Three Asian film and theater masters will come to Korea to share with the younger generation their expertise in making films and plays that they have accumulated over the course of their career.

The three are film directors Tsai Ming-Liang from Taiwan and Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand, and theater director Toshiki Okada from Japan.

They will serve as mentors for a select group of participants, college students who are majoring in the arts or promising young artists active on the arts scene, at the upcoming Asian Arts Theater (AAT) Winter School. It’s an eight-day program from January 23 until 30 to be held at the Asia Creative Studio in western Gwangju, Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province).

The directors will host a series of workshops and lectures, while having candid talks with the participating students. They will share their own approaches to works of art and their experiences in producing movies and plays.



Taiwanese film director Tsai Ming-Liang is known for having won one of the most coveted Golden Lion awards for his film “Vive L’Amour” at the 51st Venice International Film Festival in 1994.

He is also known for having co-produced the play “The Monk From the Tang Dynasty” with the Asian Arts Theatre, part of the Asian Culture Complex in Gwangju. It was brought to the stage at the 2014 Vienna Festival in Austria last year.

Toshiki Okada, director of the theater company Chelfitsch, has been active on the global scene, too, as well as across Asia.

Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is the first Thailand-born winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. He has expanded his area of expertise to cover not just performances, but also installation and visual art.

“Participants in the AAT Winter School program will have a great chance to set forth their own ideas and also to get feedback from the three experts to materialize their ideas,” said an official from the Asian Arts Theatre.

“They will get inspired by hearing the stories from some of the most interesting and skilled contemporary Asian artists of this time.”

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
jiae5853@korea.kr