“I am absolutely fascinated by Apichatpong Weerasethakul,” says director Paul Thomas Anderson, known for epics such as There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and The Master. Anderson, who has worked with actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis, says he hopes one day to film something akin to what emerges from the imagination of Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
The Thai director, also known as Joe, will be present at the Reykjavík International Film Festival and will be screening no fewer than three films. Apichatpong has been riding high with films that have secured his place among the stars of world cinema.
At RIFF, guests will have the chance to see one of his most celebrated films, Memoria, starring Tilda Swinton. In the film, Swinton’s character wanders the streets of Bogotá, Colombia, haunted by a mysterious sound that only she can hear. Memoria (2021) is a strange, beautiful, and dreamlike cinematic experience where memory and imagination meet — exactly the kind of space in which Apichatpong excels, crafting stories that exist at the border between reality and imagined worlds.
Another masterpiece, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, will also be screened at RIFF. The film follows the final days of Uncle Boonmee, where time grows indistinct and ghosts emerge from the fog of memory. It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2010, and according to The Guardian critics, it is an essential spiritual experience that leaves no one untouched.
Paul Thomas Anderson is not the only acclaimed director fascinated by Apichatpong’s films — Martin Scorsese has cited the Thai director’s first feature as one of his favorite films. Mysterious Object at Noon will also be shown on the big screen at Háskólabíó, offering a portrait of Thailand at the turn of the millennium, blurring the line between documentary and fiction.
Film lovers and RIFF guests will also have the opportunity to attend a masterclass with Apichatpong on September 30, following the screening of Memoria.
The Reykjavík International Film Festival is happening from September 25 to October 5.