Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol ( th, หม่อมเจ้าชาตรีเฉลิม ยุคล; ; born November 29, 1942), or usually known by his nickname Mui ( th, มุ้ย), is a Thai

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and

National Artist National Artist is an honorary title issued by some states as a highest recognition of artists for their significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the nation. An equivalent title, People's Artist, has been known in countries of the f ...

Performing Arts branch (Movie and TV Drama director) in 2001. A prolific director since the 1970s, among his films is the 2001 historical epic, ''

The Legend of Suriyothai ''The Legend of Suriyothai'' ( th, สุริโยไท, italics=yes) is a 2001 Thai film directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, which portrays the life of Queen Suriyothai, who is regarded by Thai people as the "great feminist". It records the c ...

''. A member of the

Thai royal family The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

, his official

royal title Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke ...

is Mom Chao, or M.C., the most junior title still considered royalty. For ''Suriyothai'' as well as his 2007 historical epic, ''

King Naresuan King Naresuan the Great (( th, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช, , ) or Sanphet II ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๒), ( my , နရဲစွမ် (သို့) ဗြနရာဇ်); 1555/1556 – ...

'', Chatrichalerm was backed by Queen

Sirikit Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was List of Thai royal consorts, ...

. Four of his films have been submitted by Thailand for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

: ''The Elephant Keeper'', ''Song for Chao Phya'', ''Daughter 2'' and '' King of Fire''. In 1981, he was a member of the jury at the

31st Berlin International Film Festival The 31st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1981. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film '' Deprisa, Deprisa'' directed by Carlos Saura. The retrospective was dedicated to British film producer Mic ...

Biography

Early life

Prince Chatrichalerm's parents, Prince Anusorn Mongkolkarn and Mom Ubol Yukol Na Ayudhya were filmmakers and co-founders of the Lavo Pappayon Company. His uncle was Prince Bhanu Yukol, a pioneering Thai filmmaker. Chatrichalerm was sent to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for schooling, and from there he went to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he graduated with a degree in geology. His minor was film studies, and he shared classes with

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five A ...

and

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

. He also worked as an assistant to director and producer

Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...

. (Chatrichalerm's grandfather, Prince

Yugala Dighambara Yugala Dighambara, Prince of Lopburi (March 17, 1882 – April 8, 1932) ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ เจ้าฟ้ายุคลฑิฆัมพร กรมหลวงลพบุรีร� ...

, had helped ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' makers Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack with the filming of '' Chang'' in 1927.)

Early films

Though he's best known for his work on ''Suriyothai,'' Chatrichalerm's filmography stretches back to the 1970s. His first film, 1971's ''Out of the Darkness'', was the first Thai

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

film. He was among the first of a new wave of Thai directors to produce films reflecting changes in society. One of these films was his ''Khao Chue Karn'' (''Dr. Karn''), based on a well-known story by Suwannee Sukhontha. Released in the months leading up to the bloody pro-democracy student uprisings of 1973, ''Dr. Karn'' dared to address corruption in Thai society. Even Chatrichalerm's status as a prince didn't rate when the authoritarian government's censor wanted to cut the film. Chatrichalerm personally showed the film to Field Marshal

Thanom Kittikachorn Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn ( th, ถนอม กิตติขจร, ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was the leader of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, during which he staged a self-coup, until public protests which exploded into viole ...

and was able to persuade the dictator to let the film be released uncut.

Social message films

Most of Chatrichalerm's films have some kind of social message, such as the downside of

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

(''Hotel Angel'', 1974), teenage sex and delinquency (''Daughter'' and ''Daughter 2''), protecting the environment ('' The Elephant Keeper'', 1987), or the evils of the drug trade (''Powder Road'', 1991). His films resist depicting any glamor, focusing on the poor, downtrodden working classes, such as ''Freedom of Taxi Driver'' (1984) or '' Song for Chao Phya'' and often with gritty action, such as '' Gunman'' (1983), ''

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

'' (1993), and ''The Colonel'' (1974). Three of his films from this period were submitted by Thailand for the

: ''The Elephant Keeper'', ''Song for Chao Phya'' and ''Daughter 2''.

Royal epics

Around 1999, Chatrichalerm embarked on the most ambitious film project of his career, ''

'', a lavish production about a 16th-century Siamese queen,

Suriyothai Suriyothai ( th, สุริโยทัย, , ; Burmese:သူရိယထိုင်း) ), date=June 2019 was a royal queen consort during the 16th century Ayutthaya period of Siam (now Thailand). She is famous for having given up her li ...

