Raymond Red
Raymond Red is a Filipino filmmaker. A pioneer of independent cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, he served multiple roles in the films he made, specializing in directing and cinematography. His filmography largely focused on themes of corruption, injustice, and poverty.
He has the distinction of being the first Filipino filmmaker to win the Short Film Palme d'Or award for his short film Anino at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
Career
Raymond Red began his filmmaking career in 1983, when he directed the Super 8 mm short Ang Magpakailanman at the age of 17. Starring his older brother Jon, he had intended to shoot the short in black and white, but had to settle for color film due to being cheaper than the scarce black-and-white film stock in the market. Two of the short's camerapersons, Raissa Roque and Nonoy Dadivas, were among the more prominent Filipino animators of the 1980s. Ang Magpakailanman premiered at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater within the University of [the Philippines Diliman] on May 14, 1983. By 1984, Red was an assistant to cinematographer Rody Lacap.When his short films were screened at Mowelfund, his work was praised by visiting British film scholar Tony Rayns, who stated, "There is something rare and wonderful about Raymond Red's movies, all the more piercing because it is so unexpected. The sheer beauty of these films moves me to tears"; Red later credited Rayns in influencing the path of his film career. By 1987, all of his short films were compiled for screening at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival under the International Forum of Young Cinema, and later at the 1988 San Francisco International Film Festival. In 1989, Red served as a panel member of a film seminar at the 2nd Singapore International Film Festival.
In 1992, Red directed his first feature-length film, a loose biography of Filipino revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio titled Bayani, which was funded by the German company ZDF. It premiered at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival under the Forum of Young Cinema, and was later entered into two further film festivals: Vancouver and Tokyo.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Red directed several television commercials.
Personal life
Red's older brother, Jon Red, is a painter-turned-filmmaker.Red has two sons: Mikhail and Nikolas, both of whom grew up to pursue filmmaking. Mikhail is best known for directing Birdshot as well as Dead Kids, the latter being the first Philippine-produced Netflix original film.