Faculty Snapshot: Anocha Suwichakornpong

Tell us a bit about your work.
I'm a filmmaker, and I teach film directing in the MFA program. My work usually focuses on the socio-politics of Thailand. I'm currently working on a docufiction film, in which I'm staging a fictional trial for the real incident -- a mass murder of the 'red shirt' protestors in 2010 in central Bangkok following the Thai government's order to use live ammunition on the protestors.

What are you looking forward to right now? What are you most excited about?
I'm currently doing a two-week residency at the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Columbia Global Centers in Paris.  I'm looking forward to visiting the house of Pridi Banomyong, the Thai statesman who was instrumental in the staging of the Siamese Revolution in 1932 which changed Thailand from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Banomyong spent the last years of his life living in exile in France. His house, now privately owned, is in Antony, in the suburbs of Paris.

What have you been listening to lately? Can you recommend a podcast, album, or artist?
I've been listening to The Prince, an eight-part podcast series about China's President, Xi Jinping, hosted by Sue-Lin Wong for The Economist. The series is not new, dating back to 2022, but it is still absolutely fascinating to listen to. It is also very well structured, making it easy to digest. Among other things, the series is a lucid study of power.

To learn more about Dr. Suwichakornpong's work, please visit her departmental website.