15th International Silent Film Festival Manila

November 24 – December 3, 2021

FDCPChannel.ph/ISFFM2021

Presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila, the Embassy of Italy with the Philippine Italian Association, the Instituto Cervantes, the British Council in the Philippines, the Goethe-Institut, the Embassy of France, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines

Films

Carceleras

Director: Jose Buchs
Country: Spain
Year: 1922
Length: 67 mins.

November 25 | 3 PM PHT onwards

Music by Pordalab

In a Cordovan farmhouse, Soledad awakens a passion in two men, which will be a source of misfortune for both when Soledad’s boyfriend, in a fit of jealousy, kills his rival in her presence.

Pinocchio

Director: Giulio Antamoro
Country: Italy
Year: 1911
Length: 54 mins.

November 25 | 7 PM PHT onwards

Music by Vidmar-Tiro-Tiro Trio

In occasion of the 140th anniversary of the first appearance of Pinocchio on II giornale per i bambini / The Newspaper for Children, in 1881, the Embassy of Italy and the Philippine Italian Association are happy to present the first known film that brought Collodi’s famous puppet to the screen. According to Filipino film historian Prof. Nick Deocampo, this was the first Italian film commercially screened in the Philippines.

Pinocchio (1911) shares the story of old carpenter Geppetto, whose manufactured wooden puppet comes to life. An enchanting 54-minute silent where Pinocchio will live a thousand and one adventures, including an unforeseen encounter with the Redskins and the Canadian army.

Dr. Wise On Influenza

Country: United Kingdom
Year: 1919
Length: 18 mins.

November 26 | 3 PM PHT onwards

Music by Joee Mejias

Dr Wise is here to advise! As Britain fell under the grip of the Great Influenza of 1918 – 19, the Local Government Board (later the Ministry of Health) commissioned this dramatised public information film. Its hard-hitting message was designed to shock people out of their complacency towards this common illness and take preventative measures, as recommended by Dr Wise.

In 1918-19 a deadly flu ravaged Britain, claiming nearly a quarter of a million lives. At the time of filming around 2,500 people were dying every week in London alone. Look out for some impressive microscopic footage of the deadly microbes in question, as well as some impressive location footage of London’s West End.

Das Wachsfigurenkabinett

Director: Paul Leni
Country: Germany
Year: 1924
Length: 80 mins.

November 26 | 7 PM PHT onwards

Music by La Crema

Show-booth owner employs a young poet to invent stories for the waxwork figures he exhibits. The poet accepts the commission so that he can be close to the owner’s beautiful daughter. Waxworks shows three of these stories, as inserted episodes. “Sultan Harun al Rachid” falls in love with the beautiful wife of a pie-maker, and comic-dramatic intrigues ensue. This is followed by the episode “Ivan the Terrible”. Czar Ivan has conceived a plan whereby his enemy is poisoned by a specially mixed brew; but he becomes obsessed by the fear that he himself will be poisoned and finally goes mad. The episode “Jack the Ripper” is particularly sinister. Real and invented characters whirl around to an eerie rhythm. But this turns out to be the poet’s dream vision – he has fallen asleep while writing – and he wakes up in the arms of his lover.

The Foreman

Director: Georges Champavert
Country: France
Year: 1921
Length: 58 mins.

November 27 | 3 PM PHT onwards

Music by Manila Philharmonic Orchestra

A new Mine engineer neglects the advice of his retired predecessor. The mine risks to be flooded. In spite of the worries of the old experienced foreman, he fails to take the danger seriously. The tunnels are flooded, and the old retiree comes to the rescue. Film restored by the CNC based on elements from the Cinematheque of Toulouse.

雄呂血 Orochi (Serpent)

Director: Futagawa Buntaro
Country: Japan
Year: 1925
Length: 74 mins.

November 27 | 7 PM PHT onwards

Music by Munimuni

This is the most popular and beloved film of Tsumasaburo Bando, featuring the star at the height of his fame. The film tells the story of an honest samurai who falls on hard times due to numerous misunderstandings and the exploiting plots of his enemies.

Orochi is considered the best chanbara (sword-fighting) film in the history of Japanese cinema, which brought about a revolutionary change in the silent chanbara genre. At that time, chanbara fight scenes were characterized by kabuki-style that made them more similar to dance than real fights. Moreover, the performers used exaggerated facial expressions and stilted poses during sword fights. In Orochi, director Futagawa Buntaro and actor Bando Tsumasaburo created action scenes more realistic than before, filming them in fast forward motion.

Music

Pordalab

Film: Carceleras
Length: 67 Mins.

Opening/Premiere
November 25 | 3 PM PHT onwards
On Demand November 28-29

“Banda ng mangingibig at umiibig sa bayan!” (A band overflowing with love for country and humanity) In a phrase, that is what Pordalab and their music is all about. An award-winning group composed of Karl Ramirez, Boogs Villareal, Burn Belacho, Jojo Mangulabnan, Pedro Magat, and Kyle De Leon. Versatile and persistent, Pordalab continues to create music even with the current challenge of the pandemic affecting the entertainment industry in the Philippines.

Vidmar-Tiro-Tiro Trio

Film: Pinocchio
Length: 67 mins.

