“Merging astronomy, Buddhist philosophy, and political and social unrest, Mundane History may carry a modest title, but its ambitions are exactly the opposite. – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
The corporeal and the cosmic collide to mesmerizing effect in Anocha Suwichakornpong’s debut feature. Mundane History begins straightforwardly enough, as nurse Pun takes a new job caring for Ake, a paralyzed young man whose angry defiance gradually softens into grudging respect. But as the two men form a tentative friendship, Suwichakornpong explodes her own film, blowing open an abstract realm that encompasses everything from dream worlds to Thai history to the miracle of birth to the death of stars. At once slyly unassuming and dazzlingly ambitious, this existential odyssey heralded the arrival of a bold new visionary of Thai cinema. (Film at Lincoln Center)
Screening with
Nightfall
2016, Anocha Suwichakornpong and Tulapop Saenjaroen,Thailand/Singapore, DCP, 15 minutes, In Thai with English subtitles
Nightfall follows an unnamed woman through the streets, gardens, and tourist spots in Singapore. “On the soundtrack we hear a woman’s voice reading the speeches of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Thai Prime Minister Kittikachorn at a 1973 State dinner praising each other’s economies 10 months before the popular uprising that overthrew Kittikachorn’s military and anti-communist dictatorship. This coup planted the seeds of the 1976 Thammasat University massacre—the historical subject of Suwichakornpong’s 2016 feature film By the Time It Gets Dark.” (Steffanie Ling, Senses of Cinema)
About the Artists
Anocha Suwichakornpong is a filmmaker whose work is informed by the socio-political history of Thailand. Her films have been the subject of retrospectives at the Museum of the Moving Image, New York; TIFF Cinematheque, Toronto; Cinéma Moderne, Montreal; and Olhar de Cinema, Brazil. Suwichakornpong received her master of fine arts from Columbia University. In 2006, Suwichakornpong co-founded the production company Electric Eel. In 2017, she co-founded Purin Pictures, an initiative to support Southeast Asian cinema. Between 2018 and 2020, Suwichakornpong was a visiting lecturer at the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University. In 2019, Suwichakornpong was named a Prince Claus Laureate.
Tulapop Saenjaroen (SAIC 2009) is an artist and filmmaker based in Bangkok. His rworks have been shown internationally in exhibitions and screenings including the Locarno Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Image Forum Festival in Tokyo, Curtas Vila do Conde, 25 FPS in Zagreb, Kasseler DokFest, Vancouver International Film Festival, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Display gallery in Prague, and Moscow International Biennale for Young Art, among many others. He has won awards from Winterthur, Jakarta, Moscow, and Thailand. He holds a master of fine arts in fine art media from the Slade School of Fine Art, a master of arts in aesthetics and politics from California Institute of the Arts, and a bachelor of arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Related Event:
Anocha Suwichakornpong, Tulapop Saenjaroen, and Pom Bunsermvicha in Conversation with Melika Bass
Friday, October 22, 6:00 p.m.
Virtual Event
Closed captions available
Updated COVID-19 Protocols
Dear Friends,
We care deeply about the well-being and safety of our audiences and staff. With the recent rise of COVID-19 cases, we are updating our health and safety procedures to require proof of full vaccination* or a negative result on a COVID PCR test for all screenings and events at the Film Center.
We know it can be hard to enjoy a movie without knowing the status of the folks sitting close to you. Our hope is that these new procedures will allow you to relax and view our films in the way they’re meant to be seen--with your undivided attention to the screen.
Beginning on Friday, September 10, you will need a valid photo ID and one of the following items to gain entry to the Film Center:
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See you at the movies!
--Your Friends at the Film Center