‘Buenas Noches,’ Manila

PILAR Lopez de Ayala and Andres Gertrudix in “Buenas Noches, España”

Filipino independent filmmaker Raya Martin’s “Buenas Noches, España” makes its Philippine premiere tomorrow (Monday) at the Pelicula, the 10th Spanish Film Festival in Manila, ongoing at Greenbelt 3 in Makati.

Martin told Inquirer Entertainment that he felt “honored” to be part of the fest, especially since Instituto Cervantes is “bringing a strong tradition of cinema from Spain. I’m proud to be part of that … with my first Spanish production.”

Martin’s film features two top Spanish actors, Pilar Lopez de Ayala and Andres Gertrudix, as they undergo “strange teleporting and psychedelic experiences” that allow them to venture into the Spanish colonial past in the Philippines.

Martin, whose body of work courageously (and innovatively) tackles history, pointed out that “Buenas Noches” is “about experiencing colonialism … maybe through a science-fiction love story or through taking consciousness-expanding drugs.”

Such defiance is necessary. He asserted: “I think my generation needs a certain act of rebellion against a boring institution of learning … in order to understand what’s going on and what happened in the past.”

He added: “Maybe our love-hate relationship with our colonial masters can be better understood by experiencing it from another realm.”

RAYA Martin photo by BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.

Mixed emotions

He has mixed emotions about showing his film to a predominantly local audience. “It’s always difficult to show my films in the Philippines because I always try to do something different from what we’re normally used to,” he said.

But this indie filmmaker is an optimist: “I always have high hopes that the Filipino audience will grow with more passion towards real independence from mainstream ideas.”

“Buenas Noches” made its world premiere in August at the 64th Locarno film fest in Switzerland, where Martin did double duty.

“I premiered a film and was also part of the jury,” he recalled. “Some films in the competition surprised me and I fell in love with them.”

His two screenings in Locarno were sold out.

He admitted that his film could be “difficult … but I’ve always taken that as a challenge.”

The most touching comment, he said, came from one viewer. “She told me that every time she sees one of my films, she sees the beauty in life.”

Foreign audiences commonly ask about the historical ties of Spain and the Philippines, he remarked. “It’s funny and disturbing that some people don’t know the colonial link between our two countries.”

The film’s two lead stars “loved” the film, said Martin. “They were happy to discover this kind of filmmaking which is different from what they usually make.”