Help Laos’ Only Female Filmmaker Make Her Second Movie

Laos does not have a strong filmmaking tradition, but Mattie Do is trying to change that. Do is the first female filmmaker from her country, and she made Laos' first ever horror film. When that movie, Chanthaly, screened at Fantastic Fest, it became the first Laotian movie to ever play outside of that country.

Now Mattie's back, and she wants to make a ghost story. She needs your help to do it .Her film, Dearest Sister (Nong Hak) is going to be ambitious by Laotian standards, but she just needs to raise about $30,000 American. She's raising funds on IndieGogo to get the film made. Here's how Mattie describes it:

Nong Hak tells the story of a village girl from southern Laos who travels to Vientiane to care for her rich cousin who has mysteriously lost her sight, and somehow gained the ability to communicate with the dead. When the poor girl realizes that her cousin is receiving messages from the spirits that allow her to win the lottery, she has to choose between nursing her cousin back to health or keeping sick in order to get rich herself.

If you’ll allow me a moment of seriousness, Nong Hak really represents an evolution in the maturity of Lao filmmaking. Just as Chanthaly examined Lao familial patriarchy and the place of women in the family unit, Nong Hak takes that analysis out of the family and looks at women’s roles in Lao class hierarchies. The film looks at interracial marriage – between a western man and Lao girl – in a way that’s never been done, or allowed by local censorship. 

Mattie Do is not just an exciting new filmmaker, she's a wonderful human being. As the world gets smaller we have more and more opportunities to hear voices like Mattie's, voices from parts of the world we didn't know much about before. 

Even five bucks will help Mattie get Dearest Sister made. Click here to find out more.