9 Temples To Heaven, the debut fiction title from Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse, was one of the most intriguing titles this year at Cannes, not least because of its production credits. 

Debuting in the Directors’ Fortnight, the title was produced by Kissada Kamyoung and Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives), with co-producers including Thomas Hakim and Julien Graff of petit chaos, the company behind Payal Kapadia’s award-winning All We Imagine as Light. 

The film follows Sakol, who, after hearing a prophecy that his elderly mother may die soon, sets out on a one-day pilgrimage to nine temples as a remedy. The official synopsis reads: Just two weeks before her birthday, he brings his ailing mother,  along with his wife, brother, sister, and children, on the journey, moving through the splendor of Thai temple architecture. From one temple to the next, the nine family members continue their rituals while the grandmother of the family grows increasingly weary, both physically and mentally.

“The story comes from my own journey with my family to temple trips. I grew up with quite a religious family, so going to temples is something very common for us,” Chidgasornpongse told Deadline.

Chidgasornpongse’s last feature was the documentary Railway Sleepers, which screened at the Berlin Film Festival and Busan. 

“I really loved it,” Hakim said of Railway Sleepers. “I then saw there was a new project because he was attending many markets. He was at Locarno, and the Locarno team connected us. And then we started to get to know each other and see how we could work together as a co-production.” 

Despite the film’s earnest plot and engagement with the topic of death, 9 Temples To Heaven is also a film full of great humor. Discussing how he managed to balance the two, Chidgasornpongse said, “Humor is just part of life.” 

“When I traveled with my family, there would always be someone who would crack jokes,” Chidgasornpongse continued. “Or when there were tensions in the family, there would be someone who tried to break the tension with humor, so I think it is something you encounter in everyday life.”

He added: “I tried to capture both in the film. The darker side alongside the tenderness, the humor, the laughter, and the tears.” 

9 Temples To Heaven is the third consecutive film from petit chaos to originate from the Asian continent. There was, of course, All We Imagine as Light, which Hakim and Graff followed up with the Vietnamese-set Hair, Paper Water… by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quy Truong. That film debuted last year at Locarno, where it won two prizes. 

Discussing the Paris-based company’s interest in the region, Hakim said it ultimately comes down to his and Graff’s taste in cinema.

“My generation began by liking films from all over the world. And in France, we have the possibility to work in our own territory, but also outside; there is a field of play that is infinite,” he said. “What’s happening in Southeast Asia is really exciting with cinema, so we are working with a lot of directors from this region. But there is no strategy. We just watch a lot of films, and when this is something and people we connect with, we try to go for it.” 

The full list of co-producers on 9 Temples To Heaven, alongside Hakim and Graff, includes Weijie Lai, Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, Yue Huang, Charlie Kwong-Chun, Fung Giovanni Rahmadeva, and Axel Hadiningrat. The film is a co-production between Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Qatar. 

Playtime is handling sales on the film. 

Check out our full interview with Hakim and Chidgasornpongse above. 

The Deadline Studio at Cannes is sponsored by SCAD.