A short documentary about the Thai restaurant Sabai Sabai located in Middlebury, Vermont.
A Love Letter to Coopers Cafe (NaN)
During the summer of 2023, my father decided to hang up the boots and walk away from the family business of 25 years. This is my love letter to the cafe in which my family and I have worked, encapsulating the good vibes and cheery nature the business held for a quarter of a century.
The Songs of Rice (2014)
In Thailand, a hymn to rice need not always be sung. A dance, or spectacular homemade fireworks can say the same thing. As can a film, as is convincingly demonstrated by this lyrical, beautifully filmed homage to this essential staple food.
Thailand Dreams (2016)
Thailand Dreams is a documentary about relationships between Western men and Thai women. About love across borders, dreams, prejudices, exploitation, prostitution and "wife import/mail order brides".
Travis: The Ultimate Documentary (2013)
Travis—a sex-addicted, multi-lingual Scientologist—travels across Thailand sharing stories and entertaining his company.
Hunted Like Animals (2008)
A documentary about the atrocities committed against the Hmong people by the Laos government. Shot by Hmong people with cameras provided to them in 2006, this film provides a unique look into one of the worst, and silent, human rights tragedies of the 21st century.
Yai Nin (2020)
Ninlawan Pinyo is the matriarch of a Thai American family, who hustled for her fortune by founding a naem pork sausage factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Paradoxocracy (2013)
Paradoxocracy, co-directed with Pen-ek's longtime friend and producer, Pasakorn Pramoolwong, begins with the 1932 Siamese Revolution - which transformed Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one - and works its way to the present day, chronicling the country's major political revolutions, movements and countless coups along the way. Using a combination of archival footage, voice-overs and interviews with 15 unnamed academics, activists and political leaders, the film presents the directors' personal journey to come to an understanding of how their country arrived at its current state of near-constant political division and dysfunction.
Giant Slaves (2020)
This expository documentary is shedding some light on the southeast Asian elephant industry. What is this dark secret? And why is it harmful for the elephants? What is behind the latest trend “no riding”? What are the ethical elephant parks, and are they really in favor with their beloved animals?
FARANG: The Story of Chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok Thai Empire (2014)
Farang, the Thai word for foreigner, is the story of chef Andy Ricker and how he spun a 25-year obsession with Northern Thailand into the hit success that is his Pok Pok restaurant empire.
Moon Child (2018)
A movie about two women who are mothers to the same child, and a child who belongs to two different worlds.
Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club (2015)
Supper club restaurants were the hot dinning trend in the mid twentieth century. They provided a place for people to spend their evenings enjoying cocktails, home cooked, high quality food and entertainment. The supper club scene slowly faded from the rest of the country, but kept a strong hold in Wisconsin due to a culture that allowed it to thrive. Around for decades, supper clubs in Wisconsin have been able to hold their own style and traditions. While chain restaurants continue to expand and threaten their future, supper clubs are fighting to survive while continuing to offer the same exceptional dinning experience and a personal touch that is not seen in the modern lifestyle of dine and dash. Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club takes you into this uniquely Wisconsin institution.
Serene Siam (1937)
This travelogue begins at Bangkok's rail depot, a center of Indo-Chinese commerce. Next the narrator talks about Buddhism as the camera shows us some of Bangkok's many temples. Then, the narrator introduces us to the importance of traditional dance, with emphasis on the way that delicate wrist movements tell stories. It's on to the system of waterways in Bangkok, where more than 1,000,000 people live or conduct commerce. We take a ride down the Menam River, the country's most important commercial and social road. From our boat, we pass Wat Arun and other colorful signs of life typical in serene Siam.
Innocence (2006)
In the mountains of Northern Thailand lies a boarding school. The students come from different tribes in the area and live together with their Thai teacher, grow their own crops and cook their own meals while continuing their education. The biggest question on their mind, having spent all their lives in the mountainside, is where the rivers running down the hills end. If they pass the final exams their reward is a trip to the end of the river, to the ocean itself. The children are poor, some orphans, and most of them only speak their tribe's language, but all try their best to pass the exams to be able to take the long-awaited trip. This trip is not only a journey from the children's villages to the ocean but also a journey that symbolizes the change from childhood to adulthood.
Chez Schwartz (2007)
Chez Schwartz takes us inside a year in the life of Schwartz's Deli - the unique 75-year-old landmark on Montreal's historic Main. Filmed through changing seasons, from the quiet of early morning preparation to the frenetic bustle of packed lunch times and never ending line-ups, to the more relaxed ambiance late at night - Chez Schwartz is an evocative, cinematic portrait of a small spunky deli known worldwide equally for its atmosphere and smoked meat.
Our Southern Home (2008)
A documentary film tells the true story of the locals in southern of Thailand through the life of 4 families that live in different provinces, but hand and share their kindness to one another. The reality of their life is arranged into the story disclosing beautiful sides of the southern of Thailand and changing the point of view about the violence that's been happened in the area.