Kidlat Tahimik

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Oteyza and the surname or paternal family name is de Guia.

Eric Oteyza de Guia (born October 3, 1942), better known as Kidlat Tahimik ("Silent Lightning"), is a film director, writer and actor whose films are commonly associated with the Third Cinema movement through their critiques of neocolonialism. For his contributions to the development of Philippine independent cinema, he was recognized in 2018 as a National Artist of the Philippines for Film - a conferment which represents the Philippine state's highest recognition for artists.^[1]

Kidlat Tahimik
Kidlat Tahimik in 2006
Born	Eric Oteyza de Guia (1942-10-03) October 3, 1942 (age 82) Baguio, Benguet, Commonwealth of the Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Alma mater	University of the Philippines Diliman (BA) Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (MBA)
Occupation(s)	Filmmaker Installation artist
Known for	Mababangong Bangungot (Perfumed Nightmare) Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow?
Spouse	Katrin de Guia
Children	3
Mother	Virginia de Guia
Awards	Order of National Artists of the Philippines

One of the most prominent names in the Filipino film industry, he has garnered various accolades locally and internationally, including a Plaridel honorarium for independent cinema. He is dubbed by fellow filmmakers and critics as the "Father of Philippine Independent Cinema".

In recent years, Tahimik has become a noted installation artist with his works exhibited in various public spaces in the Philippines.^[2]

Education

Tahimik attended the University of the Philippines Diliman,^[3] where he was elected President of the UP Student Council, then known as the University Student Union, from 1962 to 1963. While attending the university he became a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity.^[4][5] Tahimik studied at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, earning a Master in Business Administration. Upon his return, he founded AIESEC in the Philippines.^[6]

Tahimik worked as a researcher for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 1968 to 1972.^[7]

Influences

Tahimik grew up in Baguio, Philippines, a summer resort community established in the presence of several U.S. military bases. This experience influenced the themes of his films, most notably the semi-autobiographical Perfumed Nightmare (1977) and Turumba (1983).

The latter of these two films provides some insight into the circumstances that brought him to Europe and into the presence of filmmaker Werner Herzog, who along with director Francis Ford Coppola and his American Zoetrope studio, was instrumental in helping to release Perfumed Nightmare in the United States.

Personal life

Kidlat is the son of former Baguio Mayor Virginia de Guia.^[8] Kidlat's wife is German artist and writer Katrin De Guia. They had three children: Kidlat de Guia (or Kidlat Gottlieb Kalayaan); Kawayan Thor Kalayaan; and Kabunian De Guia (or Kabunian Cedric Enrique).^[9]

In February 2004, a fire was reported to have spread in their 4-story home in Benguet, the Philippines. The family was able to escape safely, but the director's film stock and collection of art and artifacts were destroyed.^[10]

Tahimik owns the vegetarian cafe Oh My Gulay located at the top of the La Azotea building in Baguio, Philippines and he also owns and maintains the Ili-Likha Artist's Village which is also in Baguio.^[11][12]

Filmography

Director

Feature films

• Perfumed Nightmare (1977)
• Who Invented the Yoyo? Who Invented the Moon Buggy? (1982)
• Turumba (1983)
• Takedera Mon Amour: Diary of a Bamboo Connection (1991)
• Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? (with Kidlat Gottlieb Kalayaan; also known as I Am Furious... Yellow, 1989 and 1994)
• BalikBayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment (Redux III, 2015; Redux VI, 2017; Redux VII, 2023)
• Lakbayan (segment: "Kabayan’s Journey to Liwanang", 2018)

Short films

The films listed here are less than 50 minutes in length:

• Yan Ki Made in Hong Kong (1980)
• Orbit 50: Letters to My 3 Sons (1992)
• Celebrating the Year 2021, Today (1995)
• Japanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi (1996)
• Banal Kahoy (Holy Wood) (2000)
• Aqua Planet (2003)
• Some More Rice (2005)
• Our Film – Grimage to Guimaras (2006)
• BUBONG! Roofs of the World! Unite! (2006)
• Ang Balikbayan: Memories of Overdevelopment 1980–2010 (2010)

Television film

• Olympisches Gold (from Vater Unser, 1981)

Writer

• Perfumed Nightmare (1977)
• Turumba (1983)
• Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? (1994)
• BalikBayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment (2015; 2017)

Producer

• Perfumed Nightmare (1977)
• Turumba (1983)
• Abong: Small Home (2003)

Actor

• The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) – Hombrecito
• Perfumed Nightmare (1977) – Kidlat
• Jag rodnar (I Am Blushing, 1981)
• Smaragd (1987)
• José Rizal (1998) – La Liga Filipina guest
• Abong: Small Home (2003)
• BalikBayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment (2015; 2017; 2023) – Enrique of Malacca
• 1941: Cordillera Iti Ima ti Gubat (2022)

Awards and honors

Awards

• 27th Berlin International Film Festival International Critics Award: Perfumed Nightmare (1977)
• Mannheim Film Festival Top Cash Award: Turumba (1981)
• Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize Laureate, Arts and Culture Prize (2012)
• Berlin Film Festival Caligari Award: Balikbayan #1 Memories of Overdevelopment Redux III (2015)
• Prince Claus Laureate Archived October 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine (2018)^[13]

National honours

• National Artist of the Philippines (Film and Broadcast Arts) (2018)

Honorary degree

• University of the Cordilleras – Doctor of Humanities (August 24, 2018)^[14] sad