Thai Forest Spirit Horror ‘Cher,’ First Thai Winner at Frontières, Joins Tokyo Gap-Financing Market

A Thai horror film built on the folklore of the Nang Mai, the forest nymphs of Thai myth, is the only Thai entry in the 2026 Tokyo Gap-Financing Market lineup.

“Cher” arrives in Tokyo after becoming the first Thai project selected for, and awarded a top prize at, Canada’s Frontières Co-Production Market.

Benetone Films and Fearfolks are producing the feature, which Songsak Mongkolthong (“Graveyard Horror,” “School Tales the Series”) directs from a screenplay by Patrick Graham, writer of Netflix’s “Ghoul” and “Betaal.”

Rattanawadee “Mim” Wongthong (“Death Whisperer”) heads the cast, with Pae Arak and Weir Sukollawat (“4 Tigers”). Vikash Nowlakha, who shot the “Dhurandhar” duology, is the cinematographer. The producers said those two Indian films earned a combined $330 million at the global box office.

Mongkolthong said the story raises the possibility that the Nang Mai, long part of Thai belief, may have different origins from the ones taught in Thailand.

“The idea of starting a new life begins with confronting our own prejudices, anger, and hatred. When we learn to move beyond anger and hatred, a new life can begin,” he said.

Benetone Films CEO Rachvin Narula and COO Kulthep Narula said the company backed the project from the outset and treated it, as the studio’s first tentpole, differently from the approach of other Thai studios.

“We are absolutely thrilled it is getting the global recognition it deserves so early on,” they said.

Tokyo is the latest stop on a market run for the film. It was selected for the It Project market at the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF), part of South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), and won at Frontières in July.

“We are extremely grateful to BIFAN, Frontières and TIFFCOM for giving Thai films a voice on this global stage, and for allowing us to bear these great honors,” said Fearfolks CEO Hans Audric Estialbo. “Prestigious markets like TIFFCOM allow the film to build momentum and a community of followers early, which is what most successful IPs need now.”

Filming is due to start in the first three months of 2027, ahead of a global release in 2028.

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market runs as part of TIFFCOM, the content market attached to the Tokyo International Film Festival.