Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Birthday:
16 July 1970, Bangkok, Thailand
Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. 1970, Bangkok) grew up in Khon Kaen, a city in the north east of Thailand. He has a degree in Architecture from Khon Kaen University and a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been making films and videos since the early 90s. He is one of the few filmmakers in Thaila...
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. 1970, Bangkok) grew up in Khon Kaen, a city in the north east of Thailand. He has a degree in Architecture from Khon Kaen University and a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been making films and videos since the early 90s. He is one of the few filmmakers in Thailand who have worked outside the strict Thai studio system. In his films, he experiments with certain elements found in the dramatic plot structure of Thai television and radio programs, comics and old films. He finds his inspiration in small towns around the country. In his work, he often uses non-professional actors and improvised dialogue in exploring the shifting boundaries between documentary and fiction.In 2000, he completed his first feature, Dokfa nai meuman (2000), a documentary that has been screened at many international festivals and received enthusiastic reviews and awards as well as being listed among the best films of the year 2000 by Film Comment and the Village Voice. He is active in promoting experimental and independent films through Kick the Machine, the company he founded in 1999. He is currently working on several video projects and a new feature, Tropical Malady. Show less «
I was very shy, so I didn't really interact well with others. My friends were the kids of doctors, because we all lived in the hospital hous...Show more »
I was very shy, so I didn't really interact well with others. My friends were the kids of doctors, because we all lived in the hospital housing unit. Even now I like hospitals - that sterilised smell, it brings back all these memories. I'd see a lot of sick and dying people, but at the time, I didn't have a big philosophical way of thinking about illness and death. To me, it was just people - they come and go. Show less «
When Sud sanaeha (2002) won a prize at Cannes, a studio got interested and bought the distribution rights, but they didn't understand this k...Show more »
When Sud sanaeha (2002) won a prize at Cannes, a studio got interested and bought the distribution rights, but they didn't understand this kind of film; they opened it in huge multiplexes, and people expected big entertainment. So my film really disappointed people. Show less «
Architecture taught me how to look at things and how to accommodate people in certain spaces. People experience space, beauty, in true time,...Show more »
Architecture taught me how to look at things and how to accommodate people in certain spaces. People experience space, beauty, in true time, and film is also like journeying through time. Show less «
Film is like a drug. It is a shelter when you cannot deal with reality.
Film is like a drug. It is a shelter when you cannot deal with reality.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Photos
