Laureate to use prize for promotion of IP culture

MANILA, Philippines - Renowned artist Kidlat Tahimik intends to use the P1.6 million (3 million yen) from the Fukuoka Prize to help promote the Ifugaos’ indigenuis (indigenous) culture which is being forgotten and beaten by “American Idol” or foreign influence.

Filmmaker Eric de Guia, more popularly known as Kidlat Tahimik, is one of two Fukuoka Prize 2012 Arts and Culture laureates.

“I want to continue my projects with the Ifugao people, maybe we would find a way to continue that project. We could use the media to record and document the fast vanishing cultures that are being buried by American Idol,” the 69-year-old De Guia said.

He clarified that American Idol does not refer just to the US-based singing contest but to the pervasive influence of American and other foreign cultures on Filipinos.

He believes there is a need to strike a balance between foreign and local influence. “It is something that we have to balance. We have so much culture that deserves more space in media. It (foreign influence) can be neutralized. We have a beautiful culture, we have something we could contribute to the globe.”

The prize money would be used to purchase equipment to record and document the indigenous culture. He wants mainstream society to give more attention to the indigenous peoples (IPs) and their arts and culture.

He is also planning documentaries on the IPs that would be shown in public schools nationwide. He believed that the films would not only educate Filipinos on their culture but also instill pride back among some of the IPs, many of whom are marginalized and the young ashamed of their culture.

He is also negotiating with his alma mater, the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, to adopt Sikolohiyang Pilipino 101 (Filipino Psychology 101).

“I am talking to the deans of Fine Arts, Mass Communication, Architecture and Music that the students be required to take Sikolohiyang Pilipino 101. At least in the creative students, getting this kind of exposure would be a great fountain spring,” he said.

In a press conference announc- ing the prize, Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe said: “For me, culture is like a tree with many branches and hundreds and thousands of leaves. It is ever changing and fascinating to watch. However, the most important part of this tree is the roots. If the tree is solidly rooted it will flourish. The love and pride Mr. Tahimik beholds on Filipino indigenous culture, I believe, is the solid root on which he has developed his diverse and unique art form. That is why he has received international acclaim and recognition.”

The Fukuoka Prize Committee noted that “Mr. Kidlat Tahimik is a leading Asian independent filmmaker who involves himself in every single step of filmmaking, from script-writing through shooting, editing, acting, and producing to directing. By doing this, he has made a great contribution to global filmmaking culture, and has won international acclaim for his unique style of presenting a distinctively Filipino combination of third- world self-consciousness and pride, wrapping this up in his own individual sense of humor.”

De Guia was born in Baguio in 1942. After graduating from the UP, he got an MBA from the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania. He worked as a researcher for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, and then returned to start his career as an independent filmmaker. In 1977, his first film “Perfumed Nightmare” received the FIPRESCI Award (International Critics Award) at the Berlin International Film Festival.

He is the fourth Filipino to receive the Fukuoka Prize. Previous laureates are Leandro Locsin, an architect; Marilou Diaz-Abaya, a film director; and Reynaldo Ileto, a historian.

The Fukuoka Prize honors outstanding achievements of individuals or groups in preserving and creating the unique and diverse cultures of Asia.