REST IN PEACE, ALEXIS TIOSECO AND NIKA BOHINC

Rest in peace, Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc

The news
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/09/01/09/fil-canadian-film-critic-lover-shot-dead-qc-home

Many people wrote about Alexis:

--Filmsick
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20090902/the-night-we-lost-until-we-meet-again

--Sonthaya Subyen
http://twilightvirus.blogspot.com/2009/09/farewell-to-alexis-tioseco-and-nika.html

--Wise Kwai
http://thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com/2009/09/in-memoriam-alexis-tioseco.html

--Noel Vera
http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2009/09/alexis-tioseco-1981-2009.html

--Oggs Cruz
http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com/2009/09/alexis-tioseco-1981-2009.html


I feel very sad about what happened. I first got to know Alexis on August 31, 2005, when he commented on my blog. At that time I still used my blog as a personal database to collect what I wrote in some Thai webboards, so I was very surprised when a foreign film programmer commented on my blog.
http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2005/08/half-life-of-carbon-14.html

I exchanged a few e-mails with him after that. He made me feel very enthusiastic about Philippine cinema and Southeast Asian cinema. In fact, he drastically changed my views on Southeast Asian cinema. I had some bad experiences with Southeast Asian films shown here in Bangkok in late 1990's, so I looked down on Southeast Asian films after that. At that time I thought most Southeast Asian films were crap. But after I read his e-mails and his Criticine website in 2005, Southeast Asian cinema has become one of the things I'm most interested in. Alexis really opened my eyes on this.
http://www.criticine.com/main.php

I met him in person the first time when he came to the Bangkok International Film Festival in February 2006. I remember that he liked THE SUN (Alexander Sokurov) very much and saw this film again though he had seen it before in Berlin.

I caught a glimpse of him on September 9, 2007, when he came to Bangkok to present HEREMIAS (2006, Lav Diaz). I didn't talk to him at that time, but I owe him a lot for letting us see one of the best Filipino films.

I just met him again on July 31 and August 1, 2009, when he and Nika came to attend the Lav Diaz retrospective. That's the last time I saw them. On August 1, he said to me jokingly, "I know one person who watches film more than you." I asked him who that person is, and he replied, "Olaf Moller". Then, Nika, Alexis and I talked a little bit about Vlado Skafar. Alexis also said that he had seen several videos of Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook in Oberhausen, and he hoped he would have a chance to see more of Araya's videos in the future.

As I am a Bangkok cinephile, I have to say that cinephiles in Bangkok owe Alexis a lot for having selected great Filipino films to be shown here during the Thai Short Film and Video Festival since 2005. I would like to list the titles of the films Alexis selected in his programs here, because I think he liked these films:

(The information below is from the catalogues of the Thai Short Film and Video Festival, organized by the Thai Film Foundation.)

1.ABSTRACTION (2005, Sherad Anthony Sanchez)

2.AMEN (1998, Khavn De La Cruz)

3.APPLE (2005, Sherad Anthony Sanchez)

4.BONTOC EULOGY (1995, Marlon Fuentes)

5.THE BRIEF LIFE OF FIRE: ACT 2 SCENE 2: SURING AND THE KUK-OK (1995, Auraeus Solito)

6.CHILDHOOD IN THE PHILIPPINES ISLANDS, UNDATED (2005, Raya Martin)

7.CHILDSTAR (2001, Quark Henares)

8.COMING TO PASS (2005, Sherad Anthony Sanchez)

9.ETERNITY (1983, Raymond Red)

10.EXAGGERATION (2005, Bryan Blue Cuevas)

11.THE GREAT SMOKE (1984, Roxlee)

12.KULTADO (2005, Lawrence Fajardo)

13.LEFT TURN (2005, Roxlee, Lai Crisostomo, Maisa Demetillo)

14.A MANGO DAY (2002, Mark Villena)

15.PLANO (2004, Antoinette Jadaone)

16.RED SAGA (2004, Gabriela Krista Dalena)

17.THE RETROCHRONOLOGICAL TRANSFER OF INFORMATION (1996, Tad Ermitano)

18.RUST (KALAWANG) (1989, Cesar Hernando, Eli Guieb III, Jimbo Albano)

19.SALAT (2004, John Torres)

20.7-CUT (2002, Jay Abello)

21.SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS FOR A MOTHER, A SISTER AND A WIFE WHO LONGS FOR YOU: LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES (2008, Christopher Gozum)


22.TAWIDGUTOM (2004, John Torres)

23.THE VISIT (BAKASYON) (2004, Raya Martin)

When I think about some of these films in the future, I will also remember that it was you, Alexis, who gave us a chance to see these films.

My last contact with Alexis is via Facebook. On August 29, 2009, I posted a link to "Sonthaya Subyen's love letter to Lav Diaz" in my Facebook (http://twilightvirus.blogspot.com/2009/08/lav-diaz.html). Alexis commented on that link on the same day at 10:18 pm:

"look forward to reading the translation! and also to reading both of your letters, tea and filmsick! :)"

We will always remember you, Alexis.