caption birth_place othername birth_date yearsactive image article_title name occupation alma_mater
apichatpong weerasethakul , december 2010 bangkok , thailand joe , jei 16 july 1970 1993-present apichatpong weerasethakul.jpg apichatpong weerasethakul
 apichatpong weerasethakul film director , producer & screenwriter khon chicago kaen university school of the art institute of
apichatpong weerasethakul

apichatpong `` joe '' weerasethakul -lrb- ; ; ; born july 16 , 1970 -rrb- is a thai independent film director , screenwriter , and film producer .
his feature films include `` uncle boonmee who can recall his past lives '' , winner of the prestigious 2010 cannes film festival palme d'or prize ; `` tropical malady '' , which won a jury prize at the 2004 cannes film festival ; `` blissfully yours '' , which won the top prize in the un certain regard program at the 2002 cannes film festival ; , `` syndromes and a century '' , which premiered at the 63rd venice film festival and was the first thai film to be entered in competition there , and `` cemetery of splendor '' which debuted at the cannes film festival in 2015 .
working outside the strict confines of the thai film studio system , weerasethakul has directed several features and dozens of short films .
themes reflected in his films -lrb- frequently discussed in interviews -rrb- include dreams , nature , sexuality -lrb- including his own homosexuality -rrb- , and western perceptions of thailand and asia , and his films display a preference for unconventional narrative structures -lrb- like placing titles/credits at the middle of a film -rrb- and for working with non-actors .
cinephiles affectionately refer to him as `` joe '' -lrb- a nickname that he , like many with similarly long thai names , has adopted out of convenience -rrb- .
