The Cinemalaya Institute is back again with films from both established directors, people from the television industry, and newcomers. Their final exercise was to create a narrative short film without any dialogue. From this year's program, notable entries include:
Samantala, which tackles karma, domestic violence and EJK,
The riotously funny and cartoony For Sale, about a child stealing a dildo as a birthday present for his single mom,
Parfum, about evoking memories and feelings of love through scents,
Anamnesis, about virtual reality and obsession,
Poly by John Lapus, a darkly ironic tale about a polyamorous relationship and an urn of cremated ashes,
Urong-sulong, a film about trauma and the fear of reliving it,
Sundowning, a clever film about a woman with a balloon with a mysterious purpose,
and Pam Miras' To Remain is to Have Been Left, whose time paradox can also be interpreted as a plea to support those with mental illness or suicidal thoughts.
There are more entries other than the ones listed, such as Succulents Forever, the photo roman 2:59 am and Bah-Di, which even managed to feature ethnic costumes. I look forward to the institute batch's future work.
Near the end of The Taste of Rice Flower, a troop of villagers go to pay their respects to a stone Buddha, but upon arriving, they find that the cave leading to it has been closed. The old gods have gone away, and it's unclear if there are new gods to replace them. This idea forms the basis for Pengfei's The Taste of Rice Flower, a chronicle of change slowly creeping its way into rural China. In it, a mother (Ying Ze) who has worked in Shanghai for some years, tries to reconnect with her mischievous daughter Nan Hang (Ye Bule).
The setting of the film - a small village that is home to members of the Dai ethnic minority - shows this change in small, intimate moments. There are scenes of children left behind while their parents live in Shanghai, a generation left to fend for themselves in the face of rapid industrialization. There are little things that pop up in the film - wi-fi in a temple, or a discarded can lying on a stone floor, water tapping on its metal surface like a makeshift drum. The villagers struggle with reconciling their traditional beliefs with more modern ideas - a struggle that will prove tragic once the film reaches its conclusion.
And ultimately The Taste of Rice Flower is about a growing sense of disconnect between the people who go to the city and the people left behind. "Hungry pigs need to be fed," one character exclaims, perhaps dejectedly. But if there is any indication at the end, there is a spot of hope, a chance for generations to understand each other and prepare for the procession of new gods to come.
***
That ends this year's coverage of Cinemalaya. This year's competition section was quite good, better than last year's lineup. I was happy to see people championing a film that they loved, and it warmed my heart to see sold out screenings across the board. Each film had something to offer, and the filmmakers did their best given the budget and time they had to work with. Thank you all for reading, and see you all at the movies next week. I'm not going to regale you with a long speech about the state of the industry (and how it STILL needs to improve many things) and how I'm getting older and more tired, and how watching movies is more draining than before blah blah blah, so I will leave you with a picture, which says a thousand words:
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| Tawasil, John. The portrait of the film reviewer after viewing Cinemalaya and the state of the film industry. 2018. Photograph. Present Confusion, Manila Philippines |
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