Best Thai documentary movies

In this compelling documentary, members of the Thai youth soccer team tell their stories of getting trapped in Tham Luang Cave in 2018 — and surviving.

A Buddhist scientist from Bangkok decides to cryo-preserve his daughter's brain. As scandal swirls around the family, they struggle to grieve a child that, in their view, is suspended between death and a future reawakening.

"Mother is a hybrid of fiction and documentary. It is a portrait of the complicated, fragile, painful and realistic relationship between my mother and me. In the past, she once tried to commit suicide. Though the action was failed, she was disabled. Since the incident, my family has changed forever, and the film is my attempt to explore and understand her, myself and my family. To put it in a wider context, I analogically portrayed how Thai middle class family effected by Asian financial crisis in 1997 and explored the representation of family in Thai culture through the process of making this film."

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?

A group of young politicians campaigning against an authoritarian constitution speak up, spark hope and ignite a once-in-a-generation movement in this energetic exploration of the recent elections in Thailand.

In collaboration with Lomo, an Austrian camera company, and Mubi, a global film website, Weerasethakul was invited to make a work to launch the new LomoKino, a portable motion picture camera. Ashes juxtaposes the intimacy of his daily routine with the destruction of memories and his observations of the dark side of Thailand’s social realities.

A documentary about a Thai idol girl group, BNK48 originally adapting from a Japanese idol girl group, AKB48 open opportunity to ordinary teens to be selected into a controlled system and competitive concept.

The final act of BKPPproject from the I Told Sunset About You installments.

A short documentary series showing the behind the scenes experience of creating "I Told Sunset About You."

Explores the landscape and stories within the community of Krabi, Southern Thailand. A major tourist destination in Thailand, the filmmakers want to capture the town in this specific moment where the pre-historic, the more recent past and the contemporary world collide, sometimes uneasily.

Thousands of ducks, one farmer, and an ultimate goal to produce chemical-free rice. Against all odds, a determined farmer in Thailand trained ducks to be ‘rice protectors.’ Together, they joined hands (and wings) in the pursuit of sustainable farming. Amusing, adorable, yet informative, viewers will fall in love watching man and ducks, teacher and students, work together to keep our food safe from harmful chemicals.

A joyful shot recorded by Weerasethakul himself and two young men who become acquainted by filming each other in the back of a moving pickup truck. Though seemingly playful, the short film is a subtle portrait of migrant workers in the north of Thailand.

A story of Wat Wanlayangkool who is a famous writer and a political activist. After the coup he became a political refugee and had to move far away from his family and his home.

Over 2,500 years ago, one man showed the world a way to enlightenment. This beautifully produced Buddhist film by the BBC meticulously reveals the fascinating story of Prince Siddhartha and the spiritual transformation that turned him into the Buddha.

Sociopolitical Documentary directed by Pen Ek Ratanaruang and Pasakorn Pramoolwong narrating the forward of (sometimes backward) Thai politics since People's Party (Khana Ratsadon) established a constitutional monarchy on 24 June 1932.

In Myanmar, a young soldier named Jai and other Shan people wrestle with disenfranchisement and disillusionment in a land where they lack basic rights.

Nathan Lim honors his Muay Thai coach Nattawat Jophromma (aka Ajarn Wat) with this portrait that serves as “sort of a prayer,” dutifully recounting Johpromma’s past and his relationship with violence.

150 underprivileged and orphaned students in the remote jungle of Thailand attending the country's first democratic school prepare a special celebration to honor their remarkable adoptive mother on Mother's Day.

The controversial Thai Buddhist temple "Dhammakaya" is in crisis as its abbot was charged with money-laundering and receiving stolen property. The film reflects the clash between politics and faith in modern Thai society.

A Thai documentary about 'Van VDO' the VHS shop in 1990s. The shop established the independent cinema scene for Thai audience by selling VHS of American, European, and Asian indie films. However, all of them are pirate and illegal.

With the short film series, the director reimagines what a "souvenir" can be in a world of rapid-fire technology – not inanimate objects, but meaningful moments – and rescues the almost forgotten feeling of receiving an analog personal delivery.

Y/OUR MUSIC immerses itself in the world of Thai music, from traditional music to labor songs and classical pop to urban indie music, spanning different locales and generations. As nine musicians each display their music, the rural or urban environments that influenced their sound are explored. The hands that play traditional instruments amid the red dust clouds, the labor songs being hummed in front of grains awaiting harvest, and the indie music born out of concrete basements create a melodious ecosystem. While they inhabit different musical worlds the musicians are connected by the same passion to bring their artistic aspirations to the fore and survive in the outskirts of the mainstream.

Facing seizure of their own lands, two families found themselves farming together on the same field, hoping to get through just another rice-farming season like every year. But no matter how much the world is evolving, how much the country is going through economic, political and social changes, they still cannot grasp that ideology of happiness.

The lives of two refugees intertwine over a pond which acts as a sanctuary for them as they look toward liberation.

In this documentary, four boys spend their senior year of high school studying for college-entrance exams that only one in five students will pass.

Aoey seeks the Pak Nam Po River - believed to reach heaven - in order to send her mother, who recently passed away, to the afterworld.

Follow the girl until the sunset

Wit Sittivaekin introduces his audience to famous pioneers and pivotal events throughout history in this immersive stage version of his podcast.

Tongpan is a 1977 Thai 16 mm black-and-white docudrama that re-creates a seminar that took place in Northeast Thailand in 1975 to discuss the proposed Pa-Mong Dam on the Mekong. Interwoven are sequences depicting a poor farmer, Tongpan, who had lost his land to another dam some years before, and his struggles to make ends meet.

