Chanthaly

This is:

• The ninth Laotian film ever made
• The first Laotian film made by a woman
• The first Laotian film that's not a musical or communist propaganda
• The first Laotian ghost story
• The first screening of a Laotian film in the United States

And I really enjoyed it.  Sure, there were some production issues - sound cutting in and out with each scene, some booms visible in mirrors, but those are somewhat to be expected given the circumstances.  The director used people she knew as the actors, filming in her house, using a beer company to fund the production.  In the Q&A she noted that $200 was "a large percentage of the budget".

Chanthaly has been raised since birth by her father, her mother having died in childbirth.  Or, at least that's what she's been told.  When, then, does she have memories of her mother?  Her father - a staunch communist (as was required to get the film production approved) has no interest in hokey religion, but Chanthaly prays to understand her mother's fate.  And, when she discovers the truth, it's not at all what she expects...

Chanthaly
2013, 98 minutes, directed by Minnie Do