Author Laurel Flores Fantauzzo’s The First Impulse is a journey. Detailing the lives and tragic deaths of Filipino-Canadian film critic Alexis Tioseco and his wife, Slovenian film journalist Nika Bohinc.
After being captivated by Tioseco’s story, Fantauzzo dove deep into their story, trying to find any path that would lead to answers. After being murdered in 2009 in Quezon City, Philippines, their murder still remains unsolved.
Originally from Canada, Tioseco moved to the Philippines where he became a prominent name in film criticism in the Philippine independent cinema scene. He met Bohinc and their love for film bonded them. The two were respected in the international film world and you would think their murder would have been solved by now.
The murder case remains unresolved with only one accomplice convicted many years later. Part love story, part true crime, Fantauzzo unpacks the loose ends of their deaths in The First Impulse while exploring themes of identity, home, media freedom, and how art -— in Tioseco and Bohinc’s case, film criticism — can be both personal and political.
