Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (MFA 1998, HON 2011) is recognized as one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema. Lyrical and often fascinatingly mysterious, his nonlinear films deal with memory and in subtle ways invoke personal politics and complex social issues. Working independently of Thailand’s commercial film industry, he devotes himself to promoting experimental and independent filmmaking. In 1999 he founded Kick the Machine Films, which produces all his films.

Weerasethakul’s six feature films, short films, and installations have gained widespread international recognition and numerous awards, including the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. His Tropical Malady won the Cannes Competition Jury Prize in 2004 and Blissfully Yours won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Award in 2002. Weerasethakul’s first feature Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) has been recently restored by Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation. His installations have included the multiscreen project Primitive (2009), which was acquired by Tate Modern, London, and Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris. He exhibited a major installation at Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany, and his film installations Dilbar (2013) and Fireworks (Archives) (2014) have been presented in solo exhibitions in Oslo, London, Mexico City, and Kyoto. In 2015 Weerasethakul staged the light projection performance Fever Room for the inauguration of the Asian Arts Theatre in Gwangju, South Korea. This performance is currently touring internationally. A retrospective of his films was presented at Tate Britain in 2016.  Weerasethakul has been awarded the Sharjah Biennial Prize and the prestigious Yanghyun Art Prize in South Korea. He was also a recipient of the 2016 Principal Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands. His survey exhibition Apichatpong Weerasethakul: The Serenity of Madness, curated by Gridthiya Gaweewong (MA 1996) will be on view in SAIC’s Sullivan Galleries September 16–December 8.