16th International Silent Film Festival Manila: A Successful Celebration of the Strength of Silence

Published January 11, 2023 3:47pm

After four days of festivities, the sixteenth edition of the Manila-based silent film festival came to a marvelous close.

The 16th International Silent Film Festival Manila took place at the Red Carpet, Shangri-La Plaza last November 24-27, 2022. During its four-day stint, the festival of cinema and music was filled with color from the film screenings of the seven participating countries, performances from six Filipino musicians and bands, and roundtable discussions from the experts.

A Toast of Gratitude

This year’s host, the British Council in the Philippines, led the ceremonial toast of the opening ceremony of the festival. Attended by representatives from the participating cultural organizations and embassies, the commencement of 16th ISFFM ended its two-year confinement on the online screenings. With partnership with Shangri-La Plaza and Red Carpet Cinemas, the spirit of the cinematic experience and live musical scoring was brought to life.

Shangri-La Plaza’s Head of Operations Mr. Johnny Rios welcomed the patrons of ISFFM in this remark: “For the past two years our only exposure to the world of cinema [was] on our laptops and our phones. Thanks to technological advances cinema has evolved to match our modern lives. But tonight is different and special. We want to go back to the roots of cinema. This fest will feature unforgettable cinematic experiences over the years.”

Organizing partners also took the chance to show gratitude to Philippine-Italian Association’s outgoing General Manager, Mr. Alessandro Milani. Instituto Cervantes de Manila’s Cultural Manager, Mr. Jose Fons Guardiola commended Mr. Milani as one of the long-time organizers of the annual event. For sixteen years, the festival where cinema and music meets stays strong through the friendship of its partners, and Mr. Milani is one of its pillars.

British Council in the Philippines’ Country Director, Ms. Lotus Postrado led the ceremonial toast and official start of the festival.

The Collaborations of Foreign Culture and Filipino music

After the hearty and sumptuous opening ceremony, the festival was finally kicked off with United Kingdom’s 1929 silent film Piccadilly. The film hyped the expectations of many audiences towards the festival line up, as Filipino fusion pop band Anahata, with their collaboration with Sensoria, gave a meaningful and emotional film scoring. Their original score immersed the audiences to the sexual and racial tension of the melodrama, offering a sneak on th quality of performances the whole festival has in store.

The collaboration of foreign film history and Filipino musical prowess continues with the second day lineup of classic horror and drama.

Day 2 started with an online discussion led by the curators who worked closely on the restoration and digitization of the films presented this year. They shared the processes that each film underwent to be restored in a format that can be enjoyed by audiences of today.

Side Event session 1 was headlined by Sensoria’s co-founder and Music Director Nigel Humberstone, Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Foundation film restorer Miranda Reason, Cineteca di Bologna Film Collections curator Andrea Meneghelli, French National Center for Cinema and Animation’s Film and Photographic Heritage expert Beatrice de Pastre, and Instituto Cervantes de Manila’s Head of the Library Carlos Valmaseda.

Experts also noted that the themes and concepts of each film are continuously relevant to the present period, most of which are controversial and subjected to censorship of their time. Cases in point are the 1921 Italian film I Figli di Nessuno (Nobody’s Children) for its representation of child labor and 1929 British film Piccadilly for its racial tensions.

Film screenings continued with 1922 German expressionist silent film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. An icon of European horror, Nosferatu is known as the first cinematic adaptation of epistolary novel Dracula. Truly a highly-anticipated masterpiece of the year, this century-old film’s suspenseful and chilling scenes were intensified by the controlled chaos brought by the live scoring of Filipino rock and roll band The Brockas.

The horror-thriller was followed by the refreshing romance of 1919 orientalist French fairytale La Sultane de l’Amour (Sultan of Love). Restored in three-color format, the film boasts as the oldest in the lineup and lives up to French glory as the inventor of silver screen. Adding to the jive of the romantic film is the jazz and funk brought by Brass Pas Pas Pas Pas’ live original scoring which delivered the audience to another cinematic dimension.

The third day witnessed another colorful day. Musicians Pepe Manikan, Khavn de la Cruz of The Brockas, and Bullet Dumas shared their musical processes and techniques towards the creation of their original scores for their partner silent films.

On to the film screenings of the day, Spanish melodrama Malvaloca bridged the Spanish-Filipino gap through its highly-relatable telenovela concept and storyline.Talahib People’s Music provided the romantic drama atmosphere through their live musical scoring and vocals. They finished their screening strong with an enjoyable performance joined by the audiences of Malvaloca singing and dancing to their music.

The second film of the night, Japan’s commercially and critically-acclaimed 1931 film ???? (The Lady and the Beard) was also warmly received by the Filipino ISFFM patrons. In his ISFFM debut, Filipino musician Bullet Dumas’ musical scoring increased the storyline’s creativity and romantic comedy vibes, making the film much enjoyable and funnier.

Day 4’s roundtable discussion was organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Philippine Film Archive on the challenges in restoration and archiving in Philippine cinema. Filipino cinema has a wide collection of masterpieces that are unfortunately lost. The professional processes of restoration, curation and archiving comes into play as the quest to revive the important pieces of Philippine film history goes on.

Another highly-anticipated performance, Pepe Manikan’s original score of the controversial 1921 Italian film I Figli di Nessuno (Nobody’s Children) received warm reviews from the audiences as they started and ended strong in their delivery of emotions of the melodrama. Cut into two parts, Nobody’s Children was adapted from a novel of the same name, and encountered challenges in Italian censorship of its time due to its representation of child labor and abuse.

Finally, the festival was wrapped up in a closing ceremony, showing utmost gratitude to the presenters and partners. Festival Director and CEO of 2Lives Creatives, Ms. Marga Peralta

FDCP’s Executive Director III and OIC Mr. David Fabros delivered the closing message through an introduction of the directors and film scorers of three of the best silent films of 2021 Mit Out Sound which are also presented in the ISFFM screen. This special screening marks the debut of the short films on the big screen with live audiences.

ISFFM: A Continuing Celebration

The screenings and performances might have come to a close last Sunday, November 27, 2022, but the tradition and celebration will surely continue for the coming years. The warm reception from the younger generation of filmmakers, musicians and general audiences makes the ISFFM Committee more excited to bring a wider spectrum of silent film and musicians lined up for the next years to come.

The 16th International Silent Film Festival Manila is presented by Embassy of France to the Philippines, Goethe-Institut Philippinen, Embassy of Italy in Manila, The Japan Foundation, Manila, Film Development Council of the Philippines, Instituto Cervantes de Manila, and British Council in the Philippines, in partnership with Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, Red Carpet Cinemas, Philippine Italian Association, Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, and Embassy of Spain in the Philippines; in cooperation with British Film Institute, Filmoteca Española, Centre National du Cinéma (CNC), Cineteca di Bologna, FW Murnau Foundation, Shochiku and 2Lives Creatives.

For more information on the schedule and inquiries, check ISFF's Facebook or you may also check the following websites:

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