Raymond Phathanavirangoon was born in Hong Kong but spent his childhood
shuttling among places, among them Thailand, Switzerland, New York,
Taiwan and California. A computer engineer by degree, he became
interested in cinema after he was entranced by the works of Carl
Theodor Dreyer and Andrei Tarkovsky. After working as a technical
writer, he landed his first film-related position as English editor for
the Hong Kong International Film Festival. It was here that his passion
for Asian cinema grew. He programmed for the Hong Kong Lesbian &
Gay Film Festival and the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival before
joining Fortissimo Films in 2005. There, he became head of marketing
and an acquisition executive for Asian films. He kept a close
relationship with regional filmmakers with his involvement in the Asian
Film Awards and the Hong Kong–Asia Film Financing Forum. His new
position selecting Southeast Asian films for TIFF marks his return to
programming.