Private Project

The Lost Princess

Once the heart of the Lanna Kingdom, Chiang Mai’s royal lineage was left without land or power after its annexation into Siam. Chao Duangduen, granddaughter of the last king, has carried the title of “princess” throughout her life, clinging to rituals of a vanished world. Now 89 and living with Alzheimer’s, she drifts between memory and oblivion, her authority reduced to ceremony and solitude.

For her filmmaker granddaughter, each visit becomes both an act of witness and a journey of reconciliation. Observing Duangduen not as royalty but as family, she confronts the distance created by tradition and seeks to understand what was lost—from the Lanna Kingdom itself to the fragile bond between grandmother and granddaughter.

  • Kornpat Pawakranond
    Director
  • Kamontorn Eakwattanakij
    Producer
  • Lee Chatametikool
    Editor
    By the Time It Gets Dark,Where We Belong, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,
  • Kamontorn Eakwattanakij
    Editor
    P047, Tang Wong, Concrete Cloud, How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)
  • Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr
    Sound Editor / Mixer
    Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Eye on the Ball, Snap, Wonderful Town
  • Chaitawat Thrisansri
    Colorist
    Call me by Your Name, The Cave, Where We Belong, Snap
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Documentary, Feminist
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 28 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 16, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    154,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Thailand
  • Country of Filming:
    Thailand
  • Language:
    Thai
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Kornpat Pawakranond

Kornpat Pawakaranond, known as Korn, is a filmmaker and visual artist whose work explores memory, heritage, and the human experience. She holds a Fine Arts degree from King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi and a Master’s in Film Directing from London Film School, graduating with first-class honors.
Korn began her career as a Creative Art Director, winning first place in the B.A.D. student workshop 2010 and working with brands such as Ogilvy, JWT, Heineken, and Tiger Beer. In 2015, she transitioned fully into directing, crafting narrative-rich and visually striking commercials for international brands including Pepsi, Gucci, Sunsilk, and Honda.
In 2025, she directed her feature-length experimental documentary The Lost Princess, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Purin Pictures. This deeply personal debut explores memory, legacy, and intimate family bonds, establishing Korn as a storyteller with a distinctive, observational voice.
She continues to create films through Sun and Moon Productions, bridging personal stories and universal human experiences through artful cinema.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I grew up in Bangkok, living an ordinary life, but each visit to Chiang Mai reminded me that I was a granddaughter of Chao Duangduen, a descendant of the northern royal family. I had to follow rituals—wear traditional skirts, tie my hair, and play the role of “a princess’s descendant”—which kept me distant from my grandmother. She was always the “princess,” never simply my grandma.

This distance made me wonder: how do you love someone who feels unreachable? I realized the only way was to stay close, to breathe the same air, and to embrace not just her virtues but also her flaws. I have never believed in idolizing anyone—not even those born to royal blood. To me, love is about the courage to accept someone in all their imperfection.

Filming became a way to witness her life honestly. I saw her loneliness, even amid ceremonies and visitors, and how rigid expectations shaped her relationships. Observing her not as royalty, but as my grandmother, allowed our long-lost bond to begin shifting.
This documentary is both a record of her fading world and my own reckoning with it. I chose an observational approach—quiet, patient, and truthful—to let audiences see her as I did: not an icon, but a human being.
— Kornpat / Director