Fil-Am film fest opens 23rd year in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – This year’s Cinemalaya festival best film, Eduardo Roy, Jr.’s “Pamilya Ordinaryo” (Ordinary People), an urban drama about teenage parents in the streets of Manila, will open the 23^rd Filipino American International Cine Festival (FACINE/23) on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. at Roxie Theater 3117 – 16^th Street.

Closing the festival will be San Francisco’s own Matthew Abaya’s “Vampariah,” a horror adventure film about Philippine mythical aswang (female vampire that appears as segmented creature) on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 9:00 p.m.

Co-presented with the Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc. (PAWA) and sponsored by The Filipino Channel (TFC) and INQUIRER.net, FACINE’s opening ceremony is on Oc.18 at the Diego Rivera Theater, City College of San Francisco with a lecture by Prof. Joel David, FACINE Gawad Lingap Sining honoree.

Film screenings will run Oct. 19-22 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 – 16^th Street, San Francisco. Major Community Partner is the Philippine Studies Department, City College of San Francisco.

The annual festival, the longest running in the US, has been the premier showcase for new works and Filipino film classics in the United States for the past 23 years. It is organized by FACINE, a not-for-profit media arts organization based in San Francisco that aims to “advance the interests of cinemas from the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora.”

For more information and full program schedule, see website: www.facine.org. For further information, email: [email protected] or text: 415-410-9566 or tickets purchase, check website: www.roxie.com, festival passes and group rates available.

October 18, 2016, Tuesday, 6-9 p.m.: OPENING CEREMONIES: 

GAWAD LINGAP SINING [art-nurturing] to Prof. Joel David

Preceded by screening of Inshallah Montero’s THE LITTLE READER

Lecture on Fil Criticism

Diego Rivera Theater, City College of San Francisco.

October 21, Friday:
7:00 pm – ARI: MY LIFE WITH A KING. Directed by Carlo Enciso Catu, written by Robby Tantingco (89 min, in Kapampangan and Tagalog with English subtitles, Holy Angel University, Philippines, 2015. Light drama. Stars: Ronwaldo Martin

A young man develops a close relationship with an old poet, a coming-of-age tale, a tribute to a forgotten art (Pampango poetry) and an ode to a great culture.

2015 Metro Manila Film Festival New Wave, Best Film

2016 Gawad Urian, Best Screenplay (Robby Tantingco)

2016 Young Critics Circle; Best First Feature
9:00 pm – ECHORSIS. Directed by Lemuel Lorca, written by Jerry B. Grácio (108 min, in Tagalog with English subtitles, Chris Cahilig/Insight 360, Philippines, 2016). Comedy-horror. Stars: John Lapus, Alex Vincent Medina, Kean Cipriano

A gigolo is possessed by a gay entity after he deceives a closeted gay lover; a priest is tasked to exorcise the spirit out of him.

October 22, Saturday:

1:30 pm – TRIP TO HAPPY-FUL: A collection of shorts on finding joy in the now and then:
ASWE [the fine-toothed comb], Directed by Russel Renz Sobrino, written by Josephine Santos (18 min, in Kapampangan with English subtitles, Philippines, 2015) Narrative short

A young girl struggles with head lice, school bullying, her self-determination helps her beat the odds.
ODA SA MGA NANGANGARAP [ode to dreamers], Directed and written by Jan Michael C. Jamisola (22:13 min, in Tagalog with English subtitles, Philippines, 2016): Experimental narrative. Stars Karl Medina.

An out of work comedian finds a machine capable of recording ideas, taking us on a journey through his mind.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY. Directed and written by Joella Cabalu (45 min, OUTtv/Meaningful Films, Canada, 2015). Documentary.

A young gay Filipino Canadian travels from Canada to the Philippines to meet his other queer relatives, how their lives resonated to their Catholic upbringing and family.

3:30 pm – DAHLING NICK. Directed and written by Sari Raissa Lluch Dalena (180 min, in Tagalog, Spanish with English subtitles, Cinema One Originals/Kino Arts, Philippines, 2015). Docu-drama Stars: Raymond Bagatsing

Philippine National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin, will only accept the National Artist from the Marcoses on the condition of the release of a political prisoner-poet from detention during martial law.

7:00 pm – GAWAD GINTONG ANI: MS. GLORIA SEVILLA
– KUSINA [the kitchen]. Directed by Cenón Obispo Palomares, David R Corpuz, written by Cenón Obispo Palomares (117 min, in Tagalog with English subtitles, Sirena Pictures/Cinematografica/Noel Ferrer Productions, Philippines, 2016). Domestic drama. Stars: Judy Ann Santos, Gloria Sevilla

Her kitchen is one silent witness to the life and times of Juanita, her sanctuary where she creates dishes for her family, her friends and even, her enemies and strangers.

9:00 pm – VAMPARIAH. Directed by Matthew Abaya, written by Matthew Abaya, Lawrence Yaghmour, Shannon Lee Pacaoan (92 min, I Dont Care Productions, USA, 2016). Horror adventure. Stars: Kelly Lou Dennis, Aureen Almario, Alex Benjamin

Mahal is a part of an elite squad of skilled hunters responsible for keeping the world safe from vampires and other creatures of the night.

Winner Best Visual Effects for a Feature Narrative Film in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2016.