View Asian films, Filipino moviegoers urged

By IBARRA C. MATEO

Published May 8, 2012 2:33pm

Asian filmmakers tackling Asian themes will be on the spotlight this May 17-21 as the “Asia as Our Society Film Festival” reels off in Manila.

The unprecedented film festival is aimed at introducing Filipinos to and increasing awareness among them on the diverse Asian cultures and heritage through the popular film medium, Filipino and foreign festival organizers said.

Halfway around the world, the Asian and Pacific Islander ethnic group is also being recognized. US President Barack Obama proclaimed May 2012 as the “Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month” in a bid to increase understanding among Americans about the history and contributions of this particular ethnic group to the American national life.

Teodoro C. Granados, executive director of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), said organizers of the event would like the “Asia as Our Society Film Festival to become a defining moment in our (Filipino) cinematic experience this year.”

“The screening of these films will definitely increase awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the Asian cultures among the Filipino moviegoers. This is truly of utmost importance, since much of the culture we have been exposed to through the cinema, for as long as I can remember, has been that of the West, as filtered through the camera lens of Hollywood,” Granados said in a press conference recently.

Harvey Keh, executive director of the Asia Society-Philippines, said the Asia as Our Society Film Festival is “an Asian film festival for Filipinos.”

“We think it is high time that we gather Asian countries to introduce their cultures and values through films to the Filipino people in order for us, Filipinos, to better understand them. Our main aim is to introduce the cultures and heritage of Asia to the Philippines and to try to foster better relationships among the Asian peoples,” said Keh.

17 films

The Asia Society-Philippines and the FDCP gathered 17 films from China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Philippines to be shown at the Shang Cineplex at Shangri-la Plaza for free for five days starting on May 17.

“It is sad that many Filipinos know more about the US and other European countries, but not so much about our Asian neighbors whom we share so many commonalities. Hopefully, this Asian film festival will enable Filipinos to understand our neighbors in the ASEAN region and the other countries in the Asian continent,” Keh added.

The FDCP, through its Film Cultural Exchange Program, teamed up with Asia Society-Philippines and several Asian diplomatic missions in the Philippines, to stage the Asia as Our Society Film Festival “to expose the Filipino audience to our neighboring cultures in the same way that we would like to show Filipino films in these countries to introduce our own culture to them,” Granados said.

The festival opens on May 17, 7 p.m., with Mike Sandejas’ film “Dinig Sana Kita” (If I Knew What You Said), a love story between Kiko, a deaf boy who loves to dance, and Nina, a troubled rocker girl, in a camp that combines deaf and hearing impaired youths.

Closing the festival is Sheron Dayoc’s “Halaw,” a film about Jahid, an illiterate Badjao, and his nine-year-old daughter Daying and their daring journey as they try to illegally cross the Philippine-Malaysian border to reunite with their wife-mother who is in Sabah. “Halaw” will be shown on May 21 at 8 p.m.

Among the other films to be shown are:

Indonesian Nurman Hakim’s “3 Doa 3 Cinta”, which tackles the lives of three troubled students who meet a singer and how they struggle to achieve their dreams;
Vietnamese Nhat Minh Dang’s “Mua oi La Saison des Gayaves” (The Guava House), the story of a changing society from the eyes of an adolescent fascinated with a guava tree and who sees the passing of time as basically unchanging;
Laotian Anousone Sirisackda’s “Only Love,” a story of a fresh university graduate who returns to his farming village and the problems he encountered upon his return;
Chinese Chen Kaige’s “Forever Enthralled,” which focuses on the life of a famous Beijing opera singer and the 1890s Chinese society’s evolving attitude toward theater actors;
Sri Lankan Jayantha Chandrasiri’s “Agni Dahaya,” which revolves around the life of an exorcist and the people around him and set in the year 1664;
Japanese Isamu Nakae’s “Wanko” (The Story of Me, My Family, and My Dog), which highlights a family’s struggle to find its lost dog following a volcanic eruption and the ensuing problems after being reunited with the dog in an evacuation center prohibiting pets; and
South Korean Chang Yoon-hyun’s “Hwang Jin Yi,” which deals with the prejudices against a talented, beautiful but illegitimate young woman in 16th century Korea and how she ingratiates herself with the noble class.

–KG, GMA News

For screening schedule, visit Asia Society's Facebook page.

Tags: filmfestival, asianculture, asianfilm, asiasociety