4. Tokwifi
Written and directed by Carla Pulido Ocampo
‘Tokwifi’ is a love story between an Igorot man and a woman trapped in a television that fell from the sky. This wonderfully surreal film sets against the backdrop of the rice terraces in the Mountain Province is a wonderful study of contrasts. With beautiful cinematography by Lester Valle, director Carla Pulido Ocampo manages to captivate the audience with this intimate story between one of our indiginous culture and its collision with our modern world, with its flair for dramatics and our affinity to capitalism.
There are wonderful performances here from Kurt ‘Ayeo-eo’ Lumbag Alalag as Limmayug and Adrienne Vergara as the woman in the television. While Lumbag Alalag has to act with a television, Vergara is quintessentially acting on her own and Ocampo has to direct them that they are in synch with each other and the entire scene is magical.
But more than a gimmick, the narrative not only explores this collision but also creates a beautiful moment about the transformative power of love and then, in its epilogue, grounds the film again with the effects of that collision. It’s a brilliant film that maximizes its less than 20 minute running time and is one of the most moving short films I’ve ever seen.
5. Quing Lalam Ning Aldo
Directed by Reeden Fajardo
Written by Penelope Jones
Set in a sampaguita farm in Pampanga, ‘Quing Lalam Ning Aldo’ is the story of Budang, the gay farm owner who is eagerly awaiting for his son’s return from Canada. The story is very simple, as news of his son’s return sends Budang and his friend Georgia to find a native chicken to prepare for Janjan’s return.
The script is weak, with much of the dialogue written awkwardly to deliver information to the audience than it being organic to the situation. And as a comedy, the jokes don’t always land and sometimes are extended just a tad longer than comfortable. But what this film has is a lot of heart.
There is so much love for these characters and this situation of a gay dad waiting anxiously for his son to come home. It is beautifully shot by Mel Cobrador, with the framing of each scene making this simple film so much larger than it is. Because, this film is not just about Budang (played with a lot of wonderful earnestness by Jeff ‘Budang’ Gando) but it also circles back into the land.
Unfortunately, this cycle is done through dialogue rather than dramatized through scenes and it could have been longer than its 12-minute running time to really expand the character of Budang more. But the sincerity and love of the director shines through and maybe with a better script, ‘Quing Lalam Ning Aldo’ could be fully realised.
