Asia On Screen Film Festival 2015

Friday, May 8

Shang Cineplex
Shangrila Mall, Mandaluyong

A cinematic feast featuring award-winning Asian films comes to Shangri-La Plaza with Asia On Screen 2015. The premiere Asian film festival, which will run at the Shang Cineplex from May 8 to 12, is presented by Asia Society Philippines and Security Bank, in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Shangri-La Plaza.

Thirteen (13) films from across Asia are set to delight film enthusiasts this year, with works from Australia, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, China, and the Philippines in the roster.

Fronting the line-up is Iran’s A Separation, which won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. It tells the story of husband and wife Nader and Simin, who are divided on important decisions for their family. The arguments leave them with no choice but to divorce, and the conflicts that arise following their separation lead to far greater consequences than any of them imagined.

South Korea joins the festival with two films, first of which is Confessions of Murder. At the center of the action thriller is a police officer who returns to chasing a serial killer he failed to capture 15 years ago following the publishing of a novel claiming responsibility for the serial killer’s crimes. The second South Korean film, All About My Wife, is a romantic comedy about a husband who hires a “seduction expert” to seduce his wife into divorcing him after he gets tired of her complaining and nagging.

Two Chinese flicks are also in the line-up, starting with Back to 1942. A historical film that puts to fore the 1942 famine that devastated China’s Henan province, Back to 1942 chronicles the journeys of Master Fan and his family as they struggle to survive the famine and China’s war with Japan. Meanwhile, Ocean Heaven stars action hero Jet Li in his first full drama role. The heart-warming drama tells the story of aquarium worker Xue Chang and his struggles as he raises his 21-year-old autistic son on his own and the lasting ties that bind him and his son.

A boy believed to bring bad luck to everyone is the main protagonist of Australia’s The Rocket. After leading his family and two friends in a calamity-filled but successful journey to Laos to find a new home, the boy proves that he’s not bad luck by building a giant rocket and entering the most exciting and dangerous competition of the year: the Rocket Festival. Bollywood also joins this fest with Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars On Earth) starring India’s superstar Aamir Khan. Exploring the condition of dyslexia among kids, the movie follows a boy and his new art teacher who sees beyond the boy’s lazy and troublesome ways.

Another must-watch is Japan’s Like Father, Like Son, which won the Jury Prize and was nominated for the Palme d’Or in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Like Father, Like Son chronicles Ryota Nonomiya’s choice between his biological son and the son he has raised after he finds out that they were switched at birth. Meanwhile, a love story unfolds in Indonesia’s Sang Penari (The Dancer). The film’s heroes are Rasus and gifted dancer Srintil who fall in love in their teenage years. Cultural and political forces have threated to separate them and the question remains – will their great love survive?

The Philippines also presents two of its finest works starting with Mariquina. The movie, which first made waves at the 2014 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, tells the story of Imelda and her journey to understanding her father Romeo’s past following his death. The rise, fall, and revival of Marikina’s shoemaking industry is also unravelled along with Imelda and her father’s story, and the film also features the rare cinematic appearance of former first lady and known patron of shoes Imelda Marcos.

The second Filipino film on the list is Niño, another Cinemalaya product that features an ensemble cast including Fides Cuyugan-Asensio, Tony Mabesa, Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino, Art Acuña, and Raquel Villavicencio. The film takes off after the family’s economic plight moves them to sell their ancestral home and explores love-hate relations in extended families.

“As the home of the country’s premier film festivals, the Shang is proud to present Asia On Screen 2015. This is a great showcase of Asia’s arts and culture and we are excited to bring this to moviegoers who are looking to explore the rich cinematic offerings of Asia through films that affect, move, and inspire,” says Shangri-La Plaza Executive Vice President and General Manager Lala Fojas.

Tickets for Asia On Screen 2015 will be available at the Shang Cineplex at Php 100 per screening. Asia On Screen 2015 is co-presented by Security Bank and sponsored by Uber and the Bank of Philippine Islands. The festival is supported by the embassies of Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and China and media partners Malaya Business Insight, CNN Philippines, Business Mirror, DZAR 1026 SMNI Radio, ANC, Travelife, When In Manila and Coconuts Manila.