In advance of the UCCA film showcase, we interviewed Apichatpong Weerasethakul on the Thai film industry, what Thai films he recommends and the dream-like quality to his body of work.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is Thailand’s most internationally recognized filmmaker. He has produced a considerable number of shorts, videos and installation works which experiment with light, sound and movement in extraordinarily unique ways as he explores the relationship between man and his surroundings, dreams, sex, love and Thailand’s place in the world. Best known for his 2010 film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives—a controversial winner of the Palm d’Or at Cannes—Weerasethakul has spent his career undoing traditional methods of storytelling, preferring a weak plot and sensual, dreamlike visuals over a more consolidated, traditional narrative. The result is a mix of surreal imagery and very loose storytelling. The kind of disorder found in Weerasethakul’s films, which often show parallel storylines and seemingly unrelated narratives, invites the audience to open their minds and experience a broader interpretation. Weerasethakul’s work might take some getting used to, and his way of thinking about films and how he experiments at times is more exciting than the film itself. In this showcase at UCCA, he presents six of his feature films, from Mysterious Object at Noon and The Adventures of Iron Pussy, to Syndromes and a Century and Tropical Malady.

DETAILS

What: Apichatpong Weerasethakul Showcase

Where: UCCA

Tel: 6438-6675

When: Sun., Nov. 27 to Tue., Dec. 20