Raymond Red

Last updated

Raymond Red
Born (1965-03-22) March 22, 1965 (age 60)
Quezon City, Philippines
Occupations
  • Film director
  • cinematorapher
  • screenwriter
  • editor
Movement Philippine New Wave
Children
RelativesJon Red (brother)

Raymond Red (born March 22, 1965) [1] is a Filipino filmmaker. [2] 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. [3] [4]

Contents

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. [5] [6]

Career

Raymond Red began his filmmaking career in 1983, when he directed the Super 8 mm short Ang Magpakailanman at the age of 17. [7] Starring his older brother Jon (credited as "Jon-Jon Red"), 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. [8] Two of the short's camerapersons, Raissa Roque and Nonoy Dadivas, were among the more prominent Filipino animators of the 1980s. [8] [9] Ang Magpakailanman premiered at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater within the University of the Philippines Diliman on May 14, 1983. [8] By 1984, Red was an assistant to cinematographer Rody Lacap. [8]

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"; [10] [11] Red later credited Rayns in influencing the path of his film career. [11] 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. [10] [7] In 1989, Red served as a panel member of a film seminar at the 2nd Singapore International Film Festival. [12]

In 1992, Red directed his first feature-length film, a loose biography of Filipino revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio titled Bayani (lit. 'Hero'), which was funded by the German company ZDF. It premiered at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival under the Forum of Young Cinema, [13] and was later entered into two further film festivals: Vancouver and Tokyo.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Red directed several television commercials. [14]

Personal life

Red's older brother, Jon Red, is a painter-turned-filmmaker. [15]

Red has two sons: Mikhail and Nikolas, both of whom grew up to pursue filmmaking. Mikhail is best known for directing Birdshot (2016) as well as Dead Kids (2019), the latter being the first Philippine-produced Netflix original film. [16]

Filmography

Feature films

YearOriginal titleEnglish titleDirectorWriterCinematographerEditorNotes
1992BayaniHeroYesYesYesYesAlso sound designer
1993 Sakay Story
1997KamadaWardrobeNo Television film
2009 Himpapawid Manila SkiesYesAlso executive producer
2012 Kamera Obskura Dark RoomAlso producer
2015Mga Rebeldeng May KasoRebels with a Cause
2022Adarna GangNoNoNoDirected by his brother Jon Red
2023Boso Dos
2024Stag
2025 Lihim SecretAlso camera operator. Directed by his son Mikhail Red
Manila's Finest Yes

Short films

Awards

CeremonyDateFilmAwardStatusRef.
Berlin International Film Festival 1987Bayani (English: Hero)FAMAS Award for Best SoundNominated
FAMAS Award 1993Bayani (English: Hero)FAMAS Award for Best SoundNominated
1994 Sakay FAMAS Award for Best Director Nominated [17]
Gawad Urian Awards 1994 Sakay Best Direction (Pinakamahusay na Direksyon)Nominated [18]
Best Cinematography (Pinakamahusay na Sinematograpiya)Nominated
Cannes Film Festival May 25, 2000 Anino (English: Shadows) Short Film Palme d'Or Won [19] [20]
Cinemanila International Film Festival July 9, 2000N/aSpecial RecognitionHonored
MMFF Gabi ng Parangal December 27, 2025 Manila's Finest Best Director Nominated
Best Cinematography Won

References

  1. ↑ "Happy birthday, Direk Raymond!". Cinema Centenario. March 22, 2019.
  2. ↑ PelikulaRed. "PelikulaRed". PelikulaRed. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  3. ↑ Gonzaga, Pie (December 19, 2025). "Raymond Red Talks 'Apocalypse Now,' 'Anino,' and More Movies". rollingstonephilippines.com. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  4. ↑ Linnarz, Rouven (November 23, 2018). "Film Review: Manila Skies (Himpapawid) (2009) by Raymond Red". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Awards 2000: All Awards". festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "53ème Festival International du Film - Cannes". cinema-francais.fr (in French). Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Mathew, K. M. (March 31, 1987). "Film critics and fans rave over Raymond Red in Berlin Filmfest". Manila Standard . Vol. 1, no. 49. West Berlin. p. 14.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "The screenplay of Ang Magpakailanman by Raymond Red". SineManila. Vol. 1, no. 1. July 1984. pp. 14–15, 45.
  9. ↑ CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art: Volume VIII - Philippine Film. Cultural Center of the Philippines. 1994. p. 83. ISBN   971-8546-23-5 . Retrieved January 28, 2026. Since the annual short film festival was initiated by the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines [...] a number of outstanding talents have risen to prominence in the field of animation. Among them are Juan and Mike Alcazaren, Raissa Roque, Nonoy Dadivas[...]
  10. 1 2 "Raymond Red Program of Shorts". San Francisco. 2: 25. 1988. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Palomares, Wilgrace O. (July 20, 1988). "Raymond Red - Someone to show the world". Manila Standard . Vol. 2, no. 161. p. 12. '[Tony Rayns] just happened to be in Mowelfund. He saw some films and thought that mine [Raymond Red] were impressive - para sa kanya.'
  12. ↑ Ali, Saleha (January 28, 1989). "Moves to revive film industry". New Straits Times . Singapore. p. 13. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  13. ↑ Deutsch, Andre, ed. (1993). "Philippines". Variety International Film Guide. Variety. p. 310. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Raymond Red directs TV ad". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Vol. 17, no. 103. March 21, 2002. p. A30.
  15. ↑ Cruz, Marinel R. (July 2, 2002). "Red blacks out 'garbage'". Philippine Daily Inquirer . p. A25. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Raymond Red | Director, Cinematographer, Writer". IMDb. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  17. ↑ "FAMAS Awards (1994)". IMDb . Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Gawad Urian Awards (1994)". IMDb . Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Cannes 2000 Palmares". cannes-fest.com (in French). Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Raymond RED". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.