''Chanthaly'' ( Lao: ຈັນທະລີ) is a 2012 Lao

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Mattie Do Mattie Do () is a Laotian American, Laotian-American film director. She is Laos's first and only female film director and the first horror film director from Laos. Career ''Chanthaly'' Her directorial debut, ''Chanthaly'' () (2012), was the fir ...

and written by Christopher Larsen. It is the first horror film to be written and directed entirely in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and the first Lao feature film directed by a woman. ''Chanthaly'' was screened at the 2012 Luang Prabang Film Festival and the 2013

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, focused on fantasy, horror, sci-fi, action and cult films, the largest genre festival in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse. Lisa Dreyer ...

. Pop singer Amphaiphun Phimmapunya stars as Chanthaly, alongside Douangmany Soliphanh and Soukchinda Duangkhamchan.

Plot

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

Cast

* Amphaiphun Phimmapunya as Chanthaly * Douangmany Soliphanh as Father * Soukchinda Duangkhamchan as Thong * Khouan Souliyabapha as Bee * Soulasath Souvanavong as Keovisit * Mango as Moo

Production

The entire film was shot at director Mattie Do's house in Vientiane, Laos.

Entering into public domain and "open sourcing"

During a crowd funding campaign for Do's second feature film ''

Dearest Sister Dearest Sister (Lao language, Lao: ນ້ອງຮັກ) is a 2016 Lao horror film that was released in the US on September 25, 2016 and Laos on May 11, 2017. It is the second feature film directed by Mattie Do. It was selected as the Laotian entr ...

'', Do and Larsen, who are the sole owner of the copyright, offered to enter the film into the public domain if a US$30,000 goal was reached. After reaching the goal, in addition to releasing the copyright, all raw footage and other production material was made available through the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

and the torrent site

EZTV EZTV is a TV torrent distribution group founded in May 2005 and dissolved in April 2015, after a hostile takeover of their domains and brand by "EZCLOUD LIMITED". It quickly became the most visited torrent site for TV shows. History Foundin ...

, thus "open sourcing" the entire project. Do put forth a "community challenge", inviting fans to re-edit the film using the material.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=2837366 Laotian horror films 2012 films 2012 horror films Films directed by Mattie Do