Opening/Premiere
November 25 | 7 PM PHT onwards

The Vidmar-Tiro-Tiro Trio was formulated for this special occasion, it includes Tullio Vidmar- an Italian violinist and laureate in the Conservatorio of Music at Giuseppe Tartini di Trieste; Nino Cesar Tiro- a Filipino pianist who has been an accompanist for various groups and organizations; and Ena Marie Tiro-a Filipina sound-mixer and sound-engineer. They are based in Cagayan de Oro, where they have shared their passion for music by teaching young and aspiring musicians at the Liceo de Cagayan University Conservatory of Music, Theater, and Dance. They alone have composed a 54-minute original soundtrack inclusive of violin and piano, where Ena Tiro’s talent expands it into an entire orchestra. Thanks to them, the classic silent film, Pinocchio (7977), finds a new, modern, but always classic voice. Join us as we celebrate the craftsmanship of a classic film coupled with today’s brilliant artisans!

Joee Mejias

Film: Dr. Wise On Influenza
Length: 18 mins.

November 26 | 3 PM PHT onwards

Joee Mejias is an audio-visual artist and musician from Manila, Philippines.

She performs under several monikers: mangocurry, Sister Joyce, and Joee & I, a collaborative avant-pop music project where she combines field recordings, traditional and found instruments, electronics, and voice, forming songs that evoke inner memories, altered dream states, and fragments of real or imaginary journey. Joee’s live performances are influenced by her theatre background, and vary in their use of projections, video, installations, and live performers.

Joee has performed in venues around Southeast Asia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and has toured the Philippines extensively. She was co-producer of WSK: Festival Of The Recently Possible, an international festival of digital arts and electronic music in the Philippines, and co-founder of HERESY, a platform for women in sound and multimedia. She is also a faculty member in De La Salle-College of St. Benilde where she is an alumna of the Production Design program.

La Crema

Film: Das Wachsfigurenkabinett
Length: 80 mins.

November 26 | 7 PM PHT onwards

Armed with an immersive, multi-dimensional, genre-bending sound, La Crema is on a path to spread energy, madness, and high voltage rock and roll to the world! Started up in 2018, the band has been able to infect audiences all around Metro Manila and its surrounding islands through their live performances and tours.

La Crema’s scoring of the classic silent film DAS WACHSFIGURENKABINET is the manifestation of the film’s eerie and comical nature. Amidst the pandemic, the Manila-based psychedelic rock band was able to put together an experimental piece that shows the importance of the convergence of music and film.

Arranged and Recorded by La Crema:
Gabe Dandan, Alex Price, Lucas Floyd, Migui Bautista, Giro Alva, Raph Galvez

Mixed by:
Gabriel Dandan, Migui Bautista, Raphael Galvez

Mastered by:
Gabriel Dandan

w/ additional vocals from:
Carl Arcilla, Aira Ascano

Manila Philharmonic Orchestra

Film: The Foreman
Length: 58 mins.

November 27 | 3 PM PHT onwards

The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the Philippines versatile orchestras, both in its breadth of repertoire styles and its flexibility of size as a full symphony or chamber orchestra. Founded in 1998, MPO has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras inthe country through over a decade of well-applauded live performances, records, tours and innovative programs of bringing the orchestra closer to the communities. The strong backbone of MPO is its solid passion for music.
Maestro Rodel Colmenar who worked with the late French conductor Michel Legrand on his last concert in the Philippines, was inspired to compose and arrange music for the French silent film this year, and gathered talented musicians from the Orchestra to form a chamber group composed of Maria Liza Lopez Tarang on violin, Roberto Tarang on flute, Nino Lorin on cello, and himself om piano and keyboard.

Munimuni

Film: Orochi (Serpent)
Length: 74 mins.

November 27 | 7 PM PHT onwards

Munimuni is a band that speaks about the realities of life—troubles, failures, and heartbreaks included—and of an enduring hope for the future.

In 2012, Munimuni started creating music together in the University of the Philippines Diliman. Building on the folk pop genre with each member’s diverse individual musical influences, they developed their own distinct sound and songwriting that came to be known to fans as Makata Pop.

The band’s music was first made available to the wider public when, in 2017, they released their aptly named debut EP Simula, which features six tracks that form a sonic narrative centered on life’s highs and lows. They followed this up in 2018 with singles Tahanan, Oras, and Ka lachuchi, all of which became part of their first full-length album Kulayan Natin in 2019. The 11-track release is highlighted by an expansion of the band’s sound and lyrical imagery, pointing towards the diversity of experiences behind the collection of songs. At the onset of the lockdown in 2020, they released a home-recorded EP entitled mga kantang isinulat mag-isa, three songs which draw strongly from the context of being and living in a pandemic. After a seven-month hiatus, the band made their comeback in June 2021 with Maligaya, a song that evokes a nostalgia of the bittersweet kind. Shortly after, they collaborated with Ben&Ben for a song on healing entitled Sugat.

Panel Discussions

How to See a Silent Film

November 25 | 5 PM PHT

Experts from Italy, Spain, and Japan will provide you with the keys that will open the silent world! Join us as we discover How to See a Silent Movie.

ANDREA MENEGHELLI
Curator of the film collection at the Cineteca di Bologna (Italy)

CARLOS VALMASEDA
Researcher on early Spanish and Russian cinemas (Spain)

NANAKO YAMAUCHI
Female Benshi (Japan)

JAY WEISSBERG
Artistic director of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto di Pordenone Pordenone Silent Film Festival (Italy)

Moderated by:
DAVID FABROS
Film Director and Chief of Staff of FDCP

Restoration and Archive of Silent Films

November 26 | 5 PM PHT

Experts from Germany, France, UK, and the Philippines discuss different ways – traditional and contemporary – of safeguarding the historical and cultural significance of silent films and film archives in today’s context. Through the session we will explore how film restoration and the convergence of cinema, archive and music can lead to creative ways to interact with new audiences.