No. 32: Kidlat Tahimik - Turumba (1980) 

2 Kerr St, Fitzroy

Thursday the 28th September, 7.30pm for an 8pm start

$20 membership for 3 consecutive months

Blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, Turumba is a brilliantly crafted satire of globalisation in a small Fillipino town. 

Made by the grandfather of the Independent Philippine Cinema, Kidlat Tahimik, in collaboration with local craftsmen and artists, Turumba portrays the community of Pakil, a small town in Laguna province about 100 kilometres from the capital Manila. 

Famed for the annual Turumba procession and musical tradition, the film focuses on a family who earn their living creating paper-mache icons, renowned across the Philippines, for the annual festivities. Upon receiving a commission to mass produce paper-mache figurines for the 1972 Munich Olympic games, the film traces the changes to the town as the Filipino hamlet becomes a sweat shop, observing the effects of global trade on the centuries old traditions, reflecting the broader histories of colonialism and exploitation in the Pacific. 
– George Clark, Circuit

16mm print courtesy of the NFSA