Upcoming SIFF films you don’t want to miss!2 min read

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We’ve put together a few of the SIFF film highlights happening over the next few days here at Sinema.  One notable film you’d want to catch is Cameroon Love Letter, which will feature a live piano accompaniment by director Khavn De La Cruz!

Sanglaan (The Pawnshop) – PG

20 April, 7.00pm

The pawnshop is a vital part of Filipino life, so important that there are over 16,000 pawnshops in the Philippines.

An owner and her appraiser, the security guard, a seaman and a loan shark are among the characters we meet at Olivia’s Pawnshop, a small fledgling pawnshop in the heart of Tondo in Manila. This pawnshop is not only their place of refuge, but also a metaphor for their cherished hopes and dreams.

The producer, Gay Ace Domingo, will be on hand to conduct a Q & A session after the screening.

Unreal Forest – PG

21 April, 7.00pm

A documentary-style film which shows Zambian independent filmmakers working hard to finish a film under severe limitations in terms of filmmaking resources as well as their own cinematic expertise. They have to make this film from the story written by Thai filmmakers-a process set up by Dutch project initiators looking to discover new cinematic gems from Africa.

Through the process of the film-making, viewers are taken on a journey through the ancient folklores and Zambian filmmakers’ struggles, tracing back to the historical roots connecting Africa and Asia in a way never-before-imagined.

“˜Unreal Forest’ is one in a series of 13 new films commissioned by the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and shot in Africa by Asian and Western directors working with local directors. This series, titled “˜Forget Africa’, is part of the 2010 IFFR’s “˜Where Is Africa’ programme curated by Gertjan Zuilhof.

The director, Jakrawal Nilthamrong, will be on hand to conduct a Q & A session after the screening.

Cameroon Love Letter (For Solo Piano) – M18

21 April, 9.15pm

Musical and experimental filmmaker Khavn noticed that Filipino filmmakers are highly regarded in Cameroon-thanks to a popular Filipino soap series. He was grateful to exploit this as he made his portrait of this country. And he also wrote some real “˜soap’ into his story.

“˜Cameroon Love Letter (For Solo Piano)’ is one in a series of 13 films commissioned by the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and shot in Africa by Asian and Western directors working with local directors. This series, titled “˜Forget Africa’, is part of the 2010 IFFR’s “˜Where Is Africa’ programme curated by Gertjan Zuilhof.

The director, Khavn De La Cruz, will be at the screening to play the piano as a musical accompinent to the film.