Memoria director Apichatpong Weerasethakul interview: ‘Exploding Head Syndrome is a really peculiar thing’

Let me close the… for the sound,” mutters Apichatpong Weerasethakul, as he heads towards the open window of his hotel room, shutting it tight to block out the street noise that’s floating up from below. It’s no surprise that this unique Thai soul prefers the sound of silence, and not simply because his work – films such as Tropical Malady and the Cannes-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall Past Lives – is often so quietly contemplative. These past years, Weerasethakul has struggled with a noise-related medical condition: Exploding Head Syndrome.

This disorientating psychological issue has found its way into his beguiling new film Memoria. “It’s a really peculiar thing – you can google it,” he says, as if I don’t believe him. After the 2021 Cannes premiere of the film, where it won the Jury Prize, the 51-year-old was scrolling through Twitter, looking at comments…