Apichatpong Weerasethakul facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Apichatpong Weerasethakul
อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล
Apichatpong Weerasethakul in 2019
Born	(1970-07-16) 16 July 1970 (age 55) Bangkok, Thailand
Other names	Joe Jei (เจ้ย)
Education	Khon Kaen University SAIC
Occupation	Film director producer screenwriter
Years active	1993–present
Awards	Palme d'Or

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thai: อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; born 16 July 1970) is a famous Thai independent film director, writer, and producer. He also teaches at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Apichatpong works outside the usual Thai film studio system, making many feature films and short movies. Friends and fans often call him "Joe" because his full name is quite long.

His well-known films include Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, which won the top prize, the Palme d'Or, at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Another film, Tropical Malady, won the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Blissfully Yours won a major award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. His film Syndromes and a Century was the first Thai film to compete at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. Cemetery of Splendour was also highly praised at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Apichatpong has won many other awards, like the 2016 Principal Prince Claus Award. His first film made in English was Memoria in 2021, which was filmed in Colombia.

His movies often explore themes like dreams, nature, and how people from Western countries see Thailand. He likes to tell stories in unusual ways and often works with people who are not professional actors.

Apichatpong has also shown his art in galleries, including FACT in Liverpool and the BFI Gallery in London.

Early Life and Education

Apichatpong was born in Bangkok, Thailand. His family was Thai Chinese. Both of his parents were doctors who worked in a hospital in Khon Kaen. His grandparents came from Canton, China.

Apichatpong grew up in a traditional Buddhist family. He was around rituals that mixed animism (belief in spirits) and Hinduism. These spiritual ideas can be seen in the dream-like style of his films today.

Some of his early inspirations included the Dada art movement and the "boxes" made by artist Joseph Cornell.

Apichatpong studied at Khon Kaen University. He earned a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1994. He made his very first short film, Bullet, in 1993. Later, he went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in filmmaking in 1997.

Career Highlights

Apichatpong in Vienna in 2010

Apichatpong's first full-length movie was Dokfa nai meuman (Mysterious Object at Noon). It was a documentary inspired by a game called "exquisite corpse," where people take turns adding to a drawing or story without seeing what others have done. In 1999, he helped start a film company called Kick the Machine. This company helps him make his own films and supports other experimental films and videos from Thailand. The company also helped organize the Bangkok Experimental Film Festival several times.

Award-Winning Films

Apichatpong's 2002 film Sud Sanaeha (Blissfully Yours) was his first story-based movie. It won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. However, it faced some censorship in Thailand. His 2004 film Sud Pralad (Tropical Malady) won a Jury Prize at the same festival.

..... This low-budget movie was a funny parody of old Thai action and musical films from the 1960s and 1970s.

Besides his feature films, Apichatpong is also known for his short films, video art, and art installations. For example, he made Worldly Desires for the 2005 Jeonju International Film Festival. He also helped create the Tsunami Digital Short Films project, a series of 13 films made to remember the 2004 tsunami that hit Thailand. His film for this project was called Ghost of Asia.

In 2005, the Thai Office of Contemporary Art and Culture gave Apichatpong the Silpathorn Award for filmmaking. This award honors living artists in different fields.

Film Censorship in Thailand

In 2006, Apichatpong released Syndromes and a Century. This film was made for a festival celebrating the 250th birthday of the famous composer Mozart. It was shown at the 63rd Venice Film Festival and many other film events.

However, when the film was supposed to be released in Thailand, the Thai Censorship Board demanded that four scenes be removed. Apichatpong refused to cut his film. He decided to withdraw it from being shown in Thailand. .....

The scenes the censors wanted to remove included doctors acting "inappropriate" (like kissing or drinking) in a hospital. Other scenes showed a Buddhist monk playing a guitar and two monks playing with a remote-control toy. The censors would not return the film unless the cuts were made.

This censorship happened while Thailand was considering a new film ratings system. This new law would allow the government to censor and ban films that they thought would "disrupt social order" or "impact national security." To fight against this law, Apichatpong and other directors formed the Free Thai Cinema Movement. They believed that the government should not have the power to ban films. They wanted an independent group of film professionals to handle film ratings instead.

A protest was held outside the Parliament building in Bangkok. Apichatpong and other directors held signs that said: "No Freedom. No Democracy. No Peace." Despite their efforts, the new ratings law, which still allowed films to be cut and banned, was passed in December 2007.

Recent Works and Recognition

Apichatpong also presented his video works at the "Tomyam Pladib" art exhibition, which featured Thai and Japanese artists exploring how traditional and modern cultures mix.

In 2009, the first English book about Apichatpong was published. It included writings from many experts and even the actress Tilda Swinton.

"Primitive," Apichatpong's first solo art exhibition, opened in 2009. It included videos and prints. This art project was filmed in Nabua, a town on the border between Thailand and Laos. The exhibition later came to the New Museum in America in 2011.

