Photo Credit: GMA News/Film Development Council of the PhilippinesÂ
Filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik won the Caligari Prize for his film, “Balikbayan #1 (Memories of Overdevelopment Redux  III)” at the 2015 Berlinale, or Berlin International Film Festival, according to GMA News!
This epic win for Kidlat Tahimik comes after, apparently, 38 years since his first film premiere at the same festival in 1977. That is so cool!
According to the report, the Caligari Prize is awarded to a film under the section for experimental films and documentaries from around the world. The Berlinale website also says that the winner gets 4,000 euros or roughly 200,000 pesos! Half goes to the director, while half is allotted for the film’s distribution.
“Balikbayan #1” premiered at Berlinale, running from February 5 to 10.
The report also cites a statement from the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), saying that “Balikbayan #1” is about the story of Enrique, who becomes Magellan’s slave and serves as the explorer’s translator in his travels. He is also “paralleled by a present-day character trying to discover who Enrique of Malacca was upon the discovery of film rolls dug up from the ground.”
The council also said that the film “explores the themes of rebirth, memory, cultural heritage, and cinema itself.”
Hats off to you, Kidlat Tahimik!
What other Pinoy films should be getting recognition in the international scene?
