INDEPENDENTS: ASIAN SHOWCASE Section of Cinemalaya 2015 features new, outstanding independent films in the Asian / ASEAN region. Most of these selection are award-winning films in NETPAC (Network for the Association of Asian Cinema):
COMING HOME (China) by Zhang Yimou, starring Chinese Superstar Gong Li
SYNOPSIS: In the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, a woman (Gong Li) struggles to regain her memory and reconnect with her long-imprisoned husband.
Screenings:
August 8, Saturday, 9:00 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 14, Friday, 6:15 PM, CCP Main Theater
POET ON A BUSINESS TRIP (China) by Ju Anqi
SYNOPSIS: Shot more than 10 years ago, 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.
Screenings:
August 11, Tuesday, 9:00 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 12, Wednesday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 13, Thursday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 15, Saturday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
THE FERRY (China) by Shi Wei
SYNOPSIS: Tian Huai’en is a quiet and simple man. Most of his life is spend on the tiny boat he uses to ferry people across the Dasha river without accepting any dime for doing it. But when he suddenly fell ill, the question of who will take over the ferry looms.
Screenings:
August 9, Sunday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 12, Wednesday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 12, Wednesday, 4:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 13, Thursday, 6:15 PM, CCP Main Theater
THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA (Japan) by Isao Takahata
SYNOPSIS: A tiny nymph found inside a bamboo stalk grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman, who orders her suitors to prove their love by completing a series of near-impossible tasks.
Screenings:
August 9, Sunday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 15, Saturday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
SUMMER, KYOTO (Japan) by Hiroshi Toda
SYNOPSIS: 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. 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.
Screenings:
August 9, Sunday, 6:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 11, Tuesday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 14, Friday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 15, Saturday, 1:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
THE NIGHT OF SILENCE (Turkey) by Reis Celik
SYNOPSIS: having just entered puberty, Bride had been forced to marry with Groom who is 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.
Screenings:
August 11, Tuesday, 4:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 11, Tuesday, 6:15 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 14, Friday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 15, Saturday, 10:00 AM, CCP Main Theater
SIX FEET HIGH (India) by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
SYNOPSIS: 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.
Screenings:
August 8, Saturday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 11, Tuesday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 13, Thursday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 15, Saturday, 6:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
THE MOVE (Kyrgyzstan) by Marat Sarulu
SYNOPSIS: “The Move” 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 in a small house by the river, to move to the city with her. But problems hinder the transitional success of the family.
Screenings:
August 9, Sunday, 9:00 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 10, Monday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 13, Thursday, 9:00 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 13, Thursday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
THE OWNERS (Kazakhstan) by Adikhana Yerzhanov
SYNOPSIS: Three orphaned siblings find themselves battling with a corrupt local police chief over ownership of their mother’s ancestral home, in this playfully stylized, deadpan-funny tragicomedy. (Cultural Resistance Film Festival, Lebanon, 2104)
Screenings:
August 11, Tuesday, 9:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 12, Wednesday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 14, Friday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 14, Friday, 6:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
THE LAST REEL (Cambodia) by Sotho Kulikar
SYNOPSIS: A lost film buried beneath the killing fields reveals different versions of the truth. The Last Reel is a contemporary story about love, family, and ghosts of Cambodia’s past. (The Black Dragon Award, Udine Film Festival, 2015)
Screenings:
August 10, Monday, 6:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 12, Wednesday, 6:15 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 14, Friday, 4:00 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 15, Saturday, 3:30 PM, CCP Main Theater
THE MONK (Myanmar, Czech Republic) by The Maw Naing
SYNOPSIS: This sensitive coming-of-age tale revolves around a young monk, Zawana, who has spent most of his life in a monastery in a 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.
Screenings:
August 9, Sunday, 12:45 PM, CCP Main Theater
August 9, Sunday, 1:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 11, Tuesday, 6:30 PM, Greenbelt 3 (Cinema 5)
August 12, Wednesday, 9:00 PM, CCP Main Theater
CINEMALAYA 2015 will run from August 7-15, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City.