Cannes Palme d'Or winning filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul grew up in Khon Kaen in north-eastern Thailand. As a young boy he was fascinated by the local storytelling traditions as well as the science-fiction and fantasy films he watched in the cinema.
He began making films and video shorts in 1994 and completed his first feature in 2000. He has also mounted exhibitions and installations in many countries since 1998 and is now recognised as a major international visual artist. Working independently of the Thai commercial film industry, he devotes himself to promoting experimental and independent filmmaking through his company Kick the Machine Films, founded in 1999, which also produces all his films.
In the multiple-screen installation Primitive 2009, Apichatpong invites us to piece together a narrative that spans history, fantasy and the supernatural.
