The entrancing time-travel ghost story is out now in select theaters + on VOD March 1. THE LONG WALK is the first Lao film to screen theatrically in the US, from Laos’ first and only women director.
Official Selection: Venice Film Festival, TIFF, Fantastic Fest, Busan, Sitges Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam
"The sort of thing that gets a grip on your spine when you’re least expecting it"
—Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com
“Metaphysical mind-melting horror… A teasingly complex thriller which blends supernatural themes with a distinctive backdrop of tropical futurism”
–Wendy Ide, Screen International
"Emotional, raw-to-the-bone filmmaking… A haunting meditation on loss”
–Matt Donato, Slashfilm
Synopsis: An old scavenger living on the fringes of a near-future society exploits a ghostly companion’s ability to traverse time, hoping to prevent his mother’s suffering from a terminal illness.
THE LONG WALK world premiered to great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori section and was followed by praise out of the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s the third feature of Lao based director Mattie Do (Chanthaly, Dearest Sister), whose career has been recognized by the Oldenburg International Film Festival and Locarno International Film Festival for her breakthrough work as Laos’ first and only woman filmmaker, and the only filmmaker of the country to work in the horror and fantastic genres.
A deliberately paced story that burns with intensity and human emotion, THE LONG WALK is all at once a culturally rich ghost story, a grim near-future sci-fi, and mystery with life and death stakes that spans across decades.
THE LONG WALK
Original Title: Bor Mi Vanh Chark
Genre: Sci-Fi/Drama
Country: Laos
Runtime: 116 mins
Year: 2019
Language: Lao with English subtitles
Rated: NA
Starring Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy, Vilouna Phetmany, Por Silatsa, Noutnapha Soydara, Chanthamone Inoudome, and Vithaya Sombath.
THE LONG WALK is written by Christopher Larsen and produced by Do, Larsen, and Annick Mahnert. Justin Deimen and Abhi Rastogi served as executive producers.
ABOUT MATTIE DO:
Mattie Do is Laos’ first, and only, female filmmaker. Born in California to recent refugees of Laos’ Communist Revolution, Mattie was raised in Los Angeles, but returned to Laos a decade ago after her father retired in Vientiane.
In 2012, Mattie directed her first feature film, Chanthaly. The film was the ninth feature film produced in the country of Laos since the 1975 revolution, the first feature film to feature a female protagonist, and the first Lao feature film to be directed by a woman. Chanthaly also challenged Laos’ strict censorship which at the time mandated that Lao women only be depicted in traditional dress speaking formal Lao, and restricted any depiction of supernatural or superstitious beliefs. The film premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas becoming the first Lao film to screen outside of SE Asia. Chanthaly's success at festivals led to Mattie’s selection for the Cannes’ Fabrique des Cinemas du Monde, TIFF’s Directors Talent Lab, Berlinale Talents, and BIFAN’s Fantastic Film School. Afterward, Mattie worked with the Ministry of Culture to create the infrastructure necessary to introduce foreign co-production to Laos, including a framework for managing the country’s rigid censorship. In 2015, Mattie produced Laos’ first American and Japanese co-productions, which later respectively premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and Locarno Film Festival.
Mattie Do’s second feature, Dearest Sister, premiered at Fantastic Fest before screening at BFI’s London Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival and nearly two dozen other film festivals. The film received Special Jury Mentions at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Lund’s Fantastisk Filmfestival, and Fantasporto Film Festival. The film was later selected as Laos first official submission to the 90th Academy Awards.
ABOUT YELLOW VEIL PICTURES Formed in 2018 Yellow Veil Pictures is a New York City and Los Angeles-based worldwide film sales and distribution company focusing on boundary-pushing genre cinema. Yellow Veil Pictures sold such films as Tilman Singer’s debut feature LUZ, Jack Henry Robbins’ VHYES, George A. Romero’s THE AMUSEMENT PARK, and Philip Gelatt & Morgan Galen King’s THE SPINE OF NIGHT. Titles under their North American distribution arm include Frida Kempff’s Sundance hit KNOCKING and the Venice and TIFF selection THE LONG WALK, from director Mattie Do. In addition, Yellow Veil Pictures acts as the festival agent for Shudder’s LA LLORONA, BLOOD QUANTUM, HORROR NOIRE, HOST, and THE RANGER. Yellow Veil Pictures seeks to highlight emerging and established filmmakers who exist on the cusp of commercial and arthouse cinema while maintaining a unique focus on festival strategy.