Thursday, May 4 | 8 pm
The dreamlike and enigmatic second film from forty-year-old Thai filmmaker Anocha Suwichakornpong (Mundane History), By the Time it Gets Dark is grounded in a loosely autobiographical narrative about a young female director, Ann, who is developing a film about the 1976 massacre of student protesters in Bangkok. As Ann becomes immersed in the creative process, the world of the film expands and transforms around her—characters take on multiple identities, time flows backwards and forwards, and art and fantasy merge with realty. Building on the work of fellow Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Cemetery of Splendor, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives), Suwichakornpong fuses an interrogation of Thailand’s complex cultural and political landscape with a playful exploration of film history. A hauntingly beautiful and rigorously intellectual work that pushes the boundaries between art cinema and the avant-garde, By the Time it Gets Dark looks forward to the future of Thailand—and the future of film.
Director Anocha Suwichakornpong 2016 Thailand/France/Qatar/Netherlands 105 minutes NR DCP