Die Filmemacherin Divina Kuan
/
Divina Kuan is a cutting-edge Filipina-German filmmaker. (Photo courtesy of Divina Kuan)
Based in Berlin, she has master studies, majoring in theater, film, and media studies, from the Goethe University (Frankfurt). Also, she has a master’s degree in media studies and film from The New School University (New York).
She speaks fondly of her parents, Knut Hasselman and Yolanda Kuan. “When they met,” she says, “my father saw this free-spirited, kind, and loving woman in her, who was never confined by the boundaries of societal pressures that his family imposed on him so strongly. My mother, for her part, saw a man in my father who was accomplished and hardworking, but also had the safety network of his family behind him, I guess they found what they lacked in each other.”
Her father, who was a classical musician with NDR Symphonic Orchestra, passed away early. As a result, her aunts, Nympha and Susan Kuan, came from the Philippines to support the family. Their household instantly became Filipino. She and her sister, Katharina, were immersed in Filipino culture, filled with joy, dance, music, and spirituality.
Kuan was seven when she first visited the Philippines:
“We were sitting on the roof of jeepneys, drank from coconuts that my sister had taken down from the trees, played basketball on the community courts, and went swimming under waterfalls. I remember holding onto a pillar at the airport in Iloilo and crying my head out when we had to board our flight back to Germany.”
She has made films in the Philippines, and she was a visiting lecturer in program communication and media studies at the University of the Philippines Visayas in Iloilo.
Kuan participates in film festivals, which she finds to be an opportunity to see what her peers are doing, as well as connect with other filmmakers. Currently making the rounds in film festivals is her short film, The Manicurists. A young woman named Tara enters a nail studio in Berlin to redeem her voucher for “Magic Nails,” which was given to her by an ex-girlfriend. What awaits her instead is a ritual that is supposed to liberate her from her evil spirits.
Criselda Crescini stars in The Manicurists. (Photo by Nancy Eichler)
Playing the ritual healer in the film is another Filipina, Criselda Crescini, who is based in Hamburg. How Kuan and Crescini met is an interesting story.
A Miss Philippines-Germany contest was held in Hamburg in 2001, and Kuan was an usher. “Criselda had a special performance,” she recalls, “in which she was singing what felt like three octaves or more, and she was cracking jokes and entertaining everyone in such a great way. I was totally blown away! I met her in her dressing room, and she even invited me to the cabaret where she was performing.”
Cut to 2018. During the planning stage of The Manicurists. Kuan immediately thought of Crescini. She wrote the part of the ritual healer specifically for her and then reached out to her. She became a bigger fan of Crescini during the shoot.
“Criselda is a very experienced performer, but she had rarely done any acting for films,” she tells me. “For The Manicurists, she had to act alongside two professional actresses. But she showed up, knew her lines perfectly, and hit it perfectly in the first take!”
The Manicurists is the second of the series, Objects & Occupations, which explores conventional occupations and objects in a playful artistic way. The Manicurists focuses on the psychological effects of rituals and expression, which rationality deems as useless.
Filmmaking is a complex and competitive world. As such, Kuan has a ready list of survival tips:
1. Have a clear vision and know how to communicate it.
2. Don’t be too harsh on yourself. You could always do better, but maybe what you’re creating is good enough for now.
3. Being kind and honest can get you a long way.
4. Shouting or being mean is not a sign of power or strength. It’s a sign of weakness and unprofessionalism.
5. Understanding filmmaking never fully happens.
6. Don’t forget to have fun!
Divina Kuan directs a scene in The Manicurists. (Photo courtesy of Divina Kuan)
Mabuhay! Prost! Divina Kuan shines in every detail, especially her Filipina German state of mind, which she gladly shares with the world. Her voice in her films is gentle but powerful, making a difference in every frame. The stories that she tells in her sleek visuals are peerless, and they will surely stand the test of time.
Divina Kuan can be reached divinakuan@gmail.com.
Or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinakuan/
Videos follow:
The Simulant
Two Fish
Nike Commercial x Voo Store
Rey E. de la Cruz, Ed.D., Positively Filipino correspondent, writes from Chicagoland when he is not loving the arts and traveling in seven continents. He is the author of the children’s book, Ballesteros on My Mind: My Hometown in the Philippines, which also has Ilocano, Spanish, and Tagalog editions, seven songs, and a film. His baby book and fourth-grade Tagalog diary are in the collection of The Newberry, an independent research library for the humanities in Chicago.
More articles from Rey E. de la Cruz
