Documentary filmmaker, Tawan Arun explores the connections between memory, spirituality, and invisible worlds. His current projects weave stories where the sacred meets the intimate, a dive into the memories and spirits that cross our lives.
Post-Mortem
In the streets of Bangkok, Gop, a thanatopractor and former “motorcycle punk,” oscillates between life and death. When the spirit of a young man killed in a motorcycle accident disturbs his dreams.
In progress
Documentary film | Feature-length
Production: Zorba Paris, Guillaume De la Boulaye
The Kingdom (Paris) – Marie-Odile Gazin Partners
Grand Est Region, Procirep, Angoa
The Children of Voodoo
This film delves into the daily lives and aspirations for modernity of two young Beninese individuals. Their parents are heads of a temple dedicated to Mami Wata, the powerful goddess of the sea.
Documentary film | Feature-length
SWR and ARTE (Case: “Land from Here and Elsewhere”)
Seppia – Cédric Bonin (Strasbourg)
Introvertfilm – Greg Blacky (Berlin)
Grand Est Region,
On the Threshold of the Invisible
Exhibition Work in Progress: Kunsthaus KuLe, Berlin
Dates: May 3–11, 2024
Exhibition Catalog [pdf]
Website: https://kunsthauskule.de
Combining documentary video excerpts and a sound installation, this exhibition reflects on memory and connections between the living and the invisible world. Visitors traverse spaces where light and sound mirror transitions from one world to another. The juxtaposition of works – from Asian and African funeral rituals to the cycles of metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies studied by Thomas – forms a unique dialogue between the tangible and intangible, between culture and nature. Tawan Arun takes you on a journey through different “animist” cultures, exploring links between Asian funeral rituals and West African voodoo traditions. Thomas presents his installation “Saturniidae Toccata,” which explores the relationship between life, music, and time, paced by a contemporary toccata played by two modular synthesizers. This work stages the metamorphosis of the Bombyx Eri (a species of silkworm), stimulated by a sound environment, from larva to imago (butterfly).
Directed Films: Stories of fractures and passages, where lost identities, shifting borders, and human trajectories intersect in transforming cities.
Gustav-Adolf Street, Berlin
In Weissensee, as in other neighborhoods of East Berlin, the cracks that appeared in the Communist bloc offered a glimpse of a luminous future, promising reconciliation with compatriots from the West, increased purchasing power, and freedom of expression. The reality proved harsher, and the district’s population, most of whom already lived there during the GDR era, expressed this sentiment clearly: reunification actually marked the beginning of a long decline. In this heavily industrialized district, where full employment was the norm, the sudden closure of factories, non-recognition of GDR diplomas, and rising rents for business premises led to a dramatic increase in unemployment. Losing factories and shops, residents felt bitterly dispossessed of the tools that made up the life of the street. When they speak of “reconciliation,” the word often sounds like a victor’s concept in the mouths of the vanquished.
Co-directed with Joris Rühl
Funding: SCAM, CNC.
Distribution: Métropolitiques
Georges / Born Under the Table
Georges lives as a recluse in the Mercantour Park, on the fringes of modern society. Here, he has found his balance by protecting his eight hundred sheep from wolves. Once basic needs are met—water from the spring, food delivered by helicopter, and grazing for the sheep—there is a lot of time to kill. The violence of solitude eats away at him, and memories resurface: his escapes, his early teenage rebellion, the fight with his German teacher, and the year he spent roaming the four corners of France at the age of nineteen. Time has passed, and a hermit’s life has allowed him to rebuild himself. He is now ready to start over. He travels to Alsace to attempt reintegration among people, at the place where all his troubles began.
Documentary film. Co-production THE KINGDOM
Written and directed by Tawan Arun,
with the participation of Pierre Roux (image).
Sound: Cécile Debove.
Editing: Francine Lemaitre
Music: Eve Risser
Feature-length version: 64min (2020)
Short version: 29min (2018)
Supported by the Grand Est Cultural Agency (Glenn Handley), Grand Est Region (Marion Gravoulet)
Vosges Télévisions (Dominique Renauld)
Madame B.
Madame B. is a North Korean smuggler who worked in Qingdao, China. Over the years, she became a central figure in a vast trafficking network of men and women between the two Koreas. Through a cinematic film and an interactive program, we explore the dual nature of this exceptional woman: harsh and violent in business, fragile in intimacy. This multi-platform documentary also gives voice to many North Korean defectors who all hope to one day reach the promised land of South Korea.
