Considered the father of independent cinema in the Philippines, Kidlat Tahimik has been making movies for over five decades. He is known for his unwavering support of personal cinema and indigenous culture as well as his critique of colonialism and commercialism.
DA Films is currently showing fifteen of Kidlat Tahimik’s films on its platform, from his breakthrough work in the 1970s to his mesmerising video diaries to the redux of his most ambitious undertaking, made over a period of three decades, released just a few years ago. It’s fantastic coverage of his peerless body of work, which serves as a biography of Kidlat as much as a history of the Philippines.
In this conversation with the Filipino film critic (and St Andrews PhD student) Richard Bolisay, Kidlat Tahimik talks about his penchant for movement and traveling, his fascination with Enrique de Malacca and his story, his position outside the Philippine film industry, and how being a father has defined and enriched his creative process.