Synopsis

One night, a mother of five gets drunk. She then spends the rest of the evening expressing her frustrations, inhibitions, and aspirations while her poet son tells all the miseries and shared trauma that bonded them together.

Duration: 6m 9s
Country: Philippines
Genre: Documentary
Director: Rian Simon Cabatingan Magtaan

Director’s Bio

RS Magtaan went from a well-informed know-it-all teen who thought he could change the world to an egotistical utilitarian, absurdist philosopher masquerading as a motivational speaker/multi-faceted artist.

RS MAGTAAN (b. 1998, Philippines) is an independent theater and film actor, spoken word artist, writer, video editor, photographer, filmmaker, creative producer, human rights advocate, and visionary. Your all-around egotistical utilitarian.

A member of Dakila: Philippine Collective For Modern Heroism, Resident artist and collaborator of Para Sa Sining, PLUS: The Art Collective, and PAPEL. One of the founding directors of We The Future and SINING Collective, Artistic Director of Mementophile Productions, and the Founder of BAON Collective.

His expertise and initiatives expand to filmmaking, performative literature, culinary, business, and public service. Magtaan’s interdisciplinary work seeks to contribute to transforming a passive spectator into an active participant through accessible means of creative production.

He is constantly looking for collaboration and studying different types of artistic identities from different genres and cultures. All for the main purpose of telling viable stories to inspire individuals to do more than just exist and unearth unifying perspectives of meaningful change.

He is currently working as a creative director/managing partner of Create Beyond Dreams while developing his marketing & entertainment collective, OUTLINES.

Director Statement

The night is drunk when we suffer is an experimental docu essay that explores my relationship with my mother. Fragments of phone footage and film photographs intertwine with poetry, politics, and personal desire in an attempt to rediscover or drown myself in the process.

I am a product of a never-ending cycle of poverty and oppression, and I am trying to rebuild myself from the fragments found in this film.

My mama taught me a lot, especially about gambling in life, literally and figuratively. This is one of my gambles.

I hope this film will serve as a wake-up call to my dad and all other oppressive individuals in this world. This is my attempt to talk about the culture of patriarchy, abuse, and violence, particularly in creating a family.

Suffering is optional,

But I think we cannot break the barrier unless we speak.