Pera-perahang lata Screens at The 1st Philippine Film Festival in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Arts Centre and the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong are proud to co-present The 1st Philippine Film Festival from 5 to 11 July 2010 at the agnès b. CINEMA of the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Under the banner of "Hou Yeh Pinoy" (meaning "Great! Filipinos!"), a cultural fiesta organised by the Philippine Consulate General, The 1st Philippine Film Festival will share with the Hong Kong audience works of film art by the burgeoning independent film industry of the Philippines that is rapidly making its mark in the world stage. The festival also hopes to open up a new platform for cultural understanding between Hong Kong and the Philippines.

The film festival celebrates the new breed of Filipino filmmakers whose works have been screened at prestigious film fairs in Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Vienna and Rotterdam, and received accolades from distinguished international film bodies.It showcases 9 films that delve into a variety of subjects such as race, social class, sexuality, war, and music, many of them set against the backdrop of the Philippines' rich cultural heritage. Some of the films are Hong Kong premieres.

The film festival also serves to mark the 112th anniversary of Philippine Independence and the 35th anniversary of Philippine-China diplomatic relations this year. The Hong Kong Arts Centre is proud to take part in commemorating this milestone event and sincerely hopes that our audience would take this opportunity to enjoy this rare and wonderful occasion.

Entrance is free. Tickets can be obtained at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. First-come-first-served.

Film Program

Short Film
Pera-perahang Lata (Penny from the Tin Can)

Feature Films
The Forgotten War
Concerto
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros) 
Brutus 
Jay
Voices (Boses)
Mother Nanny (Inang Yaya)
Yummy (Namets)

Festival Details

Venue: agnès b. CINEMA (Upper Basement, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong)
Ticketing: Free tickets are now available, and can be picked up at the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong
Philippine Consulate General Address: 14/F, United Centre, 95 Queensway, Hong Kong
Office hours: Sundays to Thursdays: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Hong Kong and Philippine Public Holidays.
Ticket Inquiries: 2823 8534/ 2823 8536 / 2582 0273
Hong Kong Arts Centre Address: 8/F, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai, HK
Office hours: Mondays to Fridays: 9:30am to 5:30pm; Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays
Ticket Inquiries: 2582 0200
Ticketing terms and conditions:

1. Tickets are of limited distribution. Priority is given to audience who first pick up the tickets at the distribution points (to be listed above). Each audience is entitled to a maximum of four screening tickets throughout the Philippine Film Festival.

2. One person per ticket. Free seating. First-come, first served.

About Films and Screening Schedule:

Feature Films

The Forgotten War
05/07 (Monday), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2009/ Color/DVD/99 mins/In Filipino, English and Korean with English and Korean Subtitles
Director: Carlo Cruz

The Forgotten War recounts the different stories from the four Battalion Combat Teams (BCTs) that visited Korea in the 1950s under the United Nations Command. They were known as the Philippine Extraordinary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK). They were sent to uphold peace in democratic South Korea after being invaded by North Korea. The film recreates important battle scenes and shares the stories of the soldiers finding courage, dedication, strength, and love as they face adversity amidst the tragic backdrop of war.

Concerto
06/07 (Tuesday), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2008 /Color/DVD/90 mins./In Filipino and Japanese with English Subtitles
Director: Paul Alexander Morales
Winner of Golden Screen Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Production Awards, the Philippines 2009

Concerto is about how, in the last part of World War II, a special piano concert is held in the forest outside Davao City, in Mindanao. In these boondocks, a displaced Filipino family, led by Military Commander Ricardo and his wife Julia, becomes acquainted with a group of Japanese officers, similarly camped nearby. Their son Joselito, a Japanese speaker, becomes the conduit with the neighbouring Japanese. Family values are questioned as the family treads the thin line between enmity and friendship with the occupying Japanese. Based on true stories from the director's own family history, Concerto celebrates a family whose reverence for life, expressed through their love of music and friendship, can survive even war, and shows how beauty and compassion grow in even the harshest of conditions.

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros)
07/07 (Wednesday), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2005/Color/DVD/100 mins./In Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Aureus Solito
Winner of the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film, Berlin Film Festival, 2006
Winner of Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema - Dramatic Category, Sundance Film Festival 2006
Winner of Special Jury Prize in Full-Length Feature Category, Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2005

Maxi is a 12-year-old effeminate gay boy who lives in the slums with his father and brothers who are petty thieves. The story primarily revolves around the conflict between his love for handsome young police officer Victor, and his family's illegal livelihood. One night Maxi is accosted by two men who attempt to molest him, but is saved by the appearance of Victor. Victor does not have a girlfriend, and his sexuality is never revealed. He rebuffs Maxi's advances, only affectionately stroking Maxi's head even when the boy steals a kiss. The last scene is clever homage to the final scene of The Third Man.

