MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Five award-winning documentary films selected by acclaimed film director and screenwriter Dr. Clodualdo “Doy” Del Mundo comprise the DOKYU section of the 2021 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival slated on August 6 to September 5. The Festival will be streamed on the KTX.PH platform.
Here are Dr. Del Mundo’s picks:
A HOUSE IN PIECES BY JEAN CLAIRE DY AND MANUEL DOMES
A war between the government and ISIS-affiliated jihadists forced hundreds of thousands to flee from Marawi, Philippines. After the battle, residents struggle to rebuild their homes and lives in a deformed city. The film accompanies its protagonists for two years through fear, worry, and hope, towards a new beginning on their long journey. A House in Pieces was awarded the Golden Hercules Award from the Kasseler Dokfest in Germany in 2020. It was also awarded a grant from the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival where it also screened last year. The film has been screened in other international and local festivals.
YUGTO BY JOANNA REYES, CRISTY LINGA AND JA TURLA
Yugto is a short documentary of the lives of Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shot by various and willing Filipinos during the onset of the country’s General Community Quarantine, it showcases sneak peeks into their struggles, hopes, and transformations.
PARAISONG BACAO BY ADRIAN N. MANAOIS
Paraisong Bacao tells the story of Rafael, a 14-year-old Aeta who lives in a mountainous area that he considers paradise. Even at a young age, he realizes how hard their life situation is. Sitio Bacao in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija was chosen as a resettlement community for more than 1,000 families affected by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991.
LAST DAYS AT SEA BY VENICE ATIENZA
Twelve-year-old Reyboy lives in Karihatag, an isolated fishing village in the south of the Philippines, where every boy grows up to become a fisherman. However, when the first rain falls, Reyboy will leave for the city to study. Nothing seems to happen on the surface. But slowly, the cracks in Reyboy’s paradise start to appear. While the fishermen of Karihatag risk their lives as the yearly storms become increasingly dangerous due to climate change, Reyboy’s goodbye to the only life he has ever known becomes imminent.
MASTERPIECE BY JANUAR YAP AND KRISTOFFER VILLARINO
Inspired by the ceiling paintings of the old churches in Cebu and abroad like the Sistine Chapel, a parish priest in Bantayan Island embarks on his own ceiling painting project of epic proportions with the help of a ragtag bunch of artists on an evangelical mission through visual catechism.
Tickets to Cinemalaya Dokyu section are at Php150.00. Get your tickets at ktx.ph.
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