Disruption Frame By Frame

Disturbing, surreal, yet brilliantthese are the key components to Khavn De La Cruzs experimental cinema. His films disturb the comfortablewith no remorse as he depicts the Philippines in his tales.

- Rogin Losa

“I don’t shy away from anything. I embrace traditional film making until I hear its bones break,” says local experimental filmmaker Khavn De La Cruz. His works disturb the comfortable the way Filipino commercial films comfort the disturbed.

“There is no need [to see the country’s unsettling side in film], [Philippine cinema] only needs balance,” is what Khavn believes. He has been bringing that balance to our local cinema since 1994. All in all, he has created 47 features and 112 short films. Though the reception for these films may vary, the context remains faithful to his philosophy of what “wazak” entails.

“Wazak” is an outdated Filipino slang word that’s the equivalent of “astig” today. But at the same time, it is also rooted in the word “ruined.” This is reflected in how Khavn depicts the Philippines or Manila in his films. The backdrop is what our country often filters out when international delegates arrive on our shores—our slums.

The slums of Manila play a huge part in Khavn’s works. The Family that Eats Soil, Mondomanila, Ruined Heart, and his documentary Squatter punk share this commonality. All of them also tackle themes that question the integrity of Filipino idealism by using non-linear narratives to tip the country’s moral compass.

Filipino culture is shown through the surrealist and disturbing realities of Khavn’s characters. From the grime and rotting flesh of poverty caused by a broken system to the darkest kinks of the human psyche, his lens treads where few local filmmakers dare to follow.