Brutus
08/07 (Thursday), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2008 /Color/DVD /110 mins./In Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Tara Illenberger
Winner of Best Asian Film and Best Actor Awards, Brussels International Independent Film Festival 2008
Winner of Special Jury Prize in Full-Length Feature Category, Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2008

Shot in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, Brutus was one of the ten Cinemalaya 2008 entries. The film centres on two kids smuggling logs from the mountains. The journey opens their eyes to a "world" that is ruled by greed and torn by political conflicts.

Jay
09/07 (Friday), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2008/Color/DVD/84 mins./In Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Francis X. Pasion
Winner of Golden Screen Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role (Drama), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Drama, Musical or Comedy) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Drama, Musical or Comedy) Awards, the Philippines 2009

Jay Mercado, a promising young schoolteacher, has been brutally murdered. The grotesque image of his blood-stained body flashes on a television screen as an off-screen narrator coolly shares his story. According to the report, Jay, a known homosexual, leaves behind his impoverished family who are devastated when they learn of Jay's fate, a supposed sex crime. His estranged ex-boyfriend, the prime suspect, remains at-large. Through a pseudo-documentary style, Francis X. Pasion's Jay exposes the perverse ways "reality" television constructs the "truth". Pasion's astute social satire is a disturbing depiction of modern media that questions our own viewing habits.

Voices (Boses)
10/07 (Saturday), 2:30 p.m.
Philippines/2008/Color/DVD/98 mins./In Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil
Winner of Golden Screen Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director and Best Editing Awards, the Philippines 2009

Boses is the story of a musician named Ariel who offers violin lessons to an abused child Onyok of the slums. Ariel discovers the immense talent of Onyok hiding behind a veneer of silence and pain caused by an unhappy and cruel father. Through the violin, Onyok is able to get back his voice from a mute, desensitised existence. In developing a friendship between the teacher and the student stemming from their love of music, both characters discover each other's strengths and failures.

Mother Nanny (Inang Yaya) 
10/07 (Saturday), 5:30 p.m. and 11/07 (Sun), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2006/Color/DVD/100 mins. /In Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Pablo Biglang-awa, Veronica Velasco
Winner of Asia Pacific Screen Best Children's Feature Film Award 2007
Winner of Golden Screen Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Drama) Award, the Philippines 2007

Norma straddles between two worlds as mother to Ruby and nanny to Louise. When Norma takes Ruby to the city to live with Louise's family, the two girls struggle to share the woman they both fiercely love. Every day is a balancing act for Norma as she deals with her demanding ward and her headstrong daughter; a generous employer and her opinionated mother-in-law; the desire for a good life and the need to survive.

Veering away from the stereotypical melodrama, Mother Nanny portrays the Filipino nanny with veracity and shows both her strengths and vulnerability. The film imparts valuable lessons, and inspires the audience to stand for the difficult choices one has to make in life.

Yummy (Namets)
10/07 (Saturday), 7:30 p.m.
Philippines/2008/Color/DVD/90 mins./In Hiligaynon, English and Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Jay Abello

Jacko owns an Italian restaurant in Bacolod City. When a monstrous cock fighting debt sets him at odds with Boss Dolpo, he offers his restaurant up as payment. Boss Dolpo brings in Cassie Labayen as a consultant to renovate the restaurant. Much to Jacko's dismay, Cassie decides to offer Negrense cuisine instead of Italian. The pair then set off across the province re-discovering the unique aspects of Negrense food.

Short Film:

Penny From the Tin Can (Pera-perahang Lata)
11/07 (Sunday), 9:30 p.m.
Philippines/2008/Color/DVD/30 mins./In Filipino with English Subtitles
Director: Rianne Hill Soriano

Penny from the Tin Can exposes both the rich culture of the able Filipinos and the struggle of lower-middle to lower-class Filipinos in the Manila commune set during the Pinoy Christmas season-amidst the exciting tradition of gift-giving, caroling, and the "Simbang Gabi".

The tin can is the film's binding factor. More than just costing the main character his living and another person's death, the utilising of the tin can on asking for alms and the children transforming them into musical instruments for their Christmas carols, it represents a very frequent element that Filipinos use every day.