MANILA, Philippines — The Tingin Southeast Asian Film Festival returns for its seventh edition with a roster of films focusing on the different folklore, legends, and myths in the region.
Tingin, backed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts' Culture and Diplomacy program, is the Philippines' longest-running and sole film festival dedicated to Southeast Asian cinema.
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This year's folklore-inspired edition carrying the theme "Enchantments for a Fragile World" will again be in Shangri-La Plaza Mall's Red Carpet Cinema on August 17 and 18, composed of six feature films and four short films screening for free.
Festival director Maya Quirino noted that filmmakers have many times referred to folklore in their creations, including directors from Southeast Asia when it comes to their indigenous cultures.
In a press conference held in Red Carpet Cinema last August 8, Quirino shared that many countries have lost their connection to their indigenous roots.
"[Their folklore] is a rich wellspring that can be tapped to tackle for creative output," Quirino added.
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The opening film is "The Long Walk" from Laos by Mattie Do, her country's first and only female filmmaker, while the closing film is the Philippines' own "In My Mother's Skin" by Kenneth Dagatan.
"In My Mother's Skin," which is getting a rare theatrical screening, stars Felicity Kyle Napuli, Beauty Gonzales, James Mavie Estrella, Angeli Bayani, and Jasmine Curtis-Smith.
Set in the Philippines at the end of World War II when a textile merchant mysteriously leaves his sickly wife Ligaya, 14-year-old Tala, and young Bayani were left in their war-torn colonial house to barter for his family's freedom with the Japanese.
Tala seeks the help of a fairy who gives the young girl a magical insect to cure the dying Ligaya. The result is instant relief, but consequences of misplaced trust ensue, forcing Tala to make a distressing decision.
The movie was the only non-English language film at the Midnight Section of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it had its world premiere and has since appeared in numerous international film festivals.
Other films in the festival are Singapore's "Dreaming and Dying," Myanmar's "Once Upon a Time There Was a Mom," Vietnam's "Memoryland," Malaysia's "Snow in Midsummer," Cambodia's "Golden Dragon," Thailand's "Worship," Indonesia's "Of Other Tomorrows Never Known," and Brunei's "Part of Me."
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