Anthology film by Brillante & 2 other Asian directors in Tingin filmfest

MANILA, Philippines — A film that brought together three internationally-acclaimed Asian directors, including the Philippines’ Brillante Ma. Mendoza, will have a special screening today (Oct. 14) at 1 p.m. at the Shang Cineplex as part of the ongoing Tingin ASEAN Film Festival.

The weeklong showcase, which ends tomorrow, Oct. 15, has been mounted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to mark the 50th anniversary of the country’s membership in the 10-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which also coincides with the Philippine chairmanship of the ASEAN this year.

The omnibus film Asian Three-Fold Mirror: Reflections features cross-border stories megged by Brillante along with Cambodia’s Kulikar Sotho and Japan’s Isao Yukisada, all depicting characters “who journey between Japan and Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia,” the film’s official website says. 

In 2009 Cannes Best Director Mendoza’s Dead Horse, an illegal Filipino immigrant is employed as a stable hand at a ranch in Hokkaido, Japan. He suddenly gets arrested, is deported to Manila and finds out that he no longer has a family to return to.

Yukisada’s Pigeon centers on a lonely retiree who fills up his time looking after pigeons on the terrace of his two-storey home in Penang, Malaysia. He is not in good terms with his son, but grows close to his helper, who eventually assists him in releasing the pigeons on the beach where his brothers died during the Pacific war. The director is best-known for the 2004 Japanese blockbuster, Crying Out Love in the Center of the World.

Meanwhile, Sotho’s Beyond The Bridge is a love story between a Japanese architect and a Cambodian woman named Melea before the Khmer Rouge came to power.

“(Reflections) was shown in the recent ASEAN-Japan Film Festival. We’re very lucky to get the rights to show this film for free,” Anne Luis, head of NCCA’s international affairs office, told The STAR. “Hopefully, we could (have) more collaborative pieces like this with ASEAN member states.”

The anthology pushes the message of unity in diversity. The same theme underpins Tingin’s entire line-up of films (under the Official and Tastemakers sections), carefully curated by the NCCA with the help of its ASEAN counterparts and industry “tastemakers” — actor Piolo Pascual, producer/writer Moira Lang and UP Film Institute’s Patrick Campos.

Organizers said these ASEAN films draw a composite picture of a modern Southeast Asia. “What we did was we asked the cultural ministries of ASEAN member states to nominate or select a film title that they think best represents their country and their film industry for the period of 2000 to 2017,” Tingin project manager Maya Quirino said.

Admission to the filmfest is free. Earlier this week, movies like Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria (Philippines) about a reluctant “mail-to-order bride” from Cebu and Ilo Ilo about the relationship of a Singaporean family and their Filipino nanny (Singapore) attracted film enthusiasts and students.

Quirino hopes this initiative will help develop an audience among the admittedly Hollywood-loving Filipinos for cinema produced by our neighboring countries.

“The Philippines has very low awareness of being part of ASEAN but Filipinos love to watch movies. Film is the most accessible art form or media. We want to penetrate the market and reach more people through movies,” added Luis.

Catch the last two days of the Tingin ASEAN filmfest. Also screening today are Official Section entries — Aung Ko Latt’s human trafficking tale Kayan Beauties at 5 p.m. and Yossep Anggi Noon’s Solo Solitude (Indonesia) about a rebel poet’s life at 8 p.m.

To be shown tomorrow, Oct. 15, are Kumar Perumal’s gangster drama Jagat (Malaysia) at 3:30 p.m. and Mattie Do’s thriller Dearest Sister (Lao PDR) at 5 p.m. Closing film is the Pimpaka Towira’s roadtrip film The Island Funeral at 8 p.m.

Today, there will also be a forum titled The Future of ASEAN Cinemas at 3:30 p.m. with some of the directors and actors.