Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke is a Thai film director and screenwriter of Teochew-Hainanese descent, whose debut feature film A Useful Ghost was released in 2025.Amy Nicholson, "Plug into ‘A Useful Ghost,’ a quirky, deep Cannes winner about a possessed vacuum". Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2026. He also teaches film theory and screenwriting classes in Bangkok.
Born and raised in Bangkok, he studied film at Chulalongkorn University.Bruce Scott, "Meet Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, the Creative Force Behind the Award-Winning Film ‘A Useful Ghost’". Prestige, July 10, 2025. His short film Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall won the Youth Jury Award in the Pardi di Domani competition at the Locarno 2020 Film Festival.John Hopewell, "Lucrecia Martel, Mari Alessandrini, Miguel Gomes Win at Locarno Film Festival". Variety, August 14, 2020.
He began writing A Useful Ghost in 2017, partially as an indirect metaphor for the political environment of Thailand following the 2014 Thai coup d'état.Rebecca Ratcliffe, "A Useful Ghost: Recognised in Cannes, Thai director hopes film stirs political debate at home". The Guardian, June 13, 2025. The film, a dark comedy-drama in which a deceased woman's spirit possesses a vacuum cleaner was inspired by the 19th century Thai legend of Mae Nak. It had its world premiere in the Critics' Week section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival,Naman Ramachandran, "Cannes Critics’ Week: Thai Director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke on Possessed Vacuum Cleaners and Dust Pollution in ‘A Useful Ghost’". Variety, May 17, 2025. winning the Grand Prize.
It was submitted as the Thai entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, although it was disqualified due to submission errors by the production studio.
Boonbunchachoke sees his work as a continuation of both traditional Thai melodrama and fabulism. He lists among his greatest influences Jacques Rivette, Manoel de Oliveira, João César Monteiro, Eugène Green, Raoul Ruiz, Otar Iosseliani, Werner Schroeter and Marco Ferreri. Boonbunchachoke's films have been praised for their representation of LGBTQ people.
Filmography Year Title Director Writer Producer 2020Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall2025A Useful Ghost
Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominated work Result 2020Locarno Film FestivalBest International Short Film (Pardi di Domani Youth Jury)Red Aninsri; Or, Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall2025Cannes Film FestivalCritics' Week Grand PrizeA Useful GhostSitges Film FestivalBest ScreenplayCitizen Kane Award (Best New Director)
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