. For his production, he received the backing of Queen

and the royal family. The film was at first conceived as being eight hours long. By the time it premiered in Thai cinemas, it was nearly three hours long. An even-more-condensed version was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 2003, edited and "presented by"

, a former classmate of Chatrichalerm's from UCLA. After ''Suriyothai'', Chatrichalerm started work on an even bigger project, ''

'', about the 16th century Siamese monarch,

Naresuan King Naresuan the Great (( th, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช, , ) or Sanphet II ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๒), ( my , နရဲစွမ် (သို့) ဗြနရာဇ်); 1555/1556 – ...

. More epic in scope than ''Suriyothai'', ''Naresuan'' was initially released in two parts in early 2007. Under the title ''King of Fire'', the second part of the series was submitted by Thailand for the

. As of late 2007, a third part is scheduled to start production in early 2008.

Awards

* 2001 -

Thailand National Artist The National Artist ( th, ศิลปินแห่งชาติ, , ) is a title given annually by the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand, recognizing notable Thai artists in the area of intangible cultural heritage such ...

Award for Performing Art (Movie and Drama) * 2004 - Lotus Award for Lifetime Achievement,

World Film Festival of Bangkok The World Film Festival of Bangkok ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์โลกแห่งกรุงเทพฯ) is an annual international film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand. The 15th World Film Festival of Bangkok, the la ...

* 2006 -

Suphannahong National Film Awards The Suphannahong National Film Awards ( th, รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์, also known as the Thailand National Film Association Awards) is the primary film award of the Thai film ...

Lifetime Achievement Award (not present for ceremony; award accepted by frequent collaborator, actor

Sorapong Chatree Sorapong Chatree ( th, สรพงษ์ ชาตรี; born Pittaya Tiamswate; 8 December 1950 – 10 March 2022) was a Thai film actor. He had frequently starred in the films of Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol, as well as in Cherd Songsri's cla ...

Filmography

* '' Out of the Darkness'' (''Mun Ma Kub Kwam Mued'') (1971) * ''Dr. Karn'' (''Khao Chue Karn'') (1973) * '' The Colonel'' (''Pom Mai Yak Pen Pan To'') (1974) * '' Hotel Angel'' (''Thep Thida Rong Raem'') (1974) * ''Last Love'' (''Kuam Rak Krang Suthai'') (1975) * ''The Violent Breed'' (''Thewada Doen Din'') * ''Dangerous Modelling'' (1975) * ''Angel Who Walks on the Ground'' (1976) * ''Taxi Driver'' (''Citizen I'') (1977) * ''Kama'' (1978) * ''The Yellowing of the Sky'' (''Before the Storm'') (1980) * ''If You Still Love'' (1982) * '' Gunman'' (''Meu peun'') (1983) * ''Detective, Section 123'' (1984) * ''Freedom of Taxi Driver'' (''Citizen II'') (1984) * ''Somsee'' (1986) * '' The Elephant Keeper'' (''Khon Liang Chang'') (1987) * ''

Song for Chao Phraya ''Song for Chao Phraya'' ( th, น้องเมีย; ; lit: ''"wife's younger sister"'') is a 1990 Thai drama film directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol. The film was selected as the Thai entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academ ...

'' (1990) * '' Powder Road'' (''Heroin'') (1991) * ''

'' (''Gunman 2'') (1993) * ''Daughter'' (''Sia Dai'') (1996) * ''

Daughter 2 ''Daughter 2'' ( th, เสียดาย 2, ''Sia dai 2'', lit: ''"pity 2"'') is a 1996 Thai drama film directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol. The film was selected as the Thai entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 70th Academy Awards, but ...

'' (''Sia Dai 2'') (1997) * ''Box'' (''Klong'') (1998) * ''

'' (2001) * ''Last Love'' (remake) (2003) * ''

'' (2006–2015) *'' Panthai-Norasing'' (2015)

References

Chatrichalerm Yukol Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol ( th, หม่อมเจ้าชาตรีเฉลิม ยุคล; ; born November 29, 1942), or usually known by his nickname Mui ( th, มุ้ย), is a Thai film director, screenwriter film producer ...

University of California, Los Angeles alumni

20th-century Chakri dynasty 21st-century Chakri dynasty