Here is my cahiers de vivre (to take from the famous cahiers du cinema), expanded scribblings on cinema, literature, life, and things in between. Every now and again I also write technical articles about data science / software development at Medium.com.
A month of Philippine Cinema: Kidlat Tahimik’s Mababangong Bangungot
I’m generally suspicious of postcolonial works of art that nevertheless utilize the forms of expression — or thrive in the cultural spaces — borrowed from Western powers. For example, while I’m hoping to catch a screening of Rafael Manuel’s much-celebrated Sundance entry, Filipiñana, on my upcoming trip to Manila, my anticipation is already pestered by…
A month of Philippine cinema: Mike de Leon’s Itim (1976)
It’s finally September! Not only is my birthday coming up, but the month also happens to be Philippine Film Industry Month (PFIM), so chosen to commemorate the birth of Philippine cinema following the screening of Jose Nepomuceno’s Dalagang Bukid in 1919. Readers of my blog would know that I’m a big fan of our local…
Reckoning with the brutal realities of womanhood: a film review of Sunshine (2024)
I’m going to just go ahead and open this post with a scalding hot take: artists have no obligation to validate all sides of an argument. This applies to any medium of creative expression, be it essays, film, short stories, novels, or hell, even polemical tracts. If you’re writing jurisprudence, sure. But if you’re producing…
Cinemalaya, the status of Philippine cinema, and Adorno & Horkheimer’s take on love teams
It’s August, meaning it’s that time of the year again when I wax disappointed over not being in the Philippines to enjoy the Cinemalaya film festival. This festival has always been dear to me, as it’s been the source of many of my favorite movies (not just local movies, mind you), from Marie Jamora’s coming-of-age…
What would be so bad about being erased: an unusually early review of Obsession (2026)
Topping my rolling list of ongoing obsessions recently is the indie-turned-blockbuster smash hit horror movie Obsession (2026), which I saw over the weekend with my wife. Neither of us are big on the horror genre, but the movie in particular had two strong points working for it that really piqued our interest. First, there’s the…
Cementing the Metanarrative: A Retrospective on the Eraserheads and Combo on the Run
There has been considerable online buzz surrounding the 2025 documentary Combo on the Run, framed as a deconstructionist retrospective on the mythic rise, fall, and long-lasting cultural impact of the Filipino alt-rock band Eraserheads (referred to endearingly by fans as the E-Heads, or simply the Heads). This renewed interest coincides with the documentary finally hitting…
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Dominic Dayta 