Take an intimate two-day, two-night journey on the Thai railway, in this mesmerising documentary that fascinates as a sublime social microcosm.

Eight years in the making, the debut work from Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse – who studied under James Benning and served as assistant director on many of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's films; the latter returning the favour here as a producer – takes audiences on a journey on board the Thai railway, playing witness to an entire cross-section of the population in the process.

Chidgasornpongse's hypnotic frames move to the clattering, insistent rhythm of the train itself, as we glide from crowded working class carriages through busy vendors, soldiers and children, through to relatively empty first class cabins occupied by rich Thais mingling with foreign tourists. Colourful and gentle, the observational lens of Railway Sleepers offers up a revealing portrait of Thai society as moving as it is incisive.

'Railway Sleepers transfixes the audience on a journey through Thailand. The ultimate people-watching scenario.' – Vox