Match Factory Boards Four Restored Weerasethakul Films for Venice
The Match Factory has acquired international rights to four restored films by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, including his Palme d'Or winner 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'. The 4K restorations were supervised by the director and will be sold at the Venice Film Festival. The films join three other Weerasethakul titles already on the company's slate.
The four restored titles trace Weerasethakul's rise from Cannes' Un Certain Regard winner *Blissfully Yours* through the Jury Prize-winning *Tropical Malady* and *Syndromes and a Century*, which premiered in Venice competition, to his 2010 Palme d'Or triumph *Uncle Boonmee*. Each restoration features remastered audio and fresh key art, with support from the Thai Film Archive, MoMA, and several international partners.
The Match Factory, owned by arthouse streamer Mubi, now holds seven Weerasethakul features total, including *Memoria* starring Tilda Swinton. The director's work has previously been showcased in retrospectives at Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and MoMA, underscoring his standing as a major figure in contemporary art cinema.
This acquisition could broaden access to Weerasethakul's earlier works for international audiences, particularly through Mubi's streaming platform, potentially introducing his distinctive slow-cinema style to viewers beyond traditional festival circuits. The restored editions may also influence how film archives prioritize Southeast Asian cinema, while the Venice launch could strengthen the market for classic arthouse restorations—benefiting distributors, programmers, and scholars who study the region's cinematic heritage.