[Reader-list] AFA Presents: MEKONG HOTEL by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

[rohitrellan at aol.in]

Dear Friends
 
The Asian Film Archive Presents Series returns with a Special Screening of 
MEKONG HOTEL by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, recognised as one of the most 
original voices in cinema today. Join us for this one-time Singapore debut 
screening of the film and a post-screening discussion with the director.

 
MEKONG HOTEL by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Date / Time: 23 November 2013 (Sat) / 6.30pm - 8pm
Venue: Filmgarde Bugis+, Level 5, Bugis+, 201 Victoria Street Singapore 188067 
Language: Thai with English subtitles
Duration: 57 mins
Rating: TBC
Ticket price: S$16 (price excludes online booking fee) from Filmgarde box 
offices and online ticketing http://fgcineplex.com.sg/
 
 
Synopsis
Mekong Hotel is a mesmerising cinematic essay drawing a portrait of a hotel near 
the Mekong River in the north-east of Thailand. The river there marks the border 
between Thailand and Laos. In the bedrooms and terraces, Apichatpong held a 
rehearsal with his crew for a movie that he wrote years ago called Ecstasy 
Garden. The film shuffles different realms, fact and fiction, expressing the 
bonds between a vampire-like mother and her daughter, the young lovers and the 
river. Mekong Hotel - since it was shot at the time of the heavy flooding in 
Thailand - also weaves in layers of demolition, politics, and a drifting dream 
of the future.
 
 
Director
Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and 
film producer.  His five feature films, short films and installations have won 
him widespread international recognition and numerous festival prizes, 
culminating in the winning of the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2010 with Uncle Boonmee 
Who Can Recall His Past Lives. His previous feature Syndromes and a Century 
(2006) was recognised as one of the best films of the last decade in several 
2010 polls.
 
Lyrical and often fascinatingly mysterious, Apichatpong's works are non-linear, 
dealing with memory and in subtle ways invoking personal politics and social 
issues. Working independently of the Thai commercial film industry, he devotes 
himself to promoting experimental and independent filmmaking through his 
production company Kick the Machine Films, founded in 1999.

Apichatpong has also mounted exhibitions and installations in many countries 
since 1998. His installations have included the multi-screen project Primitive 
(2009), which was complimented by Uncle Boonmee and which has been acquired for 
major museum collections and was presented at the Haus der Kunst, Munich, the 
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and The New Museum, New York among 
others. His most recent projects include a major installation for the 2012 
Kassel Documenta, on-line films for Mubi (Ashes, 2012) and for the Walker Art 
Center in the USA (Three Wonders of the World, 2012).
 
 
For more information, visit http://www.asianfilmarchive.org/Events/mekong_hotel.aspx