the film delivered. And, once again, all accounts are that it does.

Chanthaly screened as a work in progress at the recent Luang Prabang Film Festival where the always reliable WiseKwai caught it and came away much impressed. Here's how the festival pitches the intriguing premise:

Raised alone by her overprotective father sequestered in their home in Vientiane, Chanthaly suspects that her dead mother's ghost is trying to deliver a message to her from the afterlife. After a change in her medication, intended to treat her hereditary heart condition, causes the hallucinations to cease, Chanthaly must decide whether or not to risk succumbing to her terminal illness in order to hear her mother's

last words.

Though there is not yet a trailer available, director Do has shared the first stills from the film along with poster art - in both English and Lao - and a behind the scenes still in the gallery below. Click on any of the images to enlarge.