Thai film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul is one of four winners of this year's Fukuoka Prize for outstanding achievement in academia, arts and culture in Asia.
Mr Apichatpong, 42, was chosen for his work as a groundbreaking filmmaker.
"His innovative method of 'visual narration' - set in a dense forest, stories based on local folktales and legends are mixed with personal memories, episodes from previous lives, and also with comments on current issues - has won international acclaim," said the award citation.
Positioning itself as Japan's cultural gateway, Fukuoka City established the Fukuoka Prize in 1990 to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to academia, arts and culture in Asia.
'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives' in 2010 became the first Thai film to receive the Palme d'Or, the Cannes festival's highest accolade.
Born in Bangkok in 1970 and raised in Khon Kaen, Mr Apichatpong studied architecture at Khon Kaen University and continued his education at the Art Institute of Chicago, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in filmmaking in 1997.
When he returned to Thailand, he founded his own company, Kick the Machine, in 1999, to start his professional career.
His first feature film, Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) attracted much attention for its innovative technique. His second work, Blissfully Yours (2002) won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Tropical Malady (2004) won the Jury Prize at Cannes.
In 2010, for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, he became the first Thai to be awarded the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest accolade.
"Mr Apichatpong, as a standard-bearer for young artists with unconventional approaches to visual expressions, has been greatly inspirational to filmmaking circles across the world," the prize citation said.
The director will give a talk on Sept 15 in Fukuoka as part of the prize winners' celebrations.
The Grand Prize winner for 2013 was Dr Tetsu Nakamura, a Japanese physician who has devoted 30 years to various peace-related causes, and medical services to the poor in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Academic Prize went to Tessa Morris-Suzuki, an Australian National University scholar of Asian Studies and "global intellectual". The second Arts and Culture Prize 2013 went to Indian artist Nalini Malani,who has been internationally acclaimed for her large-scale spatial art combining installation and paintings.
Since the Fukuoka Prize was established in 1990, there have been 96 recipients from 27 countries. Mr Apichatpong is the seventh Thai recipient.
Others included former prime minister MR Kukrit Pramoj (1990), Prince Subhadradis Diskul (1994), Nidhi Eawsriwong (1999), Thawan Duchanee (2001), Srisakra Vallibhotama (2007) and Charnvit Kasetsiri (2012).
