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

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

film producer and National Artist Performing Arts branch (Movie and TV Drama director) in 2001. A member of the Thai royal family, his official royal title is Mom Chao, or M.C., the most junior title still considered royalty. A prolific director since the 1970s, among his films is the 2001 historical epic '' The Legend of Suriyothai''. For ''Suriyothai'' as well as his 2007 historical epic, '' King Naresuan'', Chatrichalerm was backed by Queen Sirikit. 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''. He was a member of the jury at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival in 1981.

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 Bhanubandhu Yugala, a pioneering Thai filmmaker. Chatrichalerm was sent to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 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 filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

and

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

. He also worked as an assistant to director and producer Merian C. Cooper. (Chatrichalerm's grandfather, Prince Yugala Dighambara, had helped '' King Kong'' 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 (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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 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 a type of sex work that involves engaging in 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, no ...

(''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'' (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, '' The Legend of Suriyothai'', a lavish production about a 16th-century Siamese queen, Suriyothai. For his production, he received the backing of Queen Sirikit 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2003, edited and "presented by"

, a former classmate of Chatrichalerm's from UCLA. After ''Suriyothai'', Chatrichalerm started work on an even bigger project, '' King Naresuan'', about the 16th century Siamese monarch, Naresuan. 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 Award for Performing Art (Movie and Drama) * 2004 - Lotus Award for Lifetime Achievement, World Film Festival of Bangkok * 2006 - Suphannahong National Film Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (not present for ceremony; award accepted by frequent collaborator, actor Sorapong Chatree).

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) * 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'' (1990) * '' Powder Road'' (''Heroin'') (1991) * '' Salween'' (''Gunman 2'') (1993) * ''Daughter'' (''Sia Dai'') (1996) * '' Daughter 2'' (''Sia Dai 2'') (1997) * ''Box'' (''Klong'') (1998) * '' The Legend of Suriyothai'' (2001) * ''Last Love'' (remake) (2003) * '' King Naresuan'' (2006–2015) *'' Panthai-Norasing'' (2015)