Mabel and Her Future
A seven-minute short film set in an imagined world, weaving together drama, thriller, and sci-fi elements.
Shot in Thailand during the pandemic, the film uses a tense narrative and vivid visual language to explore resistance, freedom, and the power of choice.
Synopsis
Mabel, an obedient and well-behaved girl, gathers all the courage she has to defy the life path her parents have planned for her.
As her mother closes in, will this act of defiance become the beginning of her own dream, or the end of it?
Director’s Note
This story originates from a young Chinese girl who sharply captures the pressures imposed by an authoritarian system, and the difficult choices that follow. Growing up in East Asia’s patriarchal and exam-driven culture, she projects a part of herself into the fictional world of Mabel.
Through Mabel’s quiet endurance and sudden rebellion, I felt her struggle and her questioning of the system she lives in.
Mabel is her. And she is also everyone who has ever found the courage to take the helm of their own destiny.
7 min · Digital Format · 2.35:1 · Color
Thailand · 2021
Short Film / Drama · Thriller · Sci-Fi
Production Company
Chunli Films
Directed / Edited / Color Grading by
Chen Li
Producers
Chen Li
Ruilin Ma
Writer
Ruilin Ma
Cast
Pimmada Chitteng
Bonnie Zellerbach
Ross James Cain
Cinematography
Director of Photography: Udomsak Lekkrajang
1st Assistant Camera: Wuttipong Kamsorn
Camera Operator: Nuttapong Dokkrathong
Camera Equipment & Team: Unit-E Bangkok
Lighting Department
Gaffer: Kiattisak Somwang
Lighting Equipment & Team: Cinerent Thailand
Sound Department
Sound Recordist: Martin Geissmann
Boom Operator: Kitisak Buakuson
Production Department
Line Producer: Pattarin Chaisupasakul
Line Production Manager: Nutwara Salakrontanawat
Location: Li Chen / Udomsak Lekkrajang / Pattarin Chaisupasakul
Intern: Mevika Sueplao-Ngio
Art Department
Production Designers: Li Chen / Udomsak Lekkrajang
Props Master & Art Assistant: Teeraphong Nampetch & Team
Costume
Costume Designer: Ruilin Ma
Costume Coordinator: Li Hui
Makeup & Hair
Damian Black
BTS Photography
Pakorn Mairiang
Post-Production
Sound Mixing: Saw Yan Naung
Visual Effects: Lakshitha Chirath
Music
Composer: Galo Duran
Chorus: Lizeth Lezama
Narration: Chen Li
Production Support
Government Permit Coordination (COVID): Sutthirat Suriyan
