The Philippines has a total of eight feature films at this year’s SGIFF, and several more short films; among the highlights this year is Brillante Mendoza’s long-awaited return to the Festival with Taklub. Others include two films in the Classics section, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino and Insiang, the first Filipino film to be screened at Cannes; the documentary The Landscape Within; and Beast, a boxing drama set in the gritty locales of Manila.
1. The Landscape Within
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28 Nov, Sat / 11:00AM / National Gallery Singapore*
*Filmmaker in Attendance
After the death of his father, Eric “Nui” Cabales grapples with the meaning of home and endeavours to find a new direction in life. A body-painter, costume designer, photographer and conceptual artist, Cabales’ visual work is rooted in a landscape of memories at Kayama, a patch of land owned by his forefathers.
A poet friend first brings him on a healing trip, but no herbalist nor priestess proved effective in their restoration powers. Only with time, through the comfort of his loved ones, and a process of (re)discovering his art through nature, does Cabeles gradually come to discover a new form of healing through the art of body painting.
2. A Portrait of the Artist As Filipino
1 Dec, Tue / 7:00PM / National Museum of Singapore
Candida and Paula have taken it upon themselves to care for their father Don, a renowned painter. Relying on the financial support from their brother, Manolo, and their sister, Pepang, Candida and Paula, they are steadfast in their ways, refusing to sell and leave their family home amidst the decline of their surroundings. To make ends meet, they rent a room to the modern and westernised Tony Javier. When Paula elopes with Tony, it sets off a series of events, resulting in the emancipation of not just the sisters, but also the rest of the family.
3. Shadow Behind the Moon
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1 Dec, Tue / 9:30PM / National Gallery Singapore
Like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman, director Jun Robles Lana’s decision to take this film in one shot should already be impressive. Yet this is made all the more so by the weighty issues of Filipino history discussed in an engaging, yet sophisticated manner between a married couple and the soldier assigned to protect them. “Who are our enemies?” the wife asks, is it the rebels who attack them or the military which forces them to move, preventing them from living a normal life? By using his dialogue sparingly, Robles Lana also elevates much of the conversation into a series of charming, introspective one-liners.
4. Taklub
1 Dec, Tue / 9:30PM / Shaw Theatres Lido*
*Filmmaker in Attendance
The city of Tacloban, Philippines, lies in ruins following the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Haiyan. Amidst the destruction, Bebeth, Larry and Erwin continue to try and pick up the pieces, searching for the ones they have lost. With death and despair hanging in the air, the remaining survivors in the city have little to no faith left to believe that salvation is nearing. With more trouble coming their way, will the trio live through to see the end of this perfect storm?
5. Beast
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1 Dec, Tue / 9:30PM / The Projector*
*Filmmaker in Attendance
Jamie, a young American-Filipino boxer trained by his dad Rick, kills an opponent in a match rigged to his favour. Upon learning of his opponent’s death, a guilt-ridden Jamie connects with the deceased’s family despite his father’s warnings. With the match-fixing syndicate in pursuit to cover up the crime, Jamie goes on the run with his reluctant counterparts and attempts to set things right.
6. Insiang
2 Dec, Wed / 7:00PM / National Museum of Singapore
Insiang lives in the slums with her mother, Tonya. Since her husband’s departure, Tonya has been taking out the resentment from abandonment on everyone around her. After evicting her ex-husband’s family from their home, Tonya invites the much younger Dado, her new beau, to move in. When Dado rapes Insiang, she finds herself with no support, not even from her mother. Moving out, only to fall into another hopeless situation, Insiang finds herself consumed by the betrayals, deciding that the only way to retaliate will be by vengeance.
7. The House By the Bamboo Grove
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3 Dec, Thu / 7:00PM / National Gallery Singapore*
4 Dec, Fri / 4:30PM / The Arts House
*Filmmaker in Attendance
Michelle leads a simple and unhurried life in her bamboo house, only going out to the town once a week to charge her phone or watch a movie. In a place where everyone dreams of being somewhere else, Michelle finds herself inseparable from her home to the point of obsession. A love letter to the small things that make up life in Barangay Salvacion in Baao, the film offers glimpses of the multitude of stories around those who struggle to tell their own.
8. Violator
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4 Dec, Fri / 11:59PM / The Projector
Set in the unsaturated gray of a city besieged by a great storm, Violator begins with a series of vignettes, ostensibly before the hurricane hits: a cancer-stricken man recounts minutiae of his life, an exhausted couple shares one last smoking break and a pregnant teacher goes to her classroom where she receives a nasty surprise.
This lack of apparent connection begets a genuine sense of dread, as the last act unfolds in a police station stranded by the storm, where five men are confronted with what might just be the face of evil itself.