Film & Video

By Ardak Amirkulov
Guerman produced and co-wrote this staggering historical epic about the intrigue and turmoil preceding Genghis Khan’s systematic destruction of the lost East Asian civilization of Otrar. Hallucinatory, visually resplendent and ferociously energetic, the film is packed with eye-catching (and gouging) detail and traverses an endless variety of parched, epic landscapes and ornate palaces. But this is also one of the most astute historical films ever made, its high quotient of torture and gore (Italian horror genius Mario Bava would have been envious) always grounded in the bedrock realities of realpolitik. (1991, 176 min, 35mm)

By Loy Arcenas
The image of the child Christ, the Santo Niño, holds special significance to the Filipino faithful. It is said to cause miracles, the idol a perfect representation of the country’s strange conflation of religion and superstition. It is why a young boy has been dressed up as the Santo Niño in this clever dissection of a fading aristocratic family. With the patriarch fallen ill, the debts piling up, the house crumbling, and the family falling apart, all that’s left is to pray for a miracle. With studied grace, Niño explores a social class rarely depicted in Filipino films, revealing a deeply human core to aristocracy. (2011, 100 min).

Preceding the film, Alleluia Panis of Kularts will perform “Ritwal” with vocalist Kristine Sinajon.

US Premiere
John Torres is one of the Philippines’ most accomplished, thoughtful and inspiring experimental filmmakers. His graceful and mysterious shorts mix hypnotic imagery with multilayered narratives. But watch and listen closely, because nothing is quite as it seems on the surface. We present this selection of recent work, including his newest film.

With a lurid title but a serious intent, this program of new shorts will give you a taste of the work of nine younger artists from all over the archipelago. Featuring a little bit of everything – doc, drama, experimental, and even some student work – this is a great intro to the contemporary film scene. All films (except Boxing in the Philippine Islands) are US Premieres. (Total running time: 97 min)

By Antoinette Jadaone
US Premiere
Lilia Cuntapay is a fixture in Filipino cinema, but not a lot of people know who she is. She has appeared in many of the country’s horror features, her unique visage giving a face to the terror being presented on screen. In this mockumentary, director Antoinette Jadaone follows the legendary bit player around while she prepares a speech for her very first awards show appearance. Alternately melancholy and comedic, the film explores a life on the edges of celebrity. (2011, 93 min)

By Quark Henares
Director in person
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy starts a band with girl. With this basic setup, Rakenrol takes audiences on a guided tour of the Filipino rock scene. This bittersweet love letter to Filipino music details the universal struggles of a young band, from the heady early days all the way to the painful but inevitable breakup. Featuring music and cameos from some of the country’s top musical acts, the film also serves as a rich pop culture snapshot, capturing a very specific zeitgeist. (2011, 113 min)

By Bambi Beltran, Keith Deligero, Norbert Elnar, Donna Gimeno, Christian Linaban, Idden de los Reyes & Remton Siega Zuasola
US Premiere
There is a lot more going on in current Filipino cinema than what comes out of Manila. The province of Cebu, in the Visayas, is becoming a hotbed of independent filmmaking. Biyernes Biyernes is not intended to be an omnibus of short films, but rather a feature film made by seven directors about the city they live in. The film is set on a Friday, taking place over 24 hours. It is composed of seven different stories, from a political satire set in a mental institution, to tales of violence and prostitution in the urban corners, and even a lesbian love affair. (2011, 87 min)

By Christopher Gozum
US Premiere
Special FREE screening in the Large Conference Room (2nd floor, 701 Mission St)
It is estimated that 11% of the population of the Philippines are Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). In the media, they are depicted either as heroes making sacrifices for their families or victims suffering injustices in foreign lands. In Lawas kan Pinabli, director Christopher Gozum (himself an OFW in Saudi Arabia) mixes found footage, interviews and impressionistic narrative segments to form a more balanced picture of life as an OFW. It delves into various issues and brings to light a startling complicity in fostering injustice. (2012, 195 min)