In 2010, Apichatpong's film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This is one of the highest honors in filmmaking. The film was also chosen to represent Thailand at the Academy Awards, but it did not make the final list.

In 2012, Apichatpong's film Mekong Hotel was shown at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2013, Apichatpong received the "Sharjah Biennial Prize" in the United Arab Emirates. He also won Japan's "Fukuoka Art and Culture Prize" in June of that year.

In 2014, it was announced that Apichatpong would be one of 32 directors from around the world to direct a short film for Short Plays, a soccer-themed movie. His short film was set in his hometown and featured shots of its lake.

Apichatpong's most recent film, Memoria, was made with actress Tilda Swinton. It was filmed in Colombia in 2019 and premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It won the Jury Prize there. Apichatpong also directed a part of The Year of the Everlasting Storm, which is a collection of short films.

Future Projects

It was reported in October 2024 that Apichatpong Weerasethakul is planning a new feature film set in Sri Lanka. Production is expected to start in 2026. The film might be inspired by a book called The Fountains of Paradise and an article by a Thai woman who visited Sri Lanka for a religious trip.

Personal Views

In an interview in May 2013, Apichatpong shared that all his films are very personal to him. He doesn't see himself as just a cultural representative for Thailand.

In December 2023, Apichatpong joined 50 other filmmakers in signing an open letter. This letter asked for a ceasefire and an end to the harm to civilians during the conflict in Gaza. It also asked for help to reach people in Gaza and for hostages to be released.

Filmography

Feature film

Short films and installations

• Bullet (1993)
• 0116643225059 (1994)
• Kitchen and Bedroom (1994)
• Like the Relentless Fury of the Pounding Waves (1996)
• Rice Artist Michael Shaowanasai's Performance (1996)
• 100 Years of Thai Cinema (for Thai Film Foundation, 1997)
• thirdworld (1998)
• The Lungara Eating Jell-O (for World Artists for Tibet, 1998)
• Windows (1999)
• Malee and the Boy (1999)
• Boys at Noon (2000)
• Boys at Noon / Girls at Night (2000)
• Haunted Houses Project: Thailand (for Istanbul Biennial, 2001)
• Secret Love Affair (for Tirana) (2001)
• Narratives: Masumi Is a PC Operator / Fumiyo Is a Designer / I Was Sketching / Swan's Blood (for Intercross Creative Center, 2001)
• Second Love in Hong Kong, co-director (2002)
• Golden Ship (for the Memlingmuseum, 2002)
• This and Million More Lights (for 46664, 2003)
• GRAF: Tong / Love Song / Tone (2004)
• It Is Possible That Only Your Heart Is Not Enough to Find You a True Love: True Love in Green / True Love in White (for Busan Biennial, 2004)
• Worldly Desires (for Jeonju International Film Festival, 2004)
• Ghost of Asia, co-director (for Tsunami Digital Short Films project, 2005)
• Waterfall (for Solar Cinematic Art Gallery/Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, 2006)
• Faith (for FACT/Liverpool Biennial, 2006)
• The Anthem (for LUX/Frieze Art Fair, 2006)
• Unknown Forces (for REDCAT, 2007)
• Luminous People (in The State of the World, 2007)
• Because (2007)
• My Mother's Garden (for Christian Dior, 2007)
• Meteorites (for Short Films for the King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th Birthday, 2007)
• The Palace (for National Palace Museum, 2007)
• Emerald (2007)
• Vampire (for Louis Vuitton, 2008)
• Mobile Men (in Stories on Human Rights, 2008)
• Phantoms of Nabua (for Toronto International Film Festival, 2009)
• Empire (2010)
• M Hotel (2011)
• For Tomorrow For Tonight (2011)
• The Importance of Telepathy (for Documenta, 2012)
• Cactus River (for Walker Art Center, 2012)
• Mekong Hotel (for Arte, 2012)
• Ashes (2012)
• Sakda (Rousseau) (2012)
• Dilbar (at Sharjah Biennial, 2013)
• Fireworks (2014)
• Footprints (2014)
• Fever Room (at Steirischer Herbst and Kunstenfestival des Arts, 2016)
• Ablaze (2016)
• Blue (2018)
• Constellations (at Gwangju Biennale, 2018)
• Night Colonies (2021)
• A Minor History, Part 1 (2021) (at 100 Tonson Foundation)
• A Minor History, Part 2 (2022) (at 100 Tonson Foundation)
• A Conversation with the Sun (at Bangkok City City Gallery, 2022)
• A Conversation with the Sun (VR) (2022)
• Solarium (2023)

Contributions

• 2008 Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International
• 2011 "For Tomorrow For Tonight", Irish Museum of Modern Art
• 2013 "Mirage City Cinema", Sharjah Biennal 11
• 2013 "Photophobia", Oslo, Norway
• 2025 Designing of the trophy of the 'Busan Awards' for the competition section for the 30th Busan International Film Festival.