Production: Zorba – Guillaume de la Boulaye (Paris)
Co-author, camera operator, and assistant director. Direction: Jéro YunDOC-Cévennes – International Documentary Film Festival in Cévennes – Lasalle (France) – Selection
EntreVues – Belfort Film Festival – Belfort (France) – Selection
Les Rendez-vous de l’Histoire – Blois (France) – Selection
Zurich Film Festival – Zurich (Switzerland) – Best Documentary
Festival de Cannes – Cannes (France) – ACID Programming
Traces de Vies – Clermont-Ferrand (France) – Competition: “Beyond Borders” Documentary View
Moscow International Festival – Best Documentary
Zurich Film Festival – Best Documentary
Jeonju Festival, Korea
Les Rendez-vous de l’Histoire, Blois
Les rencontres du cinéma documentaire, Montreuil
Doc Corsica, Ajaccio
Les escales documentaires, La Rochelle
Entrevues Belfort
RIDM, Montreal
Portraits of Borders
“Portraits of Borders: Daily Life at the Gates of the European Union” offers a series of portraits of locals and cross-border workers, showcasing unique activities at the EU’s borders. Visitors are invited to experience these borders through visual and sound murals. Panoramic photo montages depict and capture the distinctive atmospheres of these singular zones: anonymous and sinister crossing points, funnels where countless transporters facilitating trade between Europe and Asia gather, and territories where the visible coexistence of cultures and religions reflects a turbulent recent history marked by numerous border shifts. Three border regions are explored: KAPIKULE, between Turkey and Bulgaria. TERESPOL, between Poland and Belarus. VAALIMMA, between Finland and Russia. The project was realized with the support of the CNC, the European Commission, and the OFAJ.
Broadcast: TV5Monde and Rue89
Self-produced – Co-directed with Joris Rühl
Partners: SCAM, CNC, EUROPEAN COMMISSION
- DOK Leipzig, 55th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
- MEDIA, Rendez-vous of Rhineland Co-productions, July 2012
- 1st prize in Franco-German journalism (category: Multimedia)
- 30th International Environmental Film Festival 2013 – Paris
- PRIX EUROPA 2012
- RIDM – International Documentary Encounters, Montreal 2012
Periphery Explorer
Periphery Explorer offers a journey that questions the boundaries of urban areas in Paris and Berlin. It is a photographic work enriched with sound recordings and video films. The perspective is that of a pedestrian-passenger on the Ringbahn, the train encircling Berlin, and that of a driver on the Paris ring road.
Photographic book and interactive application.
Study project carried out by Tawan Arun and Robert Lakomczyk, with the participation of Romy Strassenburg, Eva John, and Manuella Beaudet. Supported by the European Commission. Exhibition at the TRANS305 Space, Ivry-sur-Seine, 2009.
About
French-German filmmaker and artist Tawan Arun explores the boundaries between the visible and invisible, memory and forgetfulness, and the relationships between the living and spirits. Born in Paris, he is deeply influenced by his multicultural roots — a Sino-Thai father and a Turkish-German mother — which inspire the themes of his films and his desire to better understand these cultures and their ties to the sacred.
Tawan Arun has a particular interest in rituals and narratives from Africa, notably in Benin, where he explores voodoo traditions and invisible worlds as part of a documentary project produced by ARTE. At the same time, he is developing “Post-Mortem,” a film focused on ghosts and spirits in Bangkok, drawing inspiration from the myths and funerary practices of the region. This geographical and cultural duality fuels a unique reflection on the coexistence between the living and the dead.
He has also collaborated with director Jéro Yun on the film “Madame B – History of a North Korean Woman,” presented in 2016 at the ACID section of the Cannes Film Festival. This project, among others, highlights his commitment to powerful and complex human narratives.
Awarded the Franco-German Journalism Prize for his work on “Portraits of Borders” with Joris Rühl, Tawan Arun also shares his experience as a teacher at the Berlin School of Fine Arts, where he lectures in the visual communication department.
His projects, created in collaboration with cultural institutions such as ARTE and the Musée de l’Homme, have been showcased at international festivals, prestigious cultural venues, and museums in Europe and Canada. With a camera close to his subjects and a sensitive vision, Tawan Arun invites audiences on cinematic journeys where the visible and invisible intersect, revealing worlds rich in spirituality and memory.
Learn more
- Filmography
- Curriculum Vitae
- Links to my films
Available upon request.
Contact Form
Press
Menagerie of the Gods
Lettre International N.145 – 2024
Ulysses Belz
“My approach as a director is based on an essential closeness to my protagonists. What interests me is to stage the cultural distance between my subject and the audience, while respecting the mystery that gives strength to rituals and traditions. I have learned that it is not always necessary to reveal what others wish to hide but to convey the essence of a moment or a ritual on screen, while accepting my own limitations. I do not pretend to understand or explain everything: I embrace a deliberate subjectivity, shaped by my personal experience, origins, and sensitivity.”
