Award Winning Asian Indie Films Showcase at Cinemalaya 2015
Award winning Asian indie films from 2012 to 2015 will be showcased in “The Independents: Asian Showcase” section of the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition on August 7-15, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Greenbelt 3.
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Zhang Yimou’s acclaimed Coming Home (China/2014) with Chinese superstar Gong Li in the lead role will open the Asian showcase onAugust 8, 9 p.m. at the CCP Main Theater. Set in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, Coming Home depicts a woman’s struggle to regain her memory and reconnect with her long-imprisoned husband.
The Asian indie film section will offer award winning films of NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) such as Poet on a Business Trip by Ju Anqi, The Monk by The Maw Naing, Six Feet Highby Sanal Kumar Sashidaran, Summer Kyoto by Hiroshi Toda, The Night of Silence by Reis Celik, The Move by Marat Saruklu, The Owners by Adikhana Yerzhanov and The Ferry by Shi Wei. Other prizewinning Asian indie films to be shown are The Tale of Princess Kaguya by Isao Takahata and The Last Reel by Sotho Kulikar.
· POET ON A BUSINESS TRIP by Ju Anqi (China, 2014) is a documentary shot more than 10 years ago. In this film, a poet sets off on a ‘business trip’ through inhospitable Xinjiang province. The physically exhausting trip provides an existential brothel visit, bumping on bad roads, and a glimpse of a disappearing world. Poet on a Business Trip won the NETPAC Award for the best Asian film at the International Rotterdam Festival 2015.
· THE MONK by The Maw Naing (Myanmar/Czech Republic/ 2014) is a sensitive coming-of-age tale that revolves around a young monk, Zawana, who had spent most of his life in a monastery in the Burmese countryside. When his superior falls ill, Zawana is faced with the dilemma of deciding if the life of a monk is still his destiny. The Monkwas the NETPAC winner in International Festival of Asian Cinema in Vesoul 2015.
· SIX FEET HIGH by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (India/2014) is a love story that catalogues the journey of a man who has been jerked out of his ‘free’ urban and promiscuous existence by the mysterious disappearance of his estranged lover. Six Feet High is NETPAC award winner for the best Malayalam language film at 2014 International Film Festival of Kerala.
· SUMMER, KYOTO by Hiroshi Toda (Japan/2014). Taking place somewhere in Kyoto, Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura makes scented bags for a living. One night, when the husband takes a walk alone, he finds an old man lying helpless on the street. He takes the old man to his house and offers a night’s lodging. Next day the old man, getting back on his feet, offers help to show his gratitude. The husband then asks him to deliver the products to their customers. The old man leaves and doesn’t return, just as his wife expected. Summer, Kyoto won the NETPAC award for Best Asian Film in International Film Festival of Kerala
· THE NIGHT OF SILENCE by Reis Celik (Turkey/2012) tells the story of a child bride who is forced to marry a man more than fifty years older than her and who just returned to his hometown after doing years of jail time. Sitting in the nuptial chamber with horror, she will start to face with realities after grandfather-aged groom steps into the room.The Night of Silence won the NETPAC award in the 2012 Hanoi International Film Festival.
· THE MOVE by Marat Sarulu (Kyrgyzstan/2014) is about drifting and evolving to new worlds. The plot revolves around three characters: a mother, her daughter, and a grandfather. The mother persuades her father and her daughter, who live together in a small house by the river, to move to the city with her. But problems hinder the transitional success of the family. The Move won the NETPAC award in the 2014 Black Nights Film Festival.
· THE OWNERS by Adilkhan Yerzhanov (Kazakhstan/2014) is about three orphaned siblings who battle with a corrupt local police chief over ownership of their mother’s ancestral home, in this playfully stylized, deadpan-funny tragicomedy. The Owners won the Grand Prix and the NETPAC award in the 2014 International Cultural Resistance Film Festival in Lebanon.
· THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA by Isao Takahata (Japan/2013) begins one day in the forest when a simple bamboo cutter Okina finds a baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot, and brings the infant home to his wife Ona. Naming the child Kaguya and raising her as their own, the couple soon discovers that their daughter is truly not of this world. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was the official selection in Toronto International Film Festival 2014.
· THE LAST REEL by Sotho Kulikar (Cambodia/2014) is all about a lost film buried beneath the killing fields that reveals different versions of the truth. The Last Reel is a contemporary story about love, family and ghosts of Cambodia’s past. The Last Reel won The Black Dragon Award, Udine Film Festival, 2015).
· THE FERRY by Shi Wei (China/2012) is about Tian Huai’en is a quiet and simple man who had spent most of his life on a tiny boat he uses to ferry people across the Dashariver without accepting a dime for his service. But when he suddenly fell ill, the question of who will take over the ferry looms. The Ferry won the NETPAC award for the 2014 Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinema.
For screening schedules of Cinemalaya, visit www.cinemalaya.org,www.culturalcenter.gov.ph and the Cinemalaya facebook page or CCP Film Office at telephone number 832-1125 local 1704-1705 and the CCP box office at 832-3704.
