Apichatpong Weerasethakul (MFA 1998, HON 2011) has dedicated his career to shining a light on his native Thailand. Award-winning films like Blissfully Yours and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives have made his name internationally recognizable.
Whether traversing the subject of love affairs, reincarnation, and generational trauma or experiencing degrees of consciousness unbeknownst to others, Weerasethakul’s films carry a distinct attraction to the tenor and terrain of Thailand, where he is based.
All of these films are notable for their reconfiguring of the sensory environment. Rumbles, warbles, and sighs take on as much significance as flesh and blood characters. They’re all also in some way concerned with the social reality that defines Weerasethakul’s birthplace.
“I think there's some kind of obsession with your own environment,” Weerasethakul said. “There's this sense of trying to try to understand, which I was not before. So I think film allows me to kind of discover or investigate; for me, without film, without a camera, I wouldn't do it.”
