Two Pinoy short films compete at CON-CAN online movie festival

Two Filipino short films have been chosen to represent the Philippines in the 4th CON-CAN online movie festival in Japan, which started last March 13 and will end on May 14. Twenty films from around the world—including entries from Germany, Spain, Singapore, Armenia, and the United States—were selected to compete in the festival's fiction 2 category. Two short films from the Philippines were chosen—Khavn dela Cruz's Can & Slippers and Nick Joseph Olanka's Monday of Sorrow. The 4th CON-CAN online film festival is hosted by CON-CAN Media Plaza. This film festival targets short films of up to twenty minutes in length and opens its doors to all image creators. According to the organizers' website, selected productions in streaming format with subtitles will be shown to audiences around the world, and evaluations will be made to determine the best productions. Lata & Tsinelas (Can and Slippers) by Khavn shows children kicking a can. The camera follows the can as it is kicked into a backstreet. As the can is kicked past one member of the opposing team then another, finally coming in sight of the goal, the viewer is presented with a memorable message. Lunes ng Hapis (Monday of Sorrow) tells the story of Virgie, a local teacher, and her relationship with Ismael, captain of the military troop assigned to infiltrate Virgie's village. Every Monday, they make love in a rather violent and unconventional way. One day, Virgie's student Tikoy asks her help in finding his missing father only to find out that Ismael had a hand in the father's disappearance. Tikoy's father is a rumoured rebel sympathizer. Thus, Virgie is overcome with guilt. The next Monday, Virgie faces the decision of choosing between her love for Ismael and her love for her community. Another film by Nick Joseph, Ang Huling Araw ng Linggo, will be shown in theaters nationwide from March 28-April 4. The CON-CAN Movie Festival is an online film festival that allows internet users to view, rate, and vote for competing films. This audience-interactive online film festival corresponds to the age of broadband communication. To view the twenty entries competing, visit the Fiction 2 page of the 4th CON-CAN Movie Festival. - Philippine Entertainment Portal