Thursday, September 03, 2009

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.

6 comments:

jmac said...

CelineJulie,

I am very moved by your memories of Alexis and Nika. This tragedy is so painful for all of us. The connections between us are much stronger than they may appear. You are in my thoughts. Please accept my condolences.

xo
Jennifer

celinejulie said...

Thank you very much, Jennifer.

Juan Daniel said...

Even though I only met Alexis virtually, this news were too painful to believe. We had plans of making bridges between the south american and SEA underground. I hope this will find its way to carry on.

We should keep in touch.
my e-mail is juandaniel @ cinemados.com

celinejulie said...

Thank you very much, Juan Daniel.

celinejulie said...

Reading Kanchat's tribute to Alexis reminds me of one thing: Alexis knew about old Thai films more than many young Thai cinephiles. Kanchat, who is a young Thai film critic, wrote that Alexis once talked to him in 2007 about old Thai films, but Kanchat knew very little about them. If I were in Kanchat's place at that time, it would make no difference. I would have almost nothing to talk to Alexis about this issue. In 2007, I still didn't care much about old Thai films. I tried to avoid them in film festivals and thought they were not interesting. I remember that I was very surprised when I met Alexis in 2006 and he wanted to see some old Thai films in the Bangkok International Film Festival. Alexis also wrote a little about them here

I just started getting really interested in old Thai films this year, and reading Kanchat's tribute reminds me that Alexis was again a few steps ahead of me. I used to look down on Southeast Asian films, but Alexis made me change my mind completely about this. I used to look down on old Thai films, but now I'm not surprised anymore why Alexis was eager to see them a few years ago.

celinejulie said...

More links about Alexis and Nika:

Adrian Martin and Girish Shambu
http://www.girishshambu.com/blog/2009/09/for-nika-for-alex.html

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's FOR ALEXIS
http://vimeo.com/6408991

Gabe Klinger
http://www.theauteurs.com/notebook/posts/966

Glen Kenny
http://www.theauteurs.com/notebook/posts/972

Jonathan Rosenbaum
http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=16665

Kanchat Rangseekansong (in Thai)
http://www.bloggang.com/viewdiary.php?id=merveillesxx&month=09-2009&date=03&group=1&gblog=192

Noel Vera's PIECING TOGETHER A SHATTERED MIRROR
http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2009/09/piecing-together-shattered-mirror.html

Paul Dumol's eulogy
http://gibbscadiz.blogspot.com/2009/09/alexis-tioseco-and-difficult-art-of.html

Raya Martin's eulogy
http://filipinowriter.multiply.com/journal/item/50/Rayas_Eulogy_for_Alex

Alexis' THE LETTER I WOULD LOVE TO READ TO YOU IN PERSON (2008)
http://rogue.ph/columns/entry/the_letter_i_would_love_to_read_to_you_in_person/

Alexis' Favorite Southeast Asian Films of 2006
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/pixel_vision/2006/12/alexis_tiosecos_favorite_sea_f.html

News: Police arrest suspect
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090908-224260/Police-arrest-suspect-in-film-critics-killing