3 Pinoy movies, other SEA films at Cinematheque Center Manila

In celebration of South­east Asian cinema and culture, three Filipino films that were previously shown at the 2015 World Premieres Film Festival (WPFF) are being screened with select movies from the region at the Film Devel­opment Council of the Philippines’s (FDCP) Cin­ematheque Center Manila this month as part of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Film Aware­ness Month.

The first, Alvin Yap­an’s An Kubo sa Kawayanan, which won best film at the 2015 WPFF’s Filipino New Cinema section, meditates on our place in the environ­ment and the world. This Bicol-set film focuses on Michelle, a calado embroi­derer who finds comfort in her hut, vowing never to leave. Even when oth­er people, including her boyfriend, convince her to leave and find greener pastures elsewhere, Michelle is convinced that all that she needs is in her hut and the simple things around it, which communicate hap­piness and security to her in a language only she can understand.

If An Kubo sa Kawayanan focuses on ecology, the second film, Nestor Abro­gena’s quiet and thoughtful Ang Kwento Nating Dalawa, follows the relationship between a filmmaker-teacher named Sam and an aspiring writer and student named Isa as they they navigate their feelings and lives. Trou­ble emerges when Isa is set to fly to the US after gradu­ation and Sam has received an offer to be a fellow in a prestigious film school abroad as they decide what to do with their relationship. The film is loosely based on the director’s own experience.

The third is Ralston Jover’s gritty Da Dog Show, which tells the true-to-life story of a dog trainer named Mang Sergio, who trains his pet dogs to per­form tricks on the street to sustain his family. Together with his two children, they try to get by living in a mausoleum in a public cemetery, while Sergio tries to raise enough money to track down his youngest son, who was taken by his wife.

The screenings will run until April 3. All films are shown for free. Some will have out­door screenings, while others will have a question-and-an­swer session with their film­makers. For film schedules and other details, visit fdcp.ph.