Members of Thai girl group BNK48 share the ups and downs of preparing for the 6th Single Senbatsu General Election.

In a village in Thailand, Pomm works in a care center for Europeans with Alzheimer's. While she is separated from her children, she helps Elisabeth during the final stages of her life, as Maya, a new patient, is on her way from Switzerland.

A black cloak of forgetting, suppressing and covering has descended on the events that took place in Bangkok in spring 2010. Black as the night of complete darkness in which the film opens. Two men are in a fishing boat talking. One feels more than one sees that the seawater around them is warm and smooth, teeming with brightly-colored fish. By night, the rubber plantation also comes across as enticing and full of secrets, until lurid reminders of the bloody massacre flash up.

Thai singer Artiwara Kongmalai organises a 2215 kilometre marathon to raise money for much-needed hospital equipment, an event which takes 55 days.

Behind the scenes conversations and making of I Promised You the Moon, with cast and crew.

This film was shot in an area called Santikhiri, which means ‘the Hill of Peace’. After General Prem’s government came to power in the 1980s, everything—drugs, communism, corruption, human trafficking, and stateless persons—was entirely suppressed to foster order and peace.

3 Friends is an experimental fiction/documentary film conceived and directed by 3 friends.

Short for his website, kickthemachine.

Squish! is a meditation on the self through lurid and liquid forms; filtered through both old and foreseeable technology informed by Thai animation history and contemporary culture, and a constant process of constructing and deforming new selves to simulate ‘movements’. By extrapolating and redefining the terms of ‘movement’, be it through psychological, physical or political understandings, the work interweaves the medium of animation with a state of depression.

It follows two teenage rappers in Bangkok who use their musical talent to navigate their difficult circumstances.

A recreation of an event to commemorate the presence of the dead and the decayed memories of the living, of filmmaking

Amidst the tranquility of the deep woods in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, a young man who goes on a daily dive in a contaminated river to catch fish for his lover goes missing. He is unable to come back to a loved one who eagerly waits for his return.

This documentary explores the way of life of a Karen community who not only live in the forest, but also a part of it. Their deep connection with the land is reflected through belief systems, cultural practices, and traditions rooted in the forest and nature.

A moving image captured by the director in 2025 depicts a late afternoon at a Catholic school in Thailand, as children leave for the day, mingling with teachers and parents waiting to pick them up. At a stone bench, two brothers, JAVA and JINO, are seen chatting, the elder being a friend of the director. The footage, originally shot on the director’s mobile phone, was later transformed to evoke the style of a silent film: the visuals were toned to resemble aged black-and-white film and accompanied by music from City Lights (1931) by Charlie Chaplin, enhancing the atmosphere reminiscent of the silent cinema’s final years in the early 1930s.

Like Kamanita, the unchanged Morakot is a star burdened with (or fueled by) memories. Apichatpong collaborated with his three regular actors, who recounted their dreams, hometown life, bad moments, and love poems, to re-supply the hotel with new memories.

For a Fiery Monkey Year.

A documentary about the behind the scenes of BL or commonly known as "Yaoi series." Where does BL series come from? Why Yaoi fangirls are physically and financially dedicating themselves to BL?

A short film made for "Venezia 70 - Future Reloaded."

A Sudanese family fees their country, seeking asylum in Thailand. They meet a young flmmaker, newly returned after a decade away from home. Despite their uncertain future, they form a heartfelt bond. They decide to make a flm together.

A depiction of the landscape, both metaphorically and realistically, of Panyi island. Some footage in the film was taken from the material shot for Mysterious Object at Noon.

a short documentary about the yellow university vehicles in Thailand.

A documentary filmmaker captures the final days of the last standalone cinema in Thailand as former employees return to help close it down.

Filmed in Bangkok, Rites of Passage (Part 1) documents the story of Maya (Mohammad) Jafer, a 42-year old Indo-Muslim transsexual female, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in early 2011. This film follows her through the moments leading towards and during her surgery, capturing her in times of utmost vulnerability and ecstasy. This film is an honest and truthful look at Maya's journey to fully-realized self-hood.

Showcasing a variety of Thai culture.

Documenting the discovery of a large stone chakra in Nakhon Pathom.

A yaksha gets revenge on the devadas who insulted him with the help of his diamond finger. Told through traditional khon dancing.

Rivers and Suwichakornpong’s first collaboration, commissioned by the 2018 Thai Biennale.

Combining video, performance art, documentary, and tableau vivant, this short piece set in what appears to be part of the Ayutthaya Ruins in Bangkok, Thailand, begins with a panoramic shot of various Thai folks dressed in traditional garb and sleeping in the grass as a woman narrates. The rest of the piece is broken into six unbroken shots of these individuals in still poses depicting both some aspect of Thai life as well as suggesting its disquieting alienation from modernity, as the same woman narrator now sings. The final shot is again of the ensemble sleeping, suggesting that the previous montage was, indeed, a collective dream.

Corruption in Southeast Asia does not always need to be fictionally invented, and Prachachon Nork is a case in point - it is based on real-life events played out on the lower echelons of society. When a farmer in a small village suffers the tragic death of his son because he could not afford medical help, he leaves the village for work in the city - and more suffering for himself as he joins the union, goes out on strike, and faces the consequences from the angered employers. Meanwhile, a student arrives in the village and tries to help out the farmers, only to step on the toes of the middlemen who want their profits for selling the produce. The student also suffers a terrible fate as his ideals and the reality of the cut-throat middlemen clash.

A young man and his young elephant street beg in gritty Bangkok amid the controversial elephant business that threatens their survival, until the opportunity comes to release the elephant to the wild.