GIFF programs a careful selection of the best in Filipino cinema in its 22nd edition
The Philippines is the Spotlight Country in the twenty-second edition of the Guanajuato International Film Festival. As part of GIFF’s program, we bring you an overview of this vibrant film industry be presenting three outstanding feature films.
Starting at 11:00 a.m., at the “El Nigromante” Cultural Center, GIFF will screen Carving Thy Faith, directed by Hiyas Bagabaldo. In part an ethnographic documentary, Carving Thy Faith goes over a sculpture that is believed to have been imported into the city during the Spanish conquest, known locally as “Mahal na Señor Sepulcro”. Meanwhile, the “Senakulo” recreates the sufferings and death of Jesus with amateur actors. A 5-year visual ethnography on the orchestration of traditional Easter practices.
In that same venue, at 7:00 pm, we’ll have a screening of Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow?. A collaboration between our international honoree Kidlat Tahimik and his eldest son Kidlat Gottlieb Kalayaan, this film is a collage that explores a decade of American neo-colonialism. Filtering a wide range of political and cultural concerns through an intensely personal and familial lens, this is the film that mostly defines Tahimik.
At noon at Cinemex La Luciérnaga, we will screen Oro, Plata, Mata from director Peque Gallaga. Set on the edge of an impending world war, carefree Filipino aristocrats are unaware of the dangers to come, disregarding the abilities of the Japanese. After the fall of Corregidor, the family (except for their patriarch) flee to the mountains, where they learn the hard way that in war, everyone is equal.
Later, at 3:30 p.m. at the same venue, GIFF will screen the film Pagbabalik ng Lawin, from director Fernando Poe Jr. This film offers us a history of slavery, rebellion and treasures. Sold as slaves and separated soon after, Gilyer Gabilán and his mother, Donya Margarita, are going through hardships and violence that are hard to imagine.
Enjoy this selection from our Spotlight Country, with which you can enrich your cultural horizon and get closer to a nation whose cinema is an integral part of its identity – and which shares ancestral historical ties with ours. Hope to see you there!