For Irvin

Words on a late friend.

An old profile picture of Irvin from his Facebook page.

Earlier today, I was alerted to the news that a good friend of mine, Irvin Malcolm Contreras, had passed away at the age of 44. Way too soon would be one way of putting it, but he was also someone whose chats I valued greatly for I’d also found I’d been learning about great Filipino films through him - which at the time, I was rather embarrassed to admit, I hadn’t seen very many despite being Filipino by blood.

I think I only really got to know him through my days in high school wandering Facebook groups that were centering on film. But it just so happened from there on that we’d only become much closer.

And that time did happen in 2016. I was on a family trip in the Philippines when we met, and I even got to see La La Land in theaters while I was there. It was a really fun time, one that I didn’t expect would happen so spontaneously, but it did. It was a nice feeling to know that someone whom I’d been talking with over on Facebook through direct messages for so long wasn’t just someone who posts away on social media about how much they love movies, but they were really enthusiastic about everything that they loved.

So much so to the point that they’d be highlighting gems that didn’t get much notice otherwise. Granted, as someone who still sees where they are on Letterboxd as nothing more than just a growing cinephile at best, I think that being around so many people who are so knowledgeable about films that you wouldn’t normally be seeking out always is a good thing. It’s always great, because you have more opportunities for discovering something you like, and learning about the world in turn - which I’ve always felt to be one of the best things anyone can take from being a film lover.

Through all our chats, I’ve always taken away that even where we didn’t agree, we still saw where we were all coming from. It’s the exact thing you’d want to take more than anything else from someone who loved film.

And this wasn’t the first time I’d felt such a loss too. In the middle of 2020, another one of my best friends from those same Facebook groups, Eli Hayes, had passed away at 26 years old. That’s the age I’m at right now, and since I turned 26 myself earlier this year, the thought that I would live to be older than he was simply didn’t feel right to me. It just didn’t feel right to me because every time we talked, he was so full of life, and always wished the best for us no matter what was going on.

I think the same could be said for Irvin. He was someone who really pushed for us to go out of our comfort zones and watch what we wouldn’t normally go out of our way for. Because frankly, when that very world we’re sharing outside of the one we live in, happens to be centered around film, what else could be more powerful than word of mouth?

It just wasn’t fair. But then again, I guess that’s life. I hope that wherever you are now, you’re at peace, perhaps you’re up there watching a movie alongside Roger Ebert too.

Farewell, Irvin. Thanks for everything.