Film & Video

Yellow Line by Teruo Ishii, 2 PM
(Trailer) An exotic dancer is kidnapped by a killer on the run. When her newspaper reporter boyfriend finds her missing, he starts a search that leads him to Kobe and its teeming foreign “kasbah.” In this film, more than any other in his Shintoho period, director Ishii was able to create his own unique atmosphere, somewhere on the borderland between dream and reality, where the forbidden and unlawful thrill and threaten in equal measure. (1960, 70 min, digital)

Revenge of the Pearl Queen by Toshio Shimura, 3:30 PM
When Shintoho's voluptuous new discovery Michiko Maeda undressed for Revenge of the Pearl Queen, she hit the screens with a seismic force and a new star was born. Not only that, a new genre was born—the female pearl diver film. The film’s central plotline is based on the true story of 19 Japanese men who were discovered on Anatahan, in the Marianas Islands, in 1951. Refusing to accept Japan’s defeat in the Pacific War, they had been scraping out a bare existence while scheming and fighting over the one woman in their midst. In this version, Maeda’s Natsuki becomes embroiled in a robbery and murder plot, falls off a ship to escape a would-be rapist, and finds herself a castaway among a crew of hungry-eyed men. When she discovers enough pearls to make a fortune, she sets in motion a scheme to trap the criminals who sent her overboard. (1956, 90 min, digital)

Join us for a pre-screening reception in the Grand Lobby, beginning at 6:30 PM.
U.S. premiere of new digital restoration

(Trailer) Starring superstar Nora Aunor, Himala is the story of Elsa, a young woman whose visions of the Virgin Mary create hysteria in a poor, isolated village. Why are we starting a series called New Filipino Cinema with a film from 1982? First, Himala is unquestionably a masterpiece by one of the Philippines’ greatest directors, yet it remains unknown to most Western audiences. And the film is, in fact, “new” because it’s been digitally restored by ABS-CBN Film Archives from original master materials. Also, film restoration is itself a relatively new concept in the Philippines; countless important works from Filipino film history are in poor condition or have already been lost. Don’t miss this rare opportunity. (1982, 122 min)

Florante Aguilar and producer Fides Enriquez in person

After its sold-out screenings at CAAMFest, Harana returns to San Francisco! Upon his father's death, Florante Aguilar (a classically trained guitarist from San Francisco) returns to the Philippines after 12 years of absence. He rediscovers the music of harana—an almost-forgotten tradition of Filipino serenading, when men sang under the window at night to declare their love for a woman. Led by award-winning director Benito Bautista, this riveting film contains a treasure trove of beautiful Filipino music waiting to be rediscovered. Intent on preserving vanishing customs, the film rekindles a connection with the past before it is irrevocably lost. (2012, 104 min)

U.S. premiere

This daring work from Whammy Alcazaren follows in the grand tradition of Filipino experimental cinema. Alcazaren pieces together a document of grief by combining shards of Filipino history with one man’s emotional journey through space and time. This beautifully shot and scored film evokes a feeling of nostalgia, creating a longing for a time long past that one might not even be familiar with. (2012, 86 min)

U.S. premiere

During the American occupation, a young boy in the wilds of Mindoro is given daily doses of cod liver oil, and has his limbs stretched out to make him taller. He suffers these treatments for his parents, who wish him to become the poster boy for their cod liver oil business. Shot in intimate Super 8 film, Big Boy feels like an old home movie, capturing slices of life that expose the strange, unspoken turmoil inherent within the Filipino family as its members strive for a better life. (2012, 89 min)

Director Marie Jamora in person

Teenager Gibson Bonifacio does not talk. He stopped speaking years ago after witnessing a terrible tragedy. He returns home from abroad for the holiday, back into a home that can only offer an illusion of family. Rather than deal with his family, he explores the local music scene and runs away into his very first romance. Director Marie Jamora eschews the high-strung dramatics of the typical family drama to reveal different shades of the Filipino family. (2012, 116 min)

U.S. premiere

We showcase four emerging women directors in this diverse program of shorts.

Waiting to Whisper (Ang Paghihintay sa Bulong) by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo
In traditional Filipino culture, when a person dies you can whisper and send your wishes to the dead. This bizarre yet touching film depicts a grotesquely dysfunctional family who selfishly await the death of a relative. (2012, 17 min)

Aurora, My Aurora by Janus Victoria
A poetic meditation on random human connections set against the discordant urban rhythms of Manila. (2012, 15 min)

Vow of Silence (Imik) by Anna Isabelle Matutina
Starring the gifted young actress Mercedes Cabral, Imik examines the complexities of sexual relationships in an extremely patriarchal society. (2012, 40 min)

Last Strike (Katapusang Labok) by Aiess Alonso
With stunning imagery bathed in glorious light, the film portrays a fishing community north of Cebu who struggle to survive despite the devastation caused by coral harvesting. (2012, 20 min)

U.S. premiere; Director Arnel Mardoquio in person

(Trailer) Two women, both born into conflict, attempt to leave behind their life as rebels in order to protect a young boy. To do so, they undertake a journey through a war-torn region, avoiding both the U.S. Army and their former comrades. Arnel Mardoquio paints a vivid portrait of life during wartime. This intensely quiet film strips away the noise of the conflict to reveal the modest dreams of those caught in between. (2012, 117 min)

For Anna Maria, a single woman in her 50s, paradise lies with Jesus. She devotes her summer vacation to missionary work so that Austria may return to the path of virtue. On her daily pilgrimage through Vienna, she goes from door to door, carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary. After years of absence, Anna Maria’s estranged husband—an Egyptian Muslim confined to a wheelchair—comes home, and her life goes completely off the rails. (2012, 113 min, DCP)