1. Apichatpong Weerasethakul has received numerous additional accolades, including the 2016 Principal Prince Claus Award and the eighth edition of the Artes Mundi Prize.
23 Facts About Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul has widely exhibited in galleries, including FACT in Liverpool, and the BFI Gallery in London, the contemporary art space within BFI Southbank.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul was born in Bangkok, Thailand, to a Thai Chinese family.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul never learned to speak Chinese as his father, who was a member of the House of Representatives, died when he was young.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul grew up in a traditional Buddhist family, exposed to rituals that incorporate animism and Hinduism, spiritual practices retained in the surrealist tones of his works today.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul attended Khon Kaen University and received a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1994.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul made his first short film, Bullet, in 1993.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received a Master of Fine Arts in filmmaking in 1997.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul's feature-length debut, Dokfa nai meuman is a documentary and was conceptually based upon the "exquisite corpse" game invented by surrealists.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul co-founded the production company, Kick the Machine, in 1999, and uses the company as a vehicle for his own works, alongside Thai experimental films and video.
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Between Blissfully Yours and Tropical Malady, Apichatpong Weerasethakul co-directed The Adventure of Iron Pussy with artist Michael Shaowanasai, who starred as the main character, a transvestite secret agent, while pop singer Krissada Terrence, better known as Noi from the Thai band Pru, portrayed the male lead.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul's film was called Worldly Desires, while Japanese filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto made Vital, Bullet Ballet and Song Il-gon from South Korea created Magician.
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In 2005 Apichatpong Weerasethakul served as the consultant on the Tsunami Digital Short Films, a series of 13 films commissioned by the Thailand Culture Ministry's Office of Contemporary Art and Culture as a memorial tribute to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting tsunami that struck Thailand.
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In 2006, Apichatpong Weerasethakul released a feature film, Syndromes and a Century, that was commissioned by Peter Sellars for the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul refused to recut the film and said he would withdraw the film from domestic circulation.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul explained his reasons for doing so in an article in the Bangkok Post:.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul had written in a commentary earlier in the year:.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul presented the "Apichatpong Weerasethakul On Video Works" session as part of the "Tomyam Pladib" art exhibition that featured both Thai and Japanese artists who produced works regarding the coexistence of traditional and modern cultures.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul answered questions from the audience to conclude the presentation.
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The first English-language book on Apichatpong Weerasethakul was published in March 2009.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul's short is set in his home town, features 22 shots of its lake, almost the only recognizable feature from his childhood, which are arranged like players in a soccer game.
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Apichatpong Weerasethakul directed a segment of The Year of the Everlasting Storm, an anthology film.
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In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Apichatpong Weerasethakul signed an open letter published in Liberation demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.