A new year has finally rolled around and with that comes an enthusiasm to pick up some new (or old) hobbies. If watching more Thai movies was one of your resolutions, January 2024 brings a selection of internationally awarded films, documentaries, horror, and multiverse comedy. 

Note: For non-Thai speakers, English subtitles are usually available in major cinemas across the country and on streaming services. 

Remembering Fan Chan: Dream a Dream Again

Photo credit: Poster “Fan Chan” / GDH

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the team that brought us the Thai coming of age film Fan Chan reunites and talks behind the scene facts and the phenomenon that solidify this classic childhood film’s status. This heartwarming comedy set in the 1980s was a true benchmark for Thai cinema and features a girl and boy growing up in a small town in Thailand. 

Release date: Dec 2023
Platform: Netflix

Bowkylion Lanta Concert

Photo credit: Poster Bowkylion Lanta Concert / Netflix

T-Pop and R&B star Pichsinee Veerasuthimas, better known by her stage name “Bowkylion,” has just released her sold-out concert film, featuring hit singles like “Longjai,” “Best Wishes,” “Recall,” and more. Those who miss the tickets could stream the show now. After competing on “The Voice Thailand,” Bowkylion released her first studio album, Lionheart, in 2015. 

Release date: Jan 1
Platform: Netflix

Solids by the Seashore

Photo credit: behind the scenes of “Solids by the Seashore” / Facebook

After claiming the New Current Award at the Busan International Film Festival, this indie debut from Patiparn Bootarig is finally screening in Bangkok’s selected cinemas. Following the intimate relationship between a young Muslim woman Chati and a female artist Fon, the pair face issues of ecological and self-destruction from manmade problems.

Release date: Jan 2
Platform: Doc Club & Pub / House Samyan

Soil Without Land

Photo credit: poster “Soil Without Land” / Doc Club & Pub

In his first feature film Doi Boy, director Nontawat Numbenchapol explored the fictionalized life of a Shan refugee working as a sex worker in Thailand. His previous project, “Soil Without Land,” is the other half of the story. Shot in a documentary style, the format further fleshes out the struggles of ethnic minorities at the border of Burma and Northern Thailand.

Release date: Jan 4
Platform: Doc Club & Pub

Postman

Photo credit: Stills from “Postman” / Netflix

Lightening the mood, Netflix is serving up some multiverse comedy centering a postman who has been delivering messages across four realms: the Stone Age, Bang Rachan, the TomYam Kung Crisis financial crisis of the 1990s, and the future. 

Release date: Jan 18
Platform: Netflix

The Elite of Devils

Photo credit: stills from “The Elite of Devils” / Major Cineplex

Opening with a group of university friends who failed their creative textiles course, the gang attempts to get their grades up by conducting an on-site historical study on traditional textile patterns that will bring them to the haunted residence of an old consort. It’s a good, ol’ fashioned high-intensity Thai horror film for bleak atmospherics and jump scares. 

Release date: Jan 18
Platform: Thailand Cinemas

The Promised

Photo credit: stills from “The Promised” / Major Cineplex

If the previous listing hasn’t spooked you, later this month, “The Promised” delivers even more bone chilling horror, inspired by traditional Thai rituals including the acrobatic southern Thai Nora dances.

Release date: Jan 25
Platform: Thailand Cinemas