Raymond Red is one of the most prominent figures of modern Filipino alternative cinema. Having a background in Fine Arts and photography, he began by making numerous experimental and narrative super-8mm and 16mm short films in the 1980s and immediately gained recognition by winning awards and citations, both locally and at the international film festivals scene. He had then, at an early age, begun to inspire a new generation of independent filmmakers, and has since become a regular lecturer and instructor in various film workshops and college film and fine arts, and mass communications programs, mentoring early on quite a number of the prominent Filipino independent filmmakers of today.
In 1990 he was invited to the prestigious DAAD Berlin Artists in Residence program, where he was also awarded a film production grant by ZDF 2nd German Television. He then produced his first full-length feature film “BAYANI” (Heroes, 1992), a low-budget historical bio-pic, it was one of the first truly Filipino “alternative” films released in commercial cinemas and thus considered by some as the indie film that bridged the gap between the alternative and mainstream cinema. He later made two other full length features, “SAKAY” (1993) another historical epic which won awards at the Manila Film Festival, and “KAMADA” (1997) a television feature that won awards from the Philippine Broadcasters Association and the Asian TV Awards.
Red has earned the distinction of being one of the first Filipinos to receive a Rotterdam Hubert Bals Memorial grant, and the first and so far only Filipino to have won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his short film “ANINO”. Red and his works have been written about in major publications like Cahiers du Cinema - France, Sight and Sound - UK, TimeOut - UK, Variety - USA, Village Voice - USA, and the Oxford History of World Cinema. Red is also now distinguished for his technical expertise, and has served as speaker for new moving image technology launches of companies like Sony and Canon, Kodak and Fuji, and has done demo tests of new ultra high-definition digital cameras like the Red One and the Arriflex D21. He has also repeatedly served as juror for both local and international film competitions.
Red has also been more active in television commercials and music video production in recent years, though has also done a few more experimental short works, among them “Mistulang Kamera Obskura” in 2006. He is finally wrapping up production of his new full length feature, entitled "HIMPAPAWID" (Manila Skies), slated for screenings in international film festivals throughout 2009.
