The Lao horror film titled “Dearest Sister” or Nong Hak in the Lao language is now available on Netflix, the second movie on the streaming platform by Lao-American director Mattie Do.
After The Long Walk (Bor Mi Vanh Chark) was made available to watch on Netflix in August 2022, another Lao movie Dearest Sister can now be watched on Netflix as well.
The film saw a theatrical release in Laos in May 2017 and was screened at multiplexes including Major Platinum Cineplex and ITECC Mall Cineplex in Vientiane Capital, as well as in the northeastern region of Thailand in the same year.
The film tells the story of Nok (Amphaiphun Phommapunya), a village girl, who becomes the caretaker for her wealthy cousin Ana (Vilouna Phetmany), who is married to an Estonian businessman (Tambet Tuisk). In the film, Ana gradually loses her vision and begins to see ghosts communicating through numbers before Nok discovers and wins the lottery.
In an interview the filmmaker says, the atmospheric storytelling was inspired by a shared culture in Laos, China, Thailand, and even Southern Italy, about lottery ghosts as well as her personal experience of being questioned about lottery numbers after her mother died. Do was asked if she was haunted by her mother or if she appeared to her in a dream or a vision, revealing lucky lottery numbers.
The thriller was selected to attend the 2014 Cannes Film Festival as part of its La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde program and was Laos’ first-ever entry to the Oscars in 2016 in the best foreign-language film category in the 90th edition of the prestigious Awards.
The film is currently available on Netflix in Thailand and is expected to be added soon to Netflix in Laos.
In addition, audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland can watch the film on Shudder, Amazon, and AMC+, and the film can be purchased through FNAC in Europe.
Mattie Do, the first female filmmaker in Laos, is now working on a new project in collaboration with multiple international directors and musicians.
