New Westminster, B.C.
Organizers bring indie movies to celebrate culture, heritage
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
The Filipino Indie Film Festival rolls out today in celebration of Philippine Heritage Month in Canada.
In British Columbia, Filipino films will be featured at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster starting at 12 noon.
The first featured film is Oras de Peligro, which stars the multi-awarded Cherry Pie Picache and Allen Dixon. It was directed by Joel Lamangan.
The movie tells about a family’s struggles parallel to the events building up to the EDSA Revolution in February 1986. The movie will bring back those valuable memories and a good way to expose young Filipinos of this historic event through a movie.
The other movies that will be shown today are:
- Pedro Calungsod Batang Martir Starring Rocco Nacino, Christian Vasquez, Jestoni Alarcon
Written, directed and produced by Francis Villacorta, Pedro Calungsod brings to the screen the short yet meaningful life of the young Visayan saint whose recent canonization by Pope Benedict XVI had made him the second Filipino saint to follow after San Lorenzo Ruiz.
- Aria starting Liya Sarmiento and Jay Garcia and directed by Carlo Catu
Carlo Catu’s Aria is a drama set during several decades when the Hukbalahap was formed out of the efforts of the labor movement, which had to evolve because of the invasion of the Japanese.
- Tanabata’s Wife staring Miyuki Kamimura and Mai Fanglayan and directed by Charlson Ong, Lito Casajen and Choi Pangilinan
The film is based on the classic Philippine short story “Tanabata’s Wife”, set in the 1920’s. Tanabata-San is a successful Japanese immigrant farmer in La Trinidad Valley in Benguet, where the Japanese have been known to pioneer the planting of salad greens. Middle-aged and lonely, he hires a young feisty Bontoc woman, Fasang, as farmhand, and falls in love with her. They get married and have a son, but Fasang is attracted to the city lights of Baguio that is now taking shape, and to someone else.
- Love is Love starring JC de Vera, Roxanne Barcelo and Raymond Bagatsing and directed by GB Sampedro
It is a romantic comedy that will bring in a lot of surprises.
Treenee Lopez, founder and chair of the Global Pinoy Diaspora Canada, is encouraging Filipino-Canadians to watch these Filipino films to promote Filipino heritage and culture.
Tickets are at $15 for each movie and the theatre opens at 11:30 a.m. today.