Southeast Asia has been a hotspot for a budding movie scene for the past decade, although they are overshadowed by the content coming out of East Asian neighbors South Korea and Japan. With central hubs in Thailand and the Philippines, the region has been producing a variety of romance, drama, and action films that may not have received the global attention they deserve. The 2010s were a testament to this, as many great movies flew under the radar of indie and mainstream audiences alike.

From Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father, which became available to stream on Netflix, to hits like Hello, Love, Goodbye, many Southeast Asian movies offer a subtle take on what it means to be from the region in contemporary society. Whether it's from the perspective of migrant workers or rural dwellers, the national cinemas of the region provide critical historical context to societies that are suffering from the impacts of both colonialism, war, and internal conflicts. These are the best Southeast Asian movies of the 2010s.

7 Cemetery of Splendor

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is one of Thailand’s premiere directors and one of the most well-known directors to come from the region on a global scale. He released Cemetery of Splendor in 2015, which made its debut at Cannes Film Festival. An epidemic is rapidly spreading across the country, but instead of it being like COVID-19, it makes people see spirits to the point where they begin to lose their grip on reality. Its focus is on an ordinary woman volunteering to watch over sick soldiers and how she tries to uncover the roots of their suffering.

Related: Best East Asian Movies of the 2010s, Ranked

6 First They Killed My Father

Angelina Jolie directed First They Killed My Father, a true story based on the memoirs of the Cambodian-American refugee Loung Ung. Told from the perspective of a young girl watching as Cambodia falls under the reign of the brutal Khmer Rouge, First They Killed My Father brings to life the tragedy that many Cambodians today still feel the impacts and wounds from. A devastating micro look at the conflict that plagued the country, the movie is haunting.

5 Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

The Indonesian drama Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts is not what it seems on the surface level. It is a thriller with elements of the classic Western, but adapted for Indonesian audiences and features a woman in the leading role. Told in a four-act structure, Marlina takes place on an island in rural eastern Indonesia, and after Marlina’s husband dies, robbers show up to steal everything away from her. This sparks a physical and emotional journey that spirals with murder, deceit, and the cycles of violence that women have to face in their everyday lives.

4 Ilo Ilo

The Asian Financial Crisis hit in 1997, but in Singapore, one family has just hired a Filipina maid to take care of their children. It tells the story of the relationship between the maid and the youngest son, who is considered troubled and struggles in both school and everyday life. Quiet but comforting, Ilo Ilo became the first Singaporean film to win an award at Cannes Film Festival when it was screened there.

Related: 5 Asian Directors Whose Movies You Should Be Watching

3 In the Absence of the Sun

Released in 2014, In the Absence of the Sun is another underrated gem to come out of Indonesia during the decade. It is beautifully shot over the course of a single night and is told from the perspective of three different women living in the city of Jakarta. Not only does the movie tell the story of the women it features, but it captures the essence and soul of the capital city of Indonesia, whether it is people looking down on their phones, narrowly missing the motorcycles and incoming traffic as they cross the street or the familiar youths that populate urban centers.

2 Bad Genius

Thailand’s Bad Genius is a heist film, but the not kind that the average viewer is thinking of. It tackles the subject of cheating on high-profile college entrance exams, but leverages it with undertones of class dynamics. When a student, desperate for some money to alleviate her family’s financial problems, agrees to begin a cheating ring with two of her wealthier friends, it opens up to create a situation that slowly sucks other people in, whether they want to be there or not. These high schoolers are gambling with their futures, pushing the stakes higher as the story progresses.

1 On the Job

On the Job is a Filipino neo-noir that made waves when first screened at Cannes Film Festival, and when it was finally released domestically in the Philippines, it was a hit. Two hitmen that are serving time in prison are given a get out of jail free card under one condition: they are going to kill a few people in the process. These murders are often for political reasons, as they are connected to higher figures in the national government. On the Job is a cat and mouse game between the cops trying to hunt down these two killers and them continuously carrying out their contracts.