A gently funny exploration of family, faith and the tensions between Thailand’s spiritual and modernist dimensions.
In a world where it’s not so easy to pause and look inwards, 9 Temples to Heaven arrives as a serene balm for the restless soul.
9 Temples to Heaven 2026
9 วัด สู่สวรรค์
When Sakol hears an ominous prophecy about his mother’s fate from a colleague, he assembles his mother and a large group of family members to visit nine Buddhist temples in a day, in an attempt to ward off disaster to the family matriarch.
As the family move from temple to temple, adhering to the various rituals and prayers synonymous with the Buddhist faith, mother’s health looks increasingly shaky as we learn more about the messy familial dynamics surrounding her.
Crafted with an exacting sense for visual compositions and meditative editing rhythms, 9 Temples to Heaven will reward patient viewers with an enriching and beguiling experience that will have you marveling at the beauty of Thailand’s temple architecture, while questioning institutionalised, ritualistic faith and its limitations in current times.
Mysterious and mesmerising, 9 Temples is directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse and produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who Sompot previously worked alongside as assistant director on Thai films Tropical Malady, Syndromes and Century, Cemetery of Splendour and Memoria.
A very special experience, best witnessed on the big screen, especially for one extraordinary moment featuring a solar eclipse.
– Cho Jinseok