'Pinoy Sunday' in Taiwan Film Festival
MANILA, Philippines - If you want to realize what happens in other countries, I think that the best channel is through motion pictures. Through them, you can see what happens in a country.” Dr. Wellington Wei, director of the press division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), shared these words at the opening of the 2011 Taiwanese Film Festival at the Shang Cineplex at The Shangri-La Plaza Mall. This statement, because it involves such intangibles as cultural nuance and national character, cannot be interpreted as fact. It is, however, an interesting opinion that opens the door to further discussions on how film is or isn’t a reflection of a particular society.
Dr. Wei is quick to point out, however, that the films selected for this year’s Taiwanese Film Festival are more contemporary and that they, in their own right, paint a clear picture of Taiwan as it is today. “I guarantee you, if you finish watching the five featured films of this festival, then you will further understand what is happening in Taiwan,” he says.
The full length films that will be showcased during the festival are No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti, Zoom Hunting, Gangster Rock, Three Times, and Pinoy Sunday which features homebred talents including Bayani Agbayani, Jeffrey Quizon, Nor Domingo, Meryll Soriano, and Alessandra de Rossi. Pinoy Sunday is sort of the odd one out because most of the dialogue is in Filipino and it is told from the Filipino perspective of living in Taiwan. This is interesting because Taiwan, which sets the film’s background, is unfamiliar to us — yet the language and the situations are only too familiar.
This year’s Taiwanese Film Festival also features one documentary, Jump! Boys, and three short films: The Magical Washing Machine, Respire, and Small Station. Jump! Boys, because it is a documentary, approaches the issue of culture from a more objective standpoint. There is drama in the film, and it is real. The honest depiction of situations is something cinephiles and culture aficionados will appreciate.
Dr. Wei explains that he took time to carefully select the featured films because this is an extra special time for the nationals of The Republic of China. This year, this month to be more precise, marks their country’s centennial. In celebration of this, several activities were set up locally and abroad, with the film festival here being one of them. Also, last July, TECO held a Taiwanese Photo Exhibition at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall with pictures dating as far back as 1912.
The weeklong film festival is a way for Taiwan to celebrate its centennial with us. We are closer to them than we may think: not only geographically, but also considering there are about 96,000 Filipino OFWs working there now, with the numbers reaching up to 160,000, irregular visitors are included. It’s just a film festival; and its Taiwan’s Centennial, not ours. But fostering good relations with a country where many of our own work and make a living is important. And for us to be able to understand them, it seems that the easiest way to do so is to watch their films.
After all, cinema is based on the idea of verisimilitude, combining mimetic and kinetic elements. The debate on whether or not cinema is a real representation of society goes on. But through film, we might be able to see that we have more in common with other countries than we think.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) press division head Dr. Wellington Wei, Shangri-la Plaza marketing officer Mimi Tecson, TECO press assistant Abby Moreno, Shangri-La marketing division head Marline Concio-Dualan, Shangri-La marketing officer MJ Mendoza and TECO senior press officer. Photo by JUDE BAUTISTA* * *
The Taiwanese Film Festival runs from October 21-26 at the Shang Cineplex. For inquiries, contact 633-7851, loc.113, or log on to www.shangrila-plaza.com.
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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com
