September 7, 2022, Manila, Philippines — The Film Development Council of the Philippines hosts the National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik art exhibit at the Cinematheque Centre Manila. The exhibit titled “Indio-Genius: 500 Taong Labanan Kontra Magellan, Marilyn, Mickey, at Padre Damaso" returns to the Philippines after six months in Spain and will be open to the public until the end of the year. The exhibit ruminates on the cultural encounters of Filipinos since the 1521 arrival of the Spanish fleet in the Philippine archipelago. 

The symbolic opening ceremony of the exhibit’s Cinematheque Centre leg was led by the National Artist Kidlat Tahimik and FDCP Chairman and CEO Tirso Cruz III. The well-attended event was graced by members of the Philippine cultural and academic community including film curator and archivist, Mr. Teddy Co and former FDCP Chairperson, Ms. Liza Diño. 

The exhibit preview event was capped with a special screening of Tahimik’s film Balikbayan #1: The Silent Movie. The film won the Caligari Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015 where it had its world premiere.

After the art exhibit’s six-month run at the Museo De Sofia in Madrid, Spain, it finally returns home to the Philippines fanned out in six venues in the heart of Manila with the National Museum of the Philippines as the main venue, along with extension exhibits in Museo Pambata, Rizal Park’s Visitor Center, Intramuros Administration, National Commission on Culture and Arts, and Cinematheque Centre Manila. 

As part of this year’s celebration of Philippine Industry Month (PFIM), the FDCP was selected to host the art installations pertaining to the artist’s depiction of contemporary cultural encounters, including the piece Trojan Horse of Hollywood and the centerpiece 1521 Battle of Mactan, which will be on display at Cinematheque Atrium until December in recognition of the big impact of films on the society’s culture, values and lifestyle. It focuses on the effects of Western influence on the Filipino filmmaking industry. 

Aside from filmmaking, the national artist is also recognized as a consummate visual artist. Kidlat Tahimik’s exhibit depicts the country’s resistance and non-resistance to colonial icons specifically during the Spanish regime. In his artist’s statement, Tahimik states, “The installation is a little food for thought on the need for our cultural protectors—our indie film artists—to be aware of the seductive lure of Hollywood’s Trojan blockbusters, at the expense of our local story telling.”

Reflecting on the exhibit’s theme, FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz shares in his opening remarks, “Now is not the time to be distracted. We need to focus. We need to think about our Filipino films, the stature they were at 3 decades back, when their box office earnings far exceeded American films. We need to return to enjoying the classics of the Golden Age filmmakers like Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal and Marilou Diaz Abaya. We need to go back to our neighborhood cinemas and see local movies again to help our cinema industry. We need to reminisce about the stories of our native heroes, and bring back their inspiration into our lives… I hope that this masterpiece will be a reminder for us to hold on, defend, and fight for our indigenous art and values, and love what is our own.”