Movies You Need to Watch Before 2020 is Over

By: Lou Maningas Cabalona

 

Have you already seen the Disney Christmas advertisement with Lola and her granddaughter online?

Within 7 hours of its release, Disney’s “Our Family To Yours” three minute ad highlighting the Filipino tradition of parol(lantern)- making that connects the two characters through the years, hit close to 3.2 million views and over 172,000 shares on Facebook.

Director Angela Affi nita, who was also responsible for the short’s original concept, says she drew on her own experiences growing up with her Filipina grandmother.

More and more, we are seeing Filipino stories come to light in fi lm – whether full features, documentaries, or shorts – through creatives behind the scenes that push for them.

I had the opportunity to meet and chat with some of these Filipino American trailblazers during a panel discussion I co-moderated as part of a closing event for FilAm History Month last October 30.

Jhett Tolentino, a three-time Tony and Grammy award winning Producer who is now transitioning to fi lm talked about how realizing he’s only produced one play that is Filipino, made him shift his business model to champion the Filipino story. He eventually dropped other projects to produce Lingua Franca which was written and directed by a Cebu-native transgender woman, Isabel Sandoval.

“Right now is an amazing time for Filipino American Cinema” says, PJ Raval, a queer, fi rst generation Filipinx American fi lmmaker who won the 2020 “Excellence in Documentary” from the NLGJA Awards for his fi lm Call Her Ganda. The accomplished cinematographer and director adds, “We are at a moment now where the creators are wanting to tell their stories and fi nding ways to collaborate with other people to make that happen.”

Last month, groundbreaking fi lm Yellow Rose, came out in theaters across the USA despite the pandemic. The fi lm’s director Diane Paragas and its producers, led by Cecilia R. Mejia, felt it was important for the movie to bring Filipino representation on the silver screen through its lead character, an undocumented Filipina singer played by Eva Noblezada.

“This feels like more than just a moment for Filipino American stories. It feels like a movement, a long time coming movement” Mejia shares in a pre-recorded message for viewers. “We just need to keep supporting each other, sharing our work. It’s the best thing we can do, and really, spread the word about our stories.”

During the panel, Raval explains how the industry functions on what movie outfi ts believe will be sellable so he encourages everyone to go see any and all fi lms made about or with Filipinos to show that there is an audience for it.

However, there is a deeper signifi cance in supporting our fi lms beyond just wanting to see “more of us” on screen. According to Raval, “Film is one of the most powerful mediums; It’s one of the most powerful tools that we have because it’s (one’s) entry point to empathy”.

In that way, fi lms can have a huge social impact and bring about social change because it allows someone to understand another person’s experience – something we need in this time of growing racial tension and anti-Asian sentiment in the country.

I am excited to see a lot of Filipino American fi lms coming out right now. I am glad that our storytellers are magnifying our presence in the world stage and opening conversations that need to be had.

This is by no means comprehensive but it’s a good start on your list of FilAm Films to Watch Now!

I hope you would join this movement, our movement to help uplift our Films and our modern day Filipino American story tellers.

Lingua Franca (2020)

Olivia (Isabel Sandoval), an undocumented Filipino transwoman, works as a caregiver to Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. When Olivia runs out of options to attain legal status in the US, she becomes romantically involved with Alex (Eamon Farren), Olga’s adult grandson, in the pursuit of a marriage-based green card. Where to watch: Netfl ix

Call Her Ganda (2018)

When Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman, is brutally murdered by a U.S. Marine, three women intimately invested in the case–an activist attorney (Virgie Suarez), a transgender journalist (Meredith Talusan) and Jennifer’s mother (Julita “Nanay” Laude)–galvanize a political uprising, pursuing justice and taking on hardened histories of US imperialism. Directed by PJ Raval, the fi lm follows Talusan in her investigation of Laude’s death and revolutionary court case that ended in the fi rst American soldier, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, convicted of a crime in the Philippines without being overturned. Where to watch: Amazon Prime Videos and www.yellowrosefi lm.com

Yellow Rose (2020)

A Filipina teen from a small Texas town fi ghts to pursue her dreams as a country music performer while having to decide between staying with her family or leaving the only home she has known. Starring Broadway stars Eva Noblezada and Lea Salonga and Philippine Actress Princess Punzalan directed by Diane Paragas. Where to watch: Theaters and www.yellowrosefi lm.com

A Thousand Cuts (2020)

Nowhere is the worldwide erosion of democracy, fueled by social media disinformation campaigns, more starkly evident than in the authoritarian regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Journalist Maria Ressa places the tools of the free press—and her freedom—on the line in defense of truth and democracy. Produced, written and directed by Ramona S. Diaz (IMELDA, MOTHERLAND). Where to watch: www.athousandcuts.fi lm/ watch-screenings.

BASURERO (2019)

‘BASURERO’ is short fi lm (17 minutes) about Bong, a Filipino fi sherman, working in an urban fi shing village on the outskirts of Manila. Desperate for cash, Bong dumps bodies into the ocean for the drug war’s faceless vigilantes. The story follows Bong after he disposes of the “trash.” He wrestles with guilt and tension rises when the killings’ hit close to home after he discovers his neighbor has been murdered for selling shabu (crystal meth). Basurero stars Filipino Actor Jericho Rosales and written and directed by Eileen Cabiling. Where to watch: facebook.com/basurerofi lm

ABC 7 Chicago’s Cate Cauguiran and Louella Cabalona host: the online screening of Lingua Franca via Netfl ix Party last Oct 30, the closing event for FilAm History Month 2020

Cecilia R. Mejia, Lead Producer of the movie Yellow Rose opens the panel discussion on Filipino American fi lms today, during the Lingua Franca Netfl ix Party event.

Post screening panel discussion with guests Broadway and Film producer Jhett Tolentino, Director PJ Raval and Filipino Actor and Playwright Joel Trinidad moderated by Huff Post’s Leezel Tanglao and fellow FYLPRO Alumni Louella Cabalona.

Isabel Sandoval, Writer and Director of Lingua Franca send her greetings to everyone attending the event

Fellow Filipino American Broadway stars, Eva Noblezada and Lea Salonga in “Yellow Rose.” (Photo: August Th urmer)

Offi cial Poster: Call Her Ganda and Lingua Franca