Filmmaker honored in Vienna wins Palme D’Or

Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul – whose films were the subject of a retrospective at the Austrian Film Museum in April, 2009 – was awarded the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his beguiling and beautiful film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

Described by the Guardian as "gloriously worthy" of the coveted prize, the joint production was filmed on locations in France, Germany, Spain, Thailand and the U.K., and is considered a departure from the disconnection and dark cynicism of recent winners.

"This is a visionary film," wrote critic Peter Bradshaw in the guardian.co.uk, describing it as "mysterious, dreamlike, gentle, quiet, magical."

An anthology of critical essays, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, was published in March 2009, film critic James Quandt, ed., the first on the filmmaker in English and included contributions from cultural theorist Benedict Anderson, filmmaker Mark Cousins and the Academy Award winning actress and cinephile Tilda Swinton.

Two of his films are listed among the 10 best of the decade by Film Comment magazine’s 2010 ranking.

 

See also: Thai Cinema Made New