Kidlat Tahimik

Directing

Kidlat Tahimik

Born October 3, 1942 · Baguio City, Benguet, Philippines (age 83)

Eric de Guia (born October 3, 1942 in Baguio City, Philippines), better known as Kidlat Tahimik (a Tagalog translation of "silent lightning"), is a film director, writer and actor whose films are commonly associated with the Third Cinemamovement through their critiques of neocolonialism. One of the most prominent names in the Filipino film industry, he has garnered various accolades locally and in…

Known For

The Enigma of Kaspar HauserThe Enigma of Kaspar Hauser · 1974
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
7.31974
MovieDramaHistory
The film follows Kaspar Hauser, who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.
Japanese Summers of a Filipino FundoshiJapanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi · 1996
Japanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi
8.01996
MovieDocumentary
Kidlat Tahimik, a director and performer, sought to recreate relations between the body and filmed image seen through "Asian eyes." This groundbreaking project took the form of a documentary which Mr. Tahimik directed and in which he performed himself in order to show his own thinking about the different views of the body held by the "East" and the "West."
Roofs of the World! Unite!Roofs of the World! Unite! · 2006
Roofs of the World! Unite!
2006
MovieDocumentary
Experimental documentary about roof-making.
Perfumed NightmarePerfumed Nightmare · 1979
Perfumed Nightmare
7.21979
MovieDocumentaryComedy
Kidlat, a Filipino jeepney driver, is fascinated by the idea of the American space programme and by Western society as a whole. When he moves to Paris, disillusionment sets in as his dreams are gradually shattered.
TurumbaTurumba · 1981
Turumba
6.21981
MovieDramaComedy
Kadu, a boy from Pakil, Laguna, experiences the dissolution of tradition as it gives way to capitalism in the form of Madame, a foreigner who initially came to their village as a customer during the Festival of Turumba.
José RizalJosé Rizal · 1998
José Rizal
8.81998
MovieDramaHistory
Accused of treason, Dr. Jose P. Rizal awaits trial and meets with his colonial government-appointed counsel, Luis Taviel de Andrade. The two build the case and arguments for the defense as significant events in the central figure's life prior to his incarceration unfold. Upon hearing Rizal's life story, Taviel begins to realize that the accused not just is innocent but exhibits in fact all the qualities of an extraordinary man. When the mock trial unreels, Taviel is all set to act as the prime advocate for his client as Rizal himself is about to give an earth-moving speech to defend his honor and address his countrymen. Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities have worked out the vast political machinery to ensure a guilty verdict. A revolution waits in the wings.
Our Film-Grimage to GuimarasOur Film-Grimage to Guimaras · 2005
Our Film-Grimage to Guimaras
2005
MovieDocumentary
Documentary about an oil spill near the Philippines
Shaman WarsShaman Wars · 1982
Shaman Wars
1982
Movie
Three powerful shamans fight it out in a series of bizarre encounters over an a-go-go dancer. Their final encounter ends disastrously for all three, while the a-go-go-girl ends up acquiring all their powers.

Filmography

Sort
José RizalJosé Rizal · 1998
José Rizal
8.81998
MovieDramaHistory
Accused of treason, Dr. Jose P. Rizal awaits trial and meets with his colonial government-appointed counsel, Luis Taviel de Andrade. The two build the case and arguments for the defense as significant events in the central figure's life prior to his incarceration unfold. Upon hearing Rizal's life story, Taviel begins to realize that the accused not just is innocent but exhibits in fact all the qualities of an extraordinary man. When the mock trial unreels, Taviel is all set to act as the prime advocate for his client as Rizal himself is about to give an earth-moving speech to defend his honor and address his countrymen. Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities have worked out the vast political machinery to ensure a guilty verdict. A revolution waits in the wings.

La Liga Filipina Guest

BalikBayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux VIBalikBayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux VI · 2017
BalikBayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux VI
2017
MovieDocumentary
As the ultimate enfant terrible of Philippine cinema, avant-gardist Kidlat Tahimik refuses to settle on anything, whether it’s the telling of a colonial past, or any version of this film, which he’s been making and revising for nearly four decades. BalikBayan, which means “returnee” in Filipino, is partly about the homecoming of the historical figure Enrique of Malacca, a Malay who Tahimik first played and brought to the screen in 1979. As the slave of the 16th-century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan he circumnavigated the Earth, before returning home as a free man. Old footage of Enrique, played by the young Tahimik, is mixed with the fictional story of a mysterious old man, played by the present-day Tahimik, and documentary footage of a contemporary artist community in Baguio, in northern Philippines. In this version, Redux VI, Tahimik continues his quest to reconsider the Philippines’ colonial legacy. Shot on 16mm (1979–1980s) and video (1990s–2017).

Director