Don't have Netflix subscription? No problem. Cause you can watch all these Tai-Kadai movies on Youtube itself.

Joymoti জয়মতি (1935)

What if I told you that the first ever complete Tai-feature movie was actually a Dai Ahom movie? The film Joymoti directed by Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwalla is based on Dai Ahom Princess whose name is unfortunately not recorded in history, but later Assamese folklorists started calling her Soti Joymoti which to be very clear is a made-up name as Ahom historical manuscripts only record her as the wife of La Ngi (later Serpatpha).

Regardless the movie is mostly true about most things especially the sacrifice of the princess to save her husband from he terrible La Luk and even tortured in the most brutal way, she doesn't reveal the whereabouts of her husband making her an 'ideal wife' for the Hindu Assamese who aslo gave her the epithet Sati or Mahasati.

Jyotiprasad Agarwalla however doesn't use the word Sati (virtuous wife) and instead treats the whole character as a tragedy. A true lover of Cinema, this project cost JPA his entire family fortune and even bankrupted him. Although the movie is in Assamese language it still tries to be faithful to Dai Ahom history, as much as was possible in those times.

As much as I love JPA's work but I believe the best movie on Nang Seng Dao (the unnamed Ahom princess) is the 2006 Joymoti, which is an all-time Manju Borah Classic and definitely worth watching for its near accurate portrayal of Dai Ahom culture.

The King of the White Elephant (1940)

The first ever Thai language movie is Chok Song Chan (1927) but unfortunately only a 55-second fragment of the movie survives today making The King of the White Elephant (1940) the oldest complete Thai feature film in existence. Although the movie itself is in English it is a timeless classic promoting peace, and neutrality in the time of World War II. Overall it is a must watch for not just Dai people but all Cinema lovers in general.

Third Sister Liu 刘三姐 (1960)

This is my personal favourite movie in this list across the Tai-Kadai genre. It is a musical tribute to the great 16th Century singer Liu 刘 belonging to the Zhuang ethnic group. Although the movie itself is in Chinese it is shot completely in the Guangxi region and shows true representation of the Zhuang people. The movie, much like other movies during Maoist China, is about landlord oppression and explores communist themes.

My second most favourite song (spoiler alert) is where Liu calls out Landlord Mo

不种芝麻他吃油，不种桑蚕他穿绸，穷人血汗他喝尽，他是人间强盗头...
He does not plant the sesame but drinks its oil. He does not tend the mulberry but wears silk He quenches his thirst on the blood and sweat of the poor — He is the bandit chief among the men

And my favourite song, of course, is Folk Songs like Spring Water. An all time Classic and this one song as a whole defines Zhuang ethnicity today so watching this movie is a must for all Dai cultural enthusiasts.

Ong Baak องค์บาก (2003)

If there is any movie which created an entire industry, it is this one. Today an entire industry has been created in and around Muay Thai. Tens of thousands of farangs coming every year just to learn Muay Thai which no one even knew before this movie. I will not spoil the movie for you but if you are a martial arts lover then you definitely cannot skip this one. An al-time Tony Jaa classic.

Good Morning, Luang Prabang ສະບາຍດີ ຫລວງພະບາງ (2008)

Personally I recommend this movie only for learning Thai language and so that Laotian people don't feel left out of the chat. Otherwise it is not that great movie except for the fact that the lead actress (Khamly Philavong) is really beautiful and the movie itself is historical on its own as the first ever commercially produced Lao feature film.

Twilight Over Burma (2015)

Based on documentary of the same name, the film tells the true story of Inge Sargent (Sao Nang Thu Sandi) a normal Austrian girl who thought she married a normal Burmese guy, who later turns out, was literally a Shan prince (saopha). Her life of royalty is however short lived with the 1962 Coup D'état. What later happens to her and how she escapes is for you to find out from the film itself, which has been translated to Shan Language as well. And if you want you can read the original novel as well as its shan translation.

Let Me Understand Your Language 让我听懂你的语言 (2019)

While not exactly a 'movie' but this modern Drama explores the relationship between Dai and Han Chinese where we find Xu Haoran, a man from the city, who falls in love with a Dai ethnic girl named Yu Bo in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan.

His desire to learn her language and culture forms the core of the story. Overall it is a 36-episode television series which is available on Youtube with English subtitles. As a Dai and Chinese language nerd, you cannot ask for any better treat than this movie.