Apichatpong Weerasethakul was born in Bangkok in 1970 and grew up in Khon Kaen, a city in Isan, the northeastern part of Thailand, where he studied architecture. He later specialized in filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He began making film and video shorts in 1993 and completed his first feature in 2000. He has also mounted exhibitions and installations in many countries since 1998. Working independently of the commercial Thai film industry, he actively promotes experimental and independent filmmaking through his company Kick the Machine Films, which he founded in 1999. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Palme d’Or prize at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010. He currently works and lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.