It can, at times, be hard for local cinemagoers to see films from Thailand, Malaysia, and other regions across Asia on the big screen. Thankfully, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is set to bring its program, FDCP Presents: A Curation of Asian Cinema, to cinemas in Manila, Negros, and Iloilo.
The program includes three restored films, honoring the legacies of three late directors. Ishmael Bernal’s 1980 drama, City After Dark (also known as Manila by Night), starring Charito Solis, Alma Moreno, Lorna Tolentino, and Rio Locsin, is part of the curated lineup, as well as Taiwanese director Edward Yang’s family drama Yi Yi and Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s drama Pather Panchali.
Other highlights of the program include Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Whether the Weather is Fine, which stars Daniel Padilla and Charo Santos-Concio in a harrowing drama exploring the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. Director Amanda Nell Eu’s Malay body horror Tiger Stripes is also part of the lineup, as well as Dương Diệu Linh’s debut international fantasy Don’t Cry, Butterfly, Payal Kapadia’s drama All We Imagine as Light, Zoljargal Purevdash’s Mongolian drama If Only I Could Hibernate. Sorayos Prapapan’s Thai comedy Arnold is a Model Student, Neo Sora’s Japanese sci-fi Happyend, and Kim Bora’s Korean coming-of-age House of Hummingbird.
FDCP Presents: A Curation of Asian Cinema is set to run from October 22 to 29 at SM Megamall, Cinematheque Negros, and Cinematheque Iloilo.
