Cosmos and Nightmare: The Films of Kidlat Tahimik

Although he has gained wide recognition as a pioneer of Filipino cinema, Kidlat Tahimik's films are known to most moviegoers merely as rumors. This is partly due to their often precarious state of conservation, but also to the fact that attention was often exclusively directed towards the longer films, particularly the sensational debut, The Perfumed Nightmare. Cosmos and Nightmare: The Films of Kidlat Tahimik is intended to bridge this reception gap.

It is the first complete retrospective of Kidlat Tahimik's work and presents an unrelenting rebel of cinema, who has created a dazzling, unique oeuvre without following conventional paths of production. To create a context for this work, the program will be enriched by a mini-retrospective of Philippine cinema, as well as a selection of international films with which Tahimik's films can be associated.

The retrospective was put together in collaboration with Kidlat Tahimik and was made possible by financial support from the Hauptstadtkulturfonds and the Goethe Institute Manila.