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The Modern Mambabatok: Lane Wilcken and Filipino Tattooing in the Diaspora

The Modern Mambabatok follows the story of Lane Wilcken as he travels the United States practicing traditional Filipino hand-tap tattooing. The film showcases Wilcken’s engagement with the Filipino diasporic community as an educator of indigenous Philippine culture and as a mambabatok, traditional tattoo practitioner. Through Wilcken’s personal and professional journeys, audiences gain insight into the history of ancient Filipino hand-tap tattooing, its near extinction, and its recent revival and practice in the Filipino diaspora. The Modern Mambabatok chronicles this resurgence of traditional hand-tap tattooing and how batoks, hand-tap tattoos, are used to express Filipino and Filipino American identity today.

  • Kayla Sotomil
    Director
  • Kayla Sotomil
    Producer
  • Kayla Sotomil
    Camera
  • Lane Wilcken
    Key Cast
    "Master Tattoo Practitioner"
  • Jeff Abas
    Key Cast
  • Andrew Baladad
    Key Cast
  • Nancy Baladad
    Key Cast
  • Shane Bernardo
    Key Cast
  • Jerson Desiderio
    Key Cast
  • Nicanor Evangelista, Jr.
    Key Cast
  • Anthony Guevara
    Key Cast
  • Frances Herrera-Lim
    Key Cast
  • Kristian Kabuay
    Key Cast
  • Raina Ladislao
    Key Cast
  • Rolando Ladislao, Jr.
    Key Cast
  • Salvie Lou Makiling
    Key Cast
  • Natalia Roxas
    Key Cast
  • Princess Viray
    Key Cast
  • Leo Zulueta
    Key Cast
  • Peter Schweitzer
    Sound Re-Recordist
  • Sean David Christensen
    Colorist
  • Jennifer Cool
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Michael Bodie
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Janet Hoskins
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Dorinne Kondo
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Nancy Lutkehaus
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Cheryl Mattingly
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Tok Thompson
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Emily Zeamer
    USC MVA Production Faculty
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 1 second
  • Completion Date:
    September 22, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Traditional Tattoo Festival
    Kapa'au, HI
    United States
    October 26, 2019
  • American Studies Association Annual Meeting
    Honolulu, HI
    United States
    November 7, 2019
  • DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon
    Eugene, OR
    United States
    March 14, 2020
    Best Short Documentary
  • UnKonference Film Festival
    Virtual
    April 18, 2020
  • SCA/SVA Distribute Virtual Film Festival
    Virtual
    May 7, 2020
Director Biography - Kayla Sotomil

Kayla Sotomil is an ethnographic filmmaker and independent scholar. She received an MA in Visual Anthropology from the University of Southern California, an MA in Food Studies from New York University, the Grand Diploma in Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute, and a BA in Linguistic Anthropology from Brandeis University. Her work has been screened at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, the Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival, the SCA/SVA Distribute Film Festival, the American Studies Association Annual Meeting, the UnKonference Short Film Festival, and on Eugene Metro Channel 21. Her research interests include: ancestral ritual, indigenous healing, diasporic communities, foodways, identity performance, and intangible cultural heritage in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. A majority of her work thus far has focused on the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora. Prior to filmmaking, Kayla worked in food education and cooked professionally in New York City. She now divides her time between Los Angeles and Chicago.

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Director Statement

This ethnographic film project explores the modern practice of traditional Filipino hand-tap tattooing through the experience of Lane Wilcken. His choice to dedicate his life to researching, educating, and practicing hand-tapped tattooing runs parallel to a larger revival of traditional tattooing methods. The increased awareness of Wilcken’s work and the subsequent demand reflect a growing interest in precolonial Philippine customs among Filipino Americans, indicating an underlying desire to connect or reconnect to their Filipino heritage and identity. Through Wilcken’s story, this film examines the history and culture of Filipino tattooing and the role of a modern day mambabatok in the Filipino diasporic community.