Festival. He has since garnered critical acclaim in European and Asian Film circles. Film critic Antoine Thirion considered him one of the 50 best filmmakers under 50 in the 50th issue of Cinemascope: "There’s no Filipino director who can deny that he’s trying to portray the particularly tragic condition of their people. But only Martin has succeeded in advancing a contemporary image, solidly set in the present yet permanently floating between ages. The mixture of fantasy and determination, of naiveté and irony necessary (as in the exotic colonial/Hollywood pastiche of Independencia) is only his." References External links 2009 films 2009 drama films 2000s historical drama films Philippine historical drama films 2000s Tagalog-language films Philippine black-and-white films Films directed by Raya Martin