Several Philippine movies are joining this year's Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival (BAFF), with three entries making it to the Short Film Competition and two more entering the Southeast Asian Project Pitch or SEAPITCH.
Sonny Calvento's "Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss," Carla Pulido Ocampo's “Tokwifi” or “Star,” and Joanna Vasquez Arong's "To Calm The Pig Inside" will vie against 12 entries from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Myanmar for Short.
While "Mother Maybe" and "R.A. 8491 Or How We Recall Lost Memories In Transit" are among the eight feature-length projects selected to participate in the first edition of SEAPITCH.
According to the social media account of the film festival, the director and producer of the SEAPITCH entries will join two sessions of an online workshop on project presentation with international experts to prepare for an online pitching session with the jury comprising internationally renowned film professionals. Three prizes will be awarded.
"Mother Maybe" is about a Filipina mother who has been missing for 10 years, then resurfaces as a contestant of a popular Japanese reality game show "It's Hard To Be A Mama." In order to accomplish the final task for the competition, she finally goes home to her family in the Philippines to prove her worth as the best mother in the world. It's under the direction of Sonny Calvento while Arden Rod Condez and Sheron Dayoc as producers.
"R.A. 8491 Or How We Recall Lost Memories In Transit," on the other hand, revolves around three different stories that delve into the idea of a post-tokhang Philippines wherein a struggling teenager growing up after her father gets killed, a mother who is looking for a revenge for her murdered son and a retired police office looking for one last act of redemption. Austin Tan sits as the director while Stelle Laguda on producer's hat.
For ASEAN Short Film, "Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss" tells the story of a salesgirl who discovers the ultimate secret to regularization; "Star" is inspired by a Bontok Igorot folklore; and "To Calm The Pig Inside" is a contemplative film that ponders the effects a Hurricane Yolanda, which was an incredibly powerful storm that devastated the Philippines in November 2013.
Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2020, organized by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, aims to promote the film of Southeast Asia to acquire a more prominent status in the international film community and to foster a co-operation between the regional film industry and other film industries around the world.
The 6th edition of the festival will take place from Sept. 3 to 6.