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"Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s Railway Sleepers screens on 27th August as part of DocHouse’s ‘On the Line’ season of railway documentaries. Sompot has worked as assistant director to Apichatpong Weerasethakul alongside his studies at LA’s legendary CalArts institute, before directing his own film, Railway Sleepers, and his structural and poetic debut film pays a debt to both of these experiences. A rapturous, rhythmic portrait of Thailand’s historic railway system and the different types of people that inhabit it, Sompot observes patiently and poetically whilst passengers share small talk and weightier thoughts, as well as songs, meals and sleep cycles. Moving along the carriages of this self-contained ecosystem, he tunes into the sensorial quality of the journey as much as that which can be observed, teasing out a history both sensed and seen. We spoke to him about his attachment to Thailand’s railway, its historical importance, and the many meanings it holds for the country and its people."
Full Interview with Sompot Chidgasornpongse on the DocHouse blog.