Filipino-American writer and producer Valerie Castillo-Martinez teams up with acclaimed filmmaker Raya Martin for “Death of Nintendo,” a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of ‘90s pop culture. The film will premiere at Berlinale this month.
Set in the suburbs of ‘90s Manila, just before the catastrophic Mount Pinatubo eruption, “Death of Nintendo” follows the misadventures of four video game-crazed 13-year old friends as they navigate the challenges of adolescence including first love and circumcision.
“Death of Nintendo” is a collaboration between two reconnected childhood friends that encapsulates their shared suburban childhood experience in the ‘90s.
Valerie Castillo–Martinez, a Filipino-American writer and producer wrote the screenplay for this coming-of-age story loosely based on her own experiences growing up in the Philippines before moving to the United States. The earliest version was written while Martinez was completing a Master of Fine Arts program at Columbia University.
She shares, “I was at a midpoint in my life. I’ve spent almost an equal amount of years living in the US and the Philippines and I started fearing losing my childhood memories. It made me think of the simplest times I had growing up and summers in the Philippines. The ‘90s, in particular, were special.”
Not a stranger to film festivals, Martinez has had her other works screened in Venice, Toronto, Busan, and won multiple awards around the globe. That she gets to collaborate with childhood friend, schoolmate and acclaimed filmmaker Raya Martin, whose works include “Independencia” (2009), and “Smaller and Smaller Circles” (2017), is a noteworthy element in the process.
“Working with Raya has excited me in two different ways. The most important reason is our connection to the story. Raya and I grew up in the same middle-class neighborhood and attended the same elementary school for 12 years. What’s more is that we wanted the Philippines to be depicted specifically to our experience and not be exoticized or serve certain cultural stereotypes involving extreme poverty or crime,” Martinez said.
For his part, Martin, felt this was an important story to tell having grown up queer in the ‘90s.
“Val and I had the exact same Catholic suburban-bred world being schoolmates. I also remember it was the beginning of the Internet aside from the console wars, so we were really fascinated between this virtual new world and touching ground that I felt was unmistakable in her story,” Martin shsared.
While the first versions of the story focused on the boys, Martin and Martinez worked on developing an equally significant female character as a protagonist.
“Death of Nintendo” will premiere in Berlinale 2020, an international film festival held in Berlin which is slated to open on February 20 of this year.
Under the Generation Kplus category, the film specifically targets younger audiences as the category includes films that showcase the lives and worlds of children and teenagers to encourage the appreciation of films in young moviegoers.
“It’s so magical that a film set on our side of the world, taking place decades ago, can make an impact and a real connection to today’s audiences, young and old,” said Martinez.
“Death of Nintendo” stars Noel Comia, Jr., Kim Chloie Oquendo, Jiggerfelip Sementilla and John Vincent Servilla, among others.
The film will be shown in the Philippines after it finishes its festival tour, but for now, its proponents are excited to once again showcase world-class Filipino talent on the global stage.