Inspired by José Rizal’s unfinished third novel, “Makamisa: Phantasm of Revenge” is a hand-colored 35mm silent film about the fragmented colonial history of the Filipino people. Set during the surreal turn of the 20th century during the tumultuous transition between Spanish and American colonial powers, the film draws on disconcerting allegorical imagery to deconstruct and reimagine Filipino history and society through the lens of three main characters —the sad Filipino poet Simoun Rizal, the evil Spanish priest Father Agaton Damaso, and the American madwoman Sisa Bracken. A hallucinatory odyssey shot in 7 days on 99 rolls of expired 35mm Fuji, the film was hand- processed in a bathtub in Manila —before being color-tinted & toned to appear as a malevolent ghost from early 20th century cinema.

Presented at the FIDMarseille.