Cinemalaya showcases international shorts
THROUGH its Visions of Asia section, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2020 brings short stories from across the continent to its first online edition via Vimeo, slated on August 7 to 16.
A Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema winning film, “Beloved” by Yaser Talebi is a story of 82-year-old Iranian Firouzeh who lives a life of a herder. The film follows this strongminded woman in her work across the seasons as she tells the story of her life. With work and fate as the dominant themes, she makes fervent efforts to get closer to her kids.
In “The Rooftop,” by Avirup Biswas, Abhishek, a psychiatrist and medical officer of the Gandhi Mental Hospital, has rented an apartment near his workplace. Living opposite his apartment, there is a girl who suffers from mental illness as a result of the sexual assault that happened to her. Abhishek slowly heals her with love.
A dark fantasy inspired by Grimm Fairy Tales, “My Little Goat” by Misato Tomoki is about a mother goat who tries to save her children who have been eaten by a wolf, but one is remains missing. It stars Aimi Fukuhara, Kaori Yamashita and Mizuho Misato.
Portraying the joy and sorrow of being a creator, “A Japanese Boy Who Draws” by Kawajiri Masanao is an experimental animation/ mockumentary depicting the life of a man who dreams to be a comic writer, told alongside the imagery that develops with him.
The screening of the two Japanese short films
Call Me Tita is out on the IWant platform, The Boys Season One is on Amazon Prime, with the second season out next month. is made possible through the partnership with Eiga Sai, the Japanese film festival organized by the Japan Foundation, Manila. For the past years, the Eiga Sai and Cinemalaya have strengthened their ties and have been dubbed as an Allied Festival.
Cinemalaya collaborated with the Iranian Film Festival, another Allied Festival, to feature two Iranian short films.
“Salam” (“Hello”) by Mohammad Reza Hajigholami Yazdi is a short fiction story about a boy who makes a religious vow to say hello to 1000 people so that his father, a defender of the Holy Shrine, would come home unscathed. The film highlights the hardship that families of fighters on the front line go through when they are away.
“I Am American” by Omid Mirzaei narrates the story of an American newsman captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL, who is hoping to be saved by the US army but was saved by Iranian anti- terrorist unit instead.