Kidlat Tahimik. National Artist for Independent Cinema

It is not commonly known that Kidlat Tahimik wore suits to work when he was with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. He obtained an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Not hard to believe that he would found AISEC in UP.

A crossroad in his life was when he took a sabbatical from work in Paris and headed to Munich for the Olympic games in 1972. He had used his savings as capital to sell souvenirs and memorabilia during the games. He lost everything during the terrorist attack and found himself broke. He then found haven in a commune in Germany where he temporarily stayed until he could raise enough money to return home. He found employment in a movie set doing production support when the director saw him and used him as an extra. That director was noted filmmaker Werner Herzog who eventually influenced him to pursue his own visions.

Kidlat Tahimik's film Perfumed Nightmare was completed in 1977.

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