Tropfest South East Asia (Tropfest SEA) appointed Apichatpong Weerasethakul as its Ambassador ahead of the inaugural regional edition of the world’s largest short film festival in George Town, Penang.
Apichatpong was born in Bangkok and grew up in Khon Kaen in north-eastern Thailand. He began making film and video shorts in 1994, and completed his first feature in 2000. He has also mounted exhibitions and installations in many countries since 1998. Working independently of the Thai commercial film industry, he is active in promoting experimental and independent film-making through his company Kick the Machine.
Tropfest SEA is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) and Malaysia Major Events, a division of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia.
From Left Tony Nagamiah (MME), Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Joe Sidek (Tropfest SEA)
The celebrated Thai independent film director, screenwriter and producer will attend Tropfest SEA’s festival day on 25 January. He joins a distinguished judging panel at the live judging ceremony, including Tropfest founder John Polson.
Weerasethakul is the first of Tropfest’s regional Ambassadors who will be announced in the weeks leading up to the festival. In 2005 he was presented with one of Thailand’s most prestigious awards, Silpatorn, by the Thai Ministry of Culture. In 2008, the French Minister of Culture bestowed on him the medal of Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des letter (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature). In 2011, he was given another honor for the same field with an Officer Medal.
The support and involvement of film personalities around the world is one of the trademarks of the festival, as seen in Tropfest editions in Australia, New Zealand, Arabia, and United States. Southeast Asia is Tropfest’s newest edition.
Weerasethakul is currently developing a multi-platform feature film with Illuminations Films in London, Primitive, about a sleeping sickness in a small town near the Mekong River in Thailand. His work as a visual artist has seen participation in international exhibitions and galleries including at prestigious biennale dOKUMENTA (13) in Kassel and at the Sharjah Biennial. His recent solo art exhibition Photophobia in Oslo, Norway was unveiled in November; exhibitions in London and Mexico City are scheduled for 2014.
Festival-related announcements will be made in the coming weeks, including the music-line up on Festival Day, screenings of specially curated Southeast Asian films, and the film symposium Roughcut.