On Blue

On Blue

“In 2018, I made a film called Blue. In it, my regular actress Jenjira Pongpas Widner is unable to sleep. She is in a bed surrounded by banana trees. Nearby, a set of traditional theater backdrops unspools, revealing two alternate landscapes: a sunset over the sea and the foyer of a royal palace. Later on, her lack of sleep seems to set the place on fire. A flicker of personal and social recollections lingers on throughout the night. I imagine that Jenjira’s insomniac fire will eventually die down and she will be able to sleep. Similarly, I reflect on the past years as we appear to have slept through the pandemic. Perhaps we are ready to wake up. On Blue was inspired by the moments of awakening, of sunrise. As uncertainty becomes the norm, I treasure this phenomenon's consistency. It's predictable yet brings tremendous change. Revisiting Blue was like re-observing and rearranging a dream before dawn. Perhaps our brains are hurriedly retreating their fragmented scenes, storing them in the shadows before consciousness emerges. I saw a blue sheet crumble like a dream. An old cinema set was reanimated for the last performance. When the first light reaches the eyes, there is a profound sense of clarity. The color blue was giving way to the morning gold. Dream and reality coexist, memories and conditionings fade. Even the word "blue" has lost its meaning. In an instant, we are newborns with no ties to anything” A. W.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Cinematography: Chatchai Suban
Editing: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Sound: Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr
Actors: Jenjira Pongpas Widner
Production: Kick the Machine Films
Sets: Natchanon Pribwai
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Thailand
Production Year: 2022
Duration: 16'
Contact: Kick the Machine

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Apichatpong began making films and video shorts in 1994 and completed his first feature in 2000. He has also mounted exhibitions and installations in many countries since 1998. Apichatpong is recognized as a major international filmmaker and visual artist. His works are characterized by their use of non-linear storytelling, often dealing with themes of memory, loss, identity, desire, and history. His works have won him widespread international recognition and numerous awards, including the Cannes Jury Prize in 2021 for Memoria, his first film shot outside of Thailand featuring Tilda Swinton. He also won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2010 with Uncle Boonmee, Who Can Recall His Past Lives. His Tropical Malady won the Cannes Competition Jury Prize in 2004 and Blissfully Yours won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Award in 2002. Syndromes and a Century (2006) was recognized as one of the best films of the last decade in several 2010 polls. His art prizes include the Sharjah Biennial Prize (2013), the Fukuoka Prize (2013), the Yanghyun Art Prize (2014) and the Artes Mundi Award (2019). His installations have been shown at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, The New Museum in New York, MAIIAM Contemporary in Chiang Mai, Documenta in Kassel, and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taipei, among others. His artworks include the multi-screen project Primitive (2009), Fireworks (Archives) (2014), and Invisibility (2016). They have been acquired by major institutions such as Tate Modern, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Centre Georges Pompidou, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, M+, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, and SFMOMA. His recent installations include Constellations (2018), Fiction (2018), SleepCinemaHotel (2018), A Minor History (2021, 2022), and A Conversation with the Sun – VR (2022). Apichatpong lives and works in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Filmography

2000 Mysterious Object at Noon
2002 Blissfully Yours
2003 The Adventure of Iron Pussy
2004 Tropical Malady
2005 Ghost of Asia (short)
2006 Syndromes and a Century
2007 Luminous People (short)
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
2015 Cemetery of Splendour
2021 Memoria