Our country’s pride, the Award-Winning Films from the Philippines will be shown here in Bangkok initiated by the Chulalongkorn University, Institute of Asian Studies. It is in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, and the Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship Program of the Nippon Foundation 21 to 24 March 2008 (6PM on 21 & 24 March, 1PM on 22 & 23 March).
The venue for screenings will be at Dr.Tiem Auditorium, Faculty of Commercial Arts - Nitadesart, (near Sasa International House) Chulalongkorn University (enter through Soi Chulalongkorn 12, MBK side). All screenings are free of admission charges.
SCHEDULE OF SCREENINGS:
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21 Mar/Fri, starts 6PM
- short: MANSYON (The Mansion) by Joel Ruiz (Cinemalaya 2005)
Winner of the Best Short film in the Cinemalaya Film festival; The film’s plot revolves around Dolores, a housemaid and her husband Ambo, a gardener who were hired to take care of a mansion while its owners are on a long vacation. Uneventful weeks go by until a small accident sparks a series of discoveries between the couple.
Sublime and polished are two words usually associated with this short film that has been receiving a slow but steady recognition all over the short film circuit. Theater veteran Roselyn Perez captures our attention with a fixed gaze and nine lines of dialogue.
Mansyon won the Best Short Film award at the 2006 Cinemalaya Film Festival.
Written and Directed by Joel Ruiz. Produced by Margie Templo. 23 minutes
- Full-length film: ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS (The Blossoming of Maximo
Oliveros) by Auraeus Solito 8 Michiko Yamamoto (2005) (Cinemalaya 2005)
An international film festival favourite - about a delicate young boy who falls in love with a handsome cop.
Winner, 2006 Berlinale Kinder Festival.
Maxi (Nathan Lopez) is a 12-year-old effeminate gay boy who lives in the slums with his father and brothers who are petty thieves. The story primarily revolves around the conflict between his love for handsome young police officer Victor (J. R. Valentin), and his family’s illegal livelihood. Neorealist in orientation, the film is a tale of lost innocence and redemption amidst the poverty of Manila’s slums.
Maxi behaves like a girl, wearing clips in his hair and bangles on his wrists. He is teased by neighbors and former school friends. His sexuality is, however, fully accepted by his two brothers and by his father. One night he is accosted by two men who attempt to molest him, but his is saved by the appearance of Victor. Maxi develops on the young and handsome cop. But the latter’s honesty soon gets him into trouble with Maxi’s family.
The film was the official entry of the Philippines to the Academy Awards in March 2007. It holds the distinction of being one of the very few digital films released in 2005 to do well at the tills. Currently, it is still making the rounds of international film festivals.
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22 March/Sat, starts 1PM
- short: GABON (Cloud) by Ernmanuel Dela Cruz
The mystifying tale of a Muslim lass who is determined to attend her classes … no matter what. “Gabon” taken from an old Maranao folk-lullaby which means “cloud,” tells the story of how far a young Maranao girl takes to heart a promise to her parents — her filial duty to finish a school exam. Shot in one day in Marawi, Lanao just before the ramadan, Gabon features the ensemble cast of grade 2-4 students of MSU Integrated Laboratory School and the alumni of Sining Kambayoka.
- Full-length film: ANG DAAN PATUNGONG KALIMUGTONG (The Road to Kalimugtong) by Mes Guzman (2006)
A simple yet stunning cinematic feat: two children in a remote mountain barrio must trek to school two hours each day. Cinemalaya 2006 & 2007 Exhibition Film (Award-Winning Film, 2006).
Two Igorot siblings living with their invalid grandfather and jobless brothers traverse the mountain fastness in order to get to school everyday. They brave rough terrain, deep forests, roaring rivers and precarious hanging bridge to be able to make it to school and learn the day’s lessons.
For Jinky and Potpot, life in Benguet is simply a trek to and from school. Every day, together with other children, they have to cross mountains, rivers and hanging bridges to get to their destination. They survive thanks to the work of their elder brothers, Manong Ramil and Manong Ronaldo, who inherited the task of looking after their siblings and grandfather on their parents’ death. Both work for a mining company, leaving the younger brothers in their grandfather’s care. But the elder brothers haven’t been back for months. The neighbors think they may have been buried in a mine landslide. While waiting for news, the kids and their grandfather try to subsist on the herbs growing in their backyard. Meanwhile, they continue to pray for their brothers’ safety and their own salvation.
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23 Mar/Sun, starts 1 PM
- short: DOBLE VISTA (Double Vision) by Nisha Alicer & Nix Lanas
Writer/videographer, Javier lives amid his own story and reality as he confronts the dire circumstances of his romantic relationship with Lola. Doble Vista begins where a relationship finds its end. The film explores a metafictional treatment in both film narrative and treatment taking its influences from Peter Wollen’s definition of Counter-Cinema as best exemplified by the films of Jean-Luc Godard. Written, Directed and Produced for film by Nisha Alicer, Caren Crisologo and Nix Laiias.
- Full-length film: DONSOL by Adolf Alix (2006) (Cinemalaya 2006)
Love blossoms in a small fishing town -Donsol- that is also the sanctuary to the endangered butanding (whale sharks). Daniel, a young tourist guide, meets the beautiful yet melancholy Teresa from Manila. Beautiful spots and landscapes ot the smal coastal town of Donsol, Sorsogon.
Donsol, a fishing town in Sorsogon province, serves as a sanctuary to a group of whale sharks, the largest fish in the world. Locally, known as butanding, whale sharks visit the waters of Donsol from November to May. In this film, Donsol is a place of refuge for the butanding but also a holding pen for lost and lonely people who wish for things they are no longer likely to get. Daniel, a Butanding Interaction Officer who accompanies tourists on whale watching expeditions and assists them in interacting with the sharks, is a broken hearted man who meets an older woman, Teresa, a widow fighting breast cancer. The two share their miseries and discover that they like being together. Will their newfound bond be strong or will it be blown along with the amihan wind which signals the end of the butanding migratory visit to the small town?
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24 mar/mon, starts 6PM
- short: KULTADO (Boling Point) by Lawrence Fajardo (Cinemalaya 2005)
A story about the coming of age of a young boy seeking to find his own identity amidst the chaotic setting of a provincial marketplace where gang violence is a daily occurrence, where one must fight for daily survival. Set in a chaotic provincial marketplace, a vegetable vendor- “Boy1′ comes to terms with a gang of butchers. The gang daily torments all vendors asking for “protection money”, bribes & lending scams. When the gang turns their sights on Boys’ brother & father, he now prepares for the fight of his life. He realizes it’s now time to fight back for their own survival. Kill or be killed.
- Full-length film: KUBRADOR (The Bet Collector) by Jeffrey Jeturian (Cinemalaya 2006 Opening Film) (Award-Winning Film, 2006)
The movie chronicles three days in the life of Amelita, a kubrador (bookie) for the illegal numbers game jueteng. She continues to collect bets from her regular patrons every day despite a government crackdown on the game. One day, she is apprehended by the police. She joins other kubradors in the police station until their protector bails them out. The following morning, Amelita returns to the streets and continues her illegal activities. She meets the parish priest, who informs her of a young neighbor’s sudden accidental death. He asks her to collect donations from neighbors and friends. Then, a series of events turns her mundane existence into a perplexing game of life, luck and death.
