Buffalo Girls is a documentary film about two eight-year-old Thai girls who engage in professional Muay Thai boxing in rural Thailand.
The documentary is an intimate look into the lives of two very young, professional Muay Thai fighters: Stam Sor Con Lek and Pet Chor Chanachai. At only eight years old, the two girls fight throughout rural Thailand to earn money to support their families, as well as trying to secure the 22-kilogram Muay Thai Championship belt of Thailand. The film also addresses the culture of children's fighting through interviews with the children's parents, the referees who officiate the fights, and the professional gamblers who bet on them.
The impoverished farming communities of rural Thailand offer few opportunities for economic gain and boxing is one of the few alternatives to the country’s commercial sex trade as a means of escaping the extreme poverty. Child boxers in Thailand can often earn a family’s monthly rent from a single bout, sometimes taking home more than what a farmer or factory worker earns in a month. For the film’s young protagonists, boxing is an opportunity to help their parents supplement the family income and improve their standard of living.
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