“During my shoots, I prioritize total immersion in the universe I document. For instance, in Benin, while exploring the Wudu cult, I discovered a shared visual grammar between ritual and cinema: a balance between what is shown and what is hidden, between what is allowed and what is forbidden. Wudu is a living and fluid religion, constantly evolving, just like my cinematic approach. Each shoot is an opportunity to learn and adapt my perspective. It is an organic process where collaboration with local communities is essential. What I film, what I choose to show, and what I decide to withhold—all are the result of respectful negotiation with my interlocutors.”
“My interest in Wudu goes far beyond the clichés perpetuated by Western media. This cult, based on communication with the invisible world, embodies immense cultural and spiritual richness. As a filmmaker, I strive to capture this complex beauty, not only through spectacular rituals like dance or sacrifices but also in the ordinary moments of the practitioners’ lives: their work, daily interactions, and emotions. My goal is to show how an ancient tradition integrates into the present, evolves, and survives amidst the challenges of the modern world.”
“I deeply believe that cinema, like Wudu, invites us to cross boundaries: between visible and invisible worlds, between cultures, between the intimate and the collective. This quest for connection and dialogue is at the heart of my work. It is both an artistic and profoundly human endeavor, driven by sincere curiosity and respect for the traditions and stories entrusted to me.”
https://idfabrik.com/2024-lettre-145-menagerie-des-dieux.pdf
https://www.lettre.de/beitrag/arun-tawan_menagerie-der-goetter
Gustav-Adolf Street, Berlin: Filming a Changing City
“Metropolitiques”
With Gustav-Adolf-Straße, Tawan Arun and Joris Rühl offer a captivating immersion into the evolution of a neighborhood in former East Berlin. This film, the result of years of observation and encounters, captures the urban and human transformations of a street at the crossroads of eras. By giving voice to residents and shopkeepers with diverse stories, the authors provide a nuanced view of the tensions between the suspended past of the GDR era and the upheavals of the globalized Berlin of the 2010s. This sensitive and deeply human work highlights the subtleties of gentrification while reflecting the hopes, fears, and memories of a neighborhood in full transformation.
https://metropolitiques.eu/Rue-Gustav-Adolf-Berlin-filmer-la-ville-qui-change.html
Boundaries, Spirits, and Humans: The Many Projects of Tawan Arun
“Kiez und Kneipe Neukölln”
Tawan Arun, a Franco-German documentary filmmaker, sensitively explores the themes of borders, spirits, and human connections. Born in 1982 in Paris and raised in Alsace, he discovered his passion for documentary filmmaking through projects such as Portraits of Borders, an award-winning film that portrays lives on the edges of Europe. From gentrification in Berlin (Gustav-Adolf-Straße) to poignant refugee narratives (Madame B) and spiritual encounters in Thailand (Of Spirits and Ghosts), his works delve deeply into both specific and universal subjects. Always seeking innovation, he integrates immersive technologies like virtual reality into projects such as Between Two Worlds, allowing audiences to experience fascinating voodoo rituals firsthand. Tawan Arun transcends geographical, cultural, and spiritual boundaries to reveal profoundly human stories.
Josi R.
https://www.kuk-nk.de/2021/05/06/von-grenzen-geistern-und-menschen/
Born Under the Table: The First Feature Film by Tawan Arun
“Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, 19.02.2020”
With Born Under the Table, Tawan Arun delivers a deeply human auteur documentary, tracing the life journey of Georges, a former classmate turned shepherd in the Mercantour. This film, created over several years between Mercantour and Alsace, explores themes of solitude, self-reinvention, and the search for one’s place in society. Tawan, while remaining a filmmaker, offers a sincere and sometimes critical perspective on Georges’ life, blending raw reality with re-enactments. This narrative, marked by moments of doubt, rebuilding, and resilience, resonates with the director’s sensitivity and his unique way of engaging with the world. By incorporating his own viewpoint, Tawan Arun transcends the conventional documentary to present a genuine creative work, both intimate and universal.
Nicolas Pinot
https://www.dna.fr/edition-colmar-guebwiller/2020/02/18/la-vie-pas-si-simple-de-georges
The Ambiguous Poetics of the Border
“Novo, no. 20, June 2012, p. 11”
Although the border is a place of transit, passage, and waiting, it can also become a destination: Tawan Arun and Joris Rühl have created a sensitive web-documentary, released in late April. In Portraits of Borders, around fifteen border inhabitants encountered on both sides of the European Union’s frontiers share their daily lives, oscillating between Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. These stories highlight lives suspended between two worlds, where the border is not merely a line on a map but a lived space, filled with tensions and personal histories.
Far from the poetry of distant places, this red line between East and West reveals the customary violence at the gates of the Union. Detention centers are never far from the new iron curtains, and the realities these spaces impose on individuals testify to the fragility of European ideals. By capturing intimate and sincere portraits, this documentary explores how these transit zones shape not only lives but also identities, balancing openness to others and the defense of singularity.
Baptiste Cogitore
More references on: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawan_Arun