By Arnel M. Mardoquio
US Premiere
This major discovery comes from Mindanao, the often-troubled southern region of the country. Few Americans visit here, despite its beauty and amazing cultural diversity. Gritty, poetic and a riveting plea for peace, the story is set against the harsh realities of Mindanao’s internal refugees or “bakwits,” victims of the separatist war that continues to ravage the countryside. They flock to makeshift houses in gymnasiums, schools, and churches to escape being caught in the crossfire. (2011, 105 min)

By Lawrence Fajardo
US Premiere
The Pasay Rotonda is one of the busiest intersections in Manila. It is a place of absolute chaos: people, cars, buses, motorcycles, jeepneys and trains all compete for space as they try to navigate the crumbling, complex geography of the city in the sweltering tropical heat. It is here that the disparate lives of the characters in Amok converge, their fates united by the violence that sweeps through the streets. (2011, 83 min)

By Gereon Wetzel and Joerg Adolph
For more than forty years, Gerhard Steidl has personally supervised the publishing and printing of some of the most significant books on fashion, art, and photography. We observe him as he collaborates with renowned artists like Jeff Wall, Ed Ruscha, and Robert Frank, working tirelessly to present their work in beautifully created books. Providing an insightful look at the way Steidl's printing press operates in Goettingen, Germany, this is a portrait of a dynamic entrepreneur with an uncompromising passion for the craft of bookmaking. (2010, 88 min, digital)

By Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O'Connor
Obscene is the definitive film biography of Barney Rosset, the influential publisher of Grove Press and the Evergreen Review and a continued inspiration to defenders of free expression. Rossett was the first American publisher of acclaimed authors Samuel Beckett, Kenzaburo Oe, Tom Stoppard, Che Guevara and Malcolm X, and challenged the obscenity ban on groundbreaking works of fiction such as Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Tropic of Cancer and Naked Lunch. But the same unyielding and reckless energy Rosset used to publish these works and distribute films like I Am Curious (Yellow) also brought him perilously close to destruction. (2007, 97 min, digital)

Fairytale documents Ai Weiwei’s project of the same name for Europe’s most innovative art event, documenta 12, in Kassel, Germany in 2007. Ai Weiwei invited 1001 Chinese citizens of different ages and from various backgrounds to live in an abandoned factory for a massive-scale performance art project. It was the most sensational artwork at the exhibition. This 152-minute film documents the whole process, from the preparations for the project to the challenges the participants had to face before actually travelling to Germany as well as the artist’s ideas behind the work. (2008, 152 min, digital)

In its essence, photography is static and silent. It subtracts sound and movement from everything it captures. But in photofilms, the editing process adds sound, music, and language to the photographs; the static images begin to move, even to dance. This program reveals how illusions of movement are created: from stasis to movement, from rhythm to animation. Featuring work by Sabine Höpfner, Paul de Nooijer and Menno de Nooijer, Agnès Varda, Arthur Lipsett, Ken Jacobs, Maki Satake, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Dan Geesin and Esther Rots. (85 minutes)

The narrative photofilms compiled here are, to a certain extent, time crystals in which different worlds appear next to or even mirrored in one another. A multilayered dialogue develops between the spoken word and the image. This program is dedicated to photofilms that quote the history of cinema and experiment with narrative forms. Featuring work by Katja Pratschke and Guzstáv Hámos, Paul de Nooijer and Menno de Nooijer, Leonore Mau and Hubert Fichte, Elfi Mikesch, and Raúl Ruiz. (92 minutes)

We seem to be obsessed with recording as many images as possible. And nowadays we often mentally record a multitude of photos in a single moment. This permits us to observe the moment from different perspectives. This film program brings together films that appraise the surface of the photographic image, circling the moment and even entering it. Features works by Paul de Nooijer, Jean Eustache, Tim Macmillan, Maki Satake, Jean-Gabriel Périot, and Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen. (92 minutes)

Ai Weiwei travels to Chengdu to be a witness at the trial of the civil rights advocate Tan Zuoren, whom we first encountered in Disturbing the Peace. After being beaten by the police, Ai Weiwei traveled to Munich, Germany to prepare his exhibition at the Haus der Kunst museum. The result of his beating led to intense headaches caused by a brain hemorrhage, which was treated by emergency surgery. These events mark the beginning of Ai Weiwei’s struggle and surveillance by state police. (2012, 55 min, digital)

Double feature preceded by Ordos 100.