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<\/p>\nWhen Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul made the 2021 Colombian Oscar entry \u201cMemoria,\u201d his first movie outside of his home country, it was only the start of his new chapter in Latin America. Last year summer, Apichatpong hosted a workshop for aspiring filmmakers in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, an ideal backdrop for his languid, otherworldly cinematic creations. Now, he\u2019s ready to do it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second workshop is coming in September,\u201d Apichatpong told IndieWire in a video call from Thailand this week. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be called \u2018How Not to Make Movies.\u2019\u201d He smiled. \u201cI\u2019m serious,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes you really don\u2019t need cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a bold statement from a filmmaker whose entire career has been defined by uncompromising, immersive filmmaking on his own terms. Apichatpong\u2019s films, the subject of an upcoming retrospective at New York City\u2019s Film at Lincoln Center in May, operate as sensuous mysteries. From his 2000 debut \u201cMysterious Object at Noon\u201d through his Palme d\u2019Or winner \u201cUncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives\u201d and last year\u2019s \u201cMemoria,\u201d the director\u2019s slow-burn style blends dreams and allegories to create a unique sense of place.<\/p>\n
However, Apichatpong\u2019s fixation on the experiential nature of cinema has led him to discourage filmmakers from more literal-minded approaches to the medium. \u201cMany people are really focused on the image and the technique,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, it is more important that the journey is really, really mindful. The idea is to listen to the world and yourself because you can get lost a lot with all different noises and media expressions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The workshop will continue to be hosted by Playlab Films, following a template that was originally established by the late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami and later developed by Werner Herzog. Last year, 50 filmmakers from around the world participated in the workshop, and each participant created their own short film with Apichatpong\u2019s feedback.<\/p>\n
He was eager to return to the Amazon, though he wasn\u2019t sure of the exact location, and expected it would take place outside of Peru. \u201cThe time in the Amazon jungle for us is so precious \u2014 to just slow down and ask why we make movies,\u201d he said. \u201cCinema is a way to see the world, but you also have to realize when you don\u2019t need it. I was surprised, myself, to see how passive I was about cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was encouraged by his experience working in Colombia on \u201cMemoria,\u201d which employed many younger members of the local film community. \u201cWith the political shift there, I think people want to express something different,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of filmmakers there who are not my generation trying to figure out what else they can express.\u201d<\/p>\n
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