Khavn

Khavn De La CRUZ (1973, Philippines), known as the father of the Philippine No Wave movement, is a prolific Filipino filmmaker, writer, pianist, songwriter and composer. Since 1994, he has directed over 300 films, including Squatterpunk (2006), Manila in the Fangs of Darkness (2008) and has collaborated with Alexander Kluge on films such as Orphea (2020) and Happy Lamento (2018). His films are loud rejections of the passivity imposed by resource deprivation in the Philippines and agitate against the erasure of the Filipino margins. From 2002 to 2011, he was the festival director and programmer for MOV International Film, Music and Literature Festival. He has been a jury member at multiple festivals, including the Berlinale and Leipzig Film Festival. He has exhibited at the MoMA, MAXXI, Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern, Museo Reina Sofia, IFFR, National Museum of Singapore and Venice Architecture Biennale. He lectured at the Berlinale Talent Campus, Bela Tarr’s Film Factory, Goethe Institute, the Danish Film Institute and his alma mater, the Ateneo. He curated programmes for the Viennale, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Sharjah Biennial. Selected retrospectives of his films have been presented around the world, including at IFFR. Khavn is also the author of 15 books of poetry and fiction.

Filmography

(selection) Alaala ng madaling araw/Memory of Dawn (1997, short), Amen, a Brown Comedy (1998, short), The Electric Company’s Gonna Get Your Backyard (2000, short), The Twelve (2001), Greaseman (2001, short), Pugot/Headless (2002, short), Barong Brothers (2003, short), Mondomanila: Institusyon ng makata/Institute of Poets (2004, short), Small Ali (2004, short), Lata at tsinelas/Can & Slippers (2004, short), Ang pamilyang Kumakain ng lupa/The Family That Eats Soil (2004), Esperando a un superhéroe/Waiting for a Super Hero (2005, short), No te enamores de una superhéroe/Don’t Fall in Love with a Super Hero (2005, short), Aquanino/Aquaboy (2005, short), Dos superhéroes cagando, un musical de mierda/Two Super Heroes Taking a Crap, a Toilet Musical (2005, short), Porno Man (2005, short), Superman enamorado/Super Man in Love (2005, short), El Superman que ne podia volar/The Super Man Who Couldn’t Fly (2005, short), Superhéroe en la cama /Superhero in Bed (2005, short), Bahag Kings/G-string Kings (2006), Our Daily Bread (2006, short), Rugby Boyz (2006, short), A todas supermenas que he amado/To All the Super Girls I’ve Loved Before (2006, short), By the Suez Canal (2006, short), Old East Side (2006, short), An Open Letter to All the Terrorists of the World (2006, short), Iskwaterpangk/Squatterpunk (2007, doc), Philippine Bliss (2008), Tatlong araw ng kadiliman/Three Days of Darkness (2008), Ultimo (2008, short doc), Day tingnga ti misteryo ti Kristo Negro/The Middle Mystery of Kristo Negro (2009), Pamilya Kariton/The Pushcart Family (2009, short), Blackworm (2009, short), Cameroon Love Letter (For Solo Piano) (2010), Son of God (2010, co-dir), Kommander Kulas: Ang kaisa-isang konsiyerto ng kagila-gilalas na kommander Kulas at ng kanyang kawawang kalabaw sa walang katapusang kalsada ng kamias/Kommander Kulas: The One and Only Concert of the Amazing Kommander Kulas and His Poor Carabao in the Long and Unwinding Road of Kamias (2011), Mondomanila (2011), Pahinga/Breather (2011), Pusong wazak! Isa na namang kwento ng pag-ibig sa pagitan ng isang kriminal at isang puta/Ruined Heart! Another Love Story Between a Criminal and a Whore (2012, short), How to Raise a Smart & Happy Child from Age Zero to Five (2013, short), Misericordia: The Last Mystery Of Kristo Vampiro (2013), EDSA XXX: Ganito kami noon, ganito pa rin kami ngayon/EDSA XXX: Nothing Ever Changes in the Ever-Changing Republic of Ek-Ek-Ek (2014), Ruined Heart: Another Lovestory Between a Criminal & a Whore (2014), Desaparadiso (2015), Simulacrum Tremendum (2016, doc), Ang napakaigsing buhay ng Alipato/Alipato: The Very Brief Life of an Ember (2016), Balangiga: Howling Wilderness (2017), Bamboo Dogs (2018), Orphea (2020), Love Is a Dog from Hell (2022), National Anarchist: Lino Brocka (2023), Nitrate: To the Ghosts of the 75 Lost Philippine Silent Films (1912-1933) (2023), Makbetamaximus (2024), Rizal’s Makamisa: Phantasm of Revenge (2024), Bomba Bernal (2025)

More Info: Wikipedia, Khavn de la Cruz