Apichatpong Weerasethakul was born 1970 in Bangkok and grew up in Khon Kaen, a city in the north east of Thailand.
Apichatpong 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, Mysterious Object at Noon (2000), a documentary that has been screened at many international festivals and received enthusiastic reviews and awards. He is active in promoting experimental and independent films through Kick the Machine, the company he founded in 1999.
His feature films include Tropical Malady, which won a jury prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Blissfully Yours, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard program at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and Syndromes and a Century, which premiered at the 63rd Venice Film Festival and was the first Thai film to be entered in competition there. His last movie till date Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives was awarded Golden Palm, the main film award of Cannes Film Festival 2010.
DAFilms.com is powered by Doc Alliance, a creative partnership of 7 key European documentary film festivals. Our aim is to advance the documentary genre, support its diversity and promote quality creative documentary films.
