At long last, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s masterful Memoria is finally making its nationwide theatrical tour with dates currently running through October. If you’re a filmmaker looking to get more immersed in the Thai director’s cinema philosophy—and have some time available this June—an extraordinary opportunity has presented itself.
From June 18-28, 2022, Weerasethakul will hold a 10-day filmmaking workshop in the forest of the Peruvian Amazon. Organized by Playlab Films and set at the Inkaterra Field Guides station in Tambopata, Peru, the lab will select 50 filmmakers from all over the world based on applications that are currently open through April 25. The workshop fee is around $5,700 and also includes 12 days of accommodation and food.
During the workshop, which had past iterations that featured the late, great Abbas Kiarostami and the intrepid Werner Herzog, filmmakers will be creating their own short films from inception to completion. Side events also include a retrospective of Weerasethakul’s work in several cities in Peru, with the director in-person, as well as a masterclass. See more below.
During the workshop, participants will explore all the phases that make up the development, production and post-production of a film: from the idea, which will originate from the topic proposed by Apichatpong on the first day of the LAB, to the screening of the finished short film on the last day. Each of these phases will be accompanied individually and in groups by Weerasethakul, through workshops, talks, exchanges and advice.
With the aim of bringing all emerging directors closer to the current industry, the fifty short films will be hosted on the Playlab Films VOD platform for distribution and exhibition, creating a space to view all the works made from anywhere in the world.
Furthermore, as we want to continue making movies together, we want to produce your next projects!! PlayLab Films opens an annual call, for all the members of the workshop, where 2 feature film projects will be selected for production.
Learn more on the official site, including the day-by-date schedule, with a hat tip to No Film School.
