© AFP
Life after the Palme d’or
On 23 May 2010, Apichatpong Weerasethakul was awarded the Palme d’Or for his film, “Uncle Boonmee (Who Can Recall His Past Lives)”. “This is a great moment in the history of Thai cinema. It’s an important first for us,” declared the Thai filmmaker who, prior to the Competition at Cannes, lacked a French distributor.
Now that’s a thing of the past: the film has been distributed in numerous countries – it has already been released in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and, more recently, in Denmark, the United Kingdom and Spain – and it has been shown during numerous Festivals worldwide.
Six months on, Apichatpong travels a lot. Here, he looks back on the journey he has made since winning the Palme d’Or.
3 questions for Apichatpong Weerasethakul
How were the months that followed the day you received your Palme d’Or?
I have collected a lot of air miles! And it has been quite disorienting living in hotels. But I cannot complain because I have met many interesting people and hard-core audiences who know more about my work than I do!
Do you think that this award will change your career as a filmmaker?
Certainly. Even though I don’t think I will change the way I make films, I can say more firmly that I am a filmmaker. It’s more of an internal change.
Will your Palme d’or have an influence on the cinema in Thailand?
On young cinema, yes.
3 questions for Eric Lagesse, Distributor at Pyramide Films
What is it like distributing an art-house film that has been awarded the Palme d’or?
For a distributor, being awarded the Palme d’Or is, in itself, tremendously satisfying, just as I suspect winning the Goncourt Prize is for a publisher. In addition to this personal feeling, the Palme d’Or is like a giant spotlight that shines on just one film, turning it into a “must-see”. Regardless of whether it is liked or not, the film exists and doors open for it: it gets unqualified support from the AFCAE (The French Association of Art-House and Experimental Cinema) and all the cinemas in Paris and the rest of France want to screen it – the film was shown all over France for months – because cinema owners want to “have” the Palme d’Or at their cinemas. As a distributor, it’s extremely reassuring; you just have to be careful not to say “yes” to everyone when you have a demanding film like this one, to avoid it being “over-screened”. As for the spectators, I think they are becoming more and more attracted by Palme d’Or films, which become “must-sees”. People buy the latest Palme d’Or award winner in the same way they buy the latest Goncourt winner.
While the turnover of Apichatpong’s previous films was not insignificant, it is worth noting that his Palme d’Or winning film has enabled him to achieve a five-fold increase on his best sales to date. In absolute terms, that’s a very considerable boost.
How has the film been received?
In France, 80%of the press responded very positively indeed. What’s important for me as a distributor is that their articles make people want to go and see the film; that they mention the unique experience, the initiatory journey, karma, reincarnation and Buddhism. Those are the types of words that attract cinema-goers today. It would be misleading to say that people flocked to see the film, but I think that our campaign together with the Palme d’Or encouraged more people to discover a great filmmaker and a magical film.
How has the film fared at other festivals?
The film has taken part in various festivals: Toronto, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Edmonton and London, to name but a few. As the exporter, I can confirm that there has been a demand for the film at festivals around the world. Joe’s been travelling non-stop showing his film all over the place. And then, all things considered, I think the film has been marketed very well indeed (yet another advantage of the Palme d’Or). At festivals it is presented by local distributors.
