Eric de Guia

He is recognized for his holistic, free-spirited and joyfully rebellious approach and lifetime
commitment to independent creativity; charismatic role as a catalyst and thought leader inspiring
people to tap into their own inner spirit.

Eric de Guia (born October 3, 1942 in Baguio City, Philippines), better known as Kidlat Tahimik
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.
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.

Personal life

Kidlat lives in a 4-storey home in Benguet, Philippines with his wife, German artist and writer
Katrin De Guia, and their children Kidlat Tahimik Jr., Kawayan Thor Kalayaan and Kabunyan De
Guia.
In February 2004 a fire was reported to have spread in their home. The family was able to escape
safely, but the director's film stock and collection of art and artifacts were destroyed.

Education

Tahimik attended the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he was a member of the
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.
Kidlat Tahimik studied at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, earning a Master in
Business Administration, and worked as a researcher for the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 1968 to 1972.

Influences

Tahimik grew up in Baguio City, Philippines, a summer resort community established in the
presence of several U.S. Military bases. This experience was a weighty influence on the themes of
his films, most notably the semi-autobiographical Perfumed Nightmare (1977) and Turumba
(1981).
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.

Works

Mababangong bangungot / Perfumed Nightmare 1977

Turumba 1981
Sinong lumikha ng yoyo? Sinong lumikha ng moon buggy? 1982
Orbit 50: Letters to My 3 Sons 1992
Why is Yellow Middle of Rainbow? / I am Furious Yellow 1994
Japanese Summers of a Filipino Fundoshi 1996
Our Film – Grimage to Guimaras 2006
BUBONG! (Roofs of the World! UNITE!) 2006
Memories of Overdevelopment 2010
The Forgotten Right 2011
Balikbayan #1 Memories of Overdevelopment Redux III 2015

Awards

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