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A man stands in a warehouse, looking down at a red contraption with white tubes coming out of the top.

A Useful Ghost
(Pee Chai Dai Ka)

  •   Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
  •   Thailand

A vacuum factory is under pressure when a string of fatal workplace accidents leads to an unlikely phenomenon: deceased workers possessing machines and wreaking havoc on their operations. One particular soul—Nat, the young wife of the factory’s heir, killed by dust poisoning—is able to reunite with her grieving husband as a vacuum, reigniting their love stronger than ever. But faced with the fierce disapproval of her husband’s powerful family, Nat strives to be a polite and useful ghost, agreeing to help her in-laws exorcise the vacuum factory of its pesky lost souls. Her compassion for her fellow ghosts, however, illuminates the dark side of her work and the implications of forgetting those who are lost too soon.

A dazzling visual design, a penchant for deadpan whimsy, and an incisive focus on society’s marginalized are just a few of the colorful threads that form this genre-defying cinematic tapestry. An earnest exploration of loss and memory, this delightfully absurd phantasmagoric fable is equal parts witty, poignant, and heartbreaking.


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Event Information

Sunday, October 19, 2025
8:00pm

  •   130 minutes
LOCATION
AMC NEWCITY 14
1500 N Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60610

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    Special Guests

    Scheduled to attend:
    Director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

    Accessibility

    Cinema/Chicago is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible environment at all our programs and events. All event venues are fully wheelchair accessible, with no-step entrances or ramp access and elevators. All venues offer wheelchair-designated spaces, companion seating, easy-access theater seating, and accessible restrooms. For accommodation requests, please email us at access@chicagofilmfestival.com, call us at 312-683-0121, x108, or complete our Accommodation Request Form.

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