40th Hawai’i International Film Festival: Films from/featuring Southeast Asia
Screening begins Thursday, November 05 8:00 AM. More info: https://hiff.org/
Thailand 2020 | 13 min.
Directed by: Champ Ensminger
Languages: Thai, with English subtitles
Ninlawan Pinyo is the matriarch of a Thai American family, who hustled for her fortune by founding a naem (pork sausage) factory in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam 2020 | 93 min.
Directed by: Anysay Keola, Sai Naw Kham, Pham Ngoc Lan, Kulikar Sotho, Anocha Suwichakornpong
Languages: Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, Thai, Vietnamese, with English subtitles
MEKONG 2030 is an anthology of five short films from emerging directors imagining the future of one of the world’s most important river systems. Although each chapter is unique, showcasing the talents of different directors and crossing from stories of post-apocalyptic survival to cinematic poetry, they fit together to form a rousing story of survival, family and ecological disconnection from one of the most exciting filmmaking regions in the world. Timely, imaginative and creatively daring, MEKONG 2030 is a rousing call for sustainability, and a calling card for the rousing stars of Southeast Asian cinema.
Synopsis written by: Duncan Caillard
Philippines, United States 2020 | 99 min.
Directed by: Raya Martin
Languages: Tagalog, with English subtitles
Despite an impending volcanic eruption, young Paolo’s mind is worried about other things, such as video games, basketball, and hanging out with his friends. However, when he develops a crush with heartthrob Shiara, he realizes all that is just child’s play. He has to level up and prove that he is a real man. This charming homage to growing up in the Philippines in the early 1990s was written by Valerie Castillo Martinez and masterfully directed by Raya Martin. Together, they meticulously recreated the colorful, pop culture world of 90s adolescence. But whether you grew up during that time or not, DEATH OF NINTENDO is a charming and earnest film about growing up and finding oneself.
Synopsis written by: Adrian Alarilla
TO CALM THE PIG INSIDE Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos
Philippines 2020 | 19 min.
Directed by: Joanna Vasquez Arong
Languages: Tagalog, with English subtitles
TO CALM THE PIG INSIDE is a contemplation on the effects a typhoon leaves on a seaside city. Myths are woven in to try to understand how people cope with the devastation and trauma. A girl divulges bits and pieces of her own memory of her grandmother and mother to tie in the experiences she felt visiting this ravaged port city.