Apichatpong Weerasethakul

The Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (*1970) occupies a prominent position in 21st-century cinema as well as art. Since 2000, he has stood with his films - which follow a dreamlike logic, have a fascinatingly hypnotic effect, and speak of the power of the imagination - for an unprecedented freedom of storytelling. Wandering souls, ghosts, myths, memories, and the jungle as a central topos, make up the material of his cinema. His films are as present as they are transcendent, and the fantastic and mystical always form an integral part of everyday life. Spaces and times merge, the dead make contact with the living, the real and the magical coexist. Great attention is paid to the inanimate and non-human world. Personal experiences, local traditions, popular formats (soap operas, legends, comics, old movies, Thai pop) and current events characterize Weerasethakul's multiple award-winning works. They enable unique cinematic experiences, expanding perception and proving that the aesthetic possibilities of film are far from exhausted.

After a major retrospective in 2009, Arsenal is once again turning to the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, showing all of his now seven feature-length films from MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON (2000) to MEMORIA (2021). We are especially pleased that Apichatpong Weerasethakul will again be with us for the opening on July 5 & 6. (Birgit Kohler)

Thanks to the kind support of the DFFB.