ASEAN CLASSIC

Itim (The Rites of May)

Itim (The Rites of May)

Director: Mike De Leon

Country: The Philippines

Year: 1976

Running Time: 107 minutes

Producer: Severino Manotok Jr.

Starring: Tommy Abuel, Charo Santos, Mario Montenegro, Mona Lisa

Synopsis:

A Filipino classic from the director Mike De Leon, “Itim” is part ghost story, part family drama, and part an examination of cultural and religious obsessions. The film tells the story of a photographer who returns to his rural hometown to visit his father, a retired doctor who became paralyzed after a car accident. There, the man is haunted by the secret of his clan as he begins a friendship with a local girl, a mysterious and beautiful Teresa. The 1976 film has recently been restored and premiered at Cannes Classics in 2022.

Director’s Biography:

Mike De Leon is one of the most respected Filipino filmmakers of his generation. Born in 1947, he made his first feature-length film “Itim” in 1976, and in 1981, scored a stunning feat of having two films selected by Director’s Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival, “In the Blink of an Eye” and “Batch ’81”. De Leon also served as the cinematographer and producer of one of the best-known Filipino classics, “Manila in the Claws of Light” (1975), directed by Lino Brocka.

Thamp (The Circus Tent)

Thamp (The Circus Tent)

Director: Aravindan Govindan

Country: India

Year: 1978

Running Time 129 minutes

Producer: K. Ravindranathan Nair

Starring: Nedumudi Venu, Jalaja, V. K. Sreeraman, Bharath Gopi

Synopsis:

A circus arrives at a remote Indian village, and soon the villagers gather and watch transfixed, as if in a prolonged trance, the mesmerizing performances by men, girls and animals. The pathos of circus life and the awe of the spectators are deeply observed and portrayed in an unforgettable black-and-white imagery. Aravindan Govindan’s “Thamp” combines austere documentary style with intimate observation to explore the poignancy of human relationships and the rootlessness of the marginalized.

“Restored by Film Heritage Foundation, The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna at Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd’s Post – Studios, Chennai and L’Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory in Bologna, and in association with Producer K. Ravindranathan Nair of General Pictures, and the family of Aravindan Govindan.”

Thamp was restored using the best surviving element: a Dupe Negative struck from a 35mm print preserved at the National Film Archive of India. A second 35mm print with English subtitles was used as a reference.

Funding supported by Prasad Corporation Pvt. Ltd. and Film Heritage Foundation.

Director’s Biography:

Aravindan Govindan is an Indian filmmaker and artist from the state of Kerala. With a deep interest in philosophy and the mystical, Aravindan lived through the cultural awakening in the 1970s and expresses the layers and austere sophistication of Indian culture through various means, from cinema, theater, music and paintings. He made 10 feature films, 10 documentary films, and many more paintings and music pieces. “Thamp” (1978), which takes place almost entirely in a circus tent, is one of his best-known films.

คนจร ฯลฯ Konjorn

คนจร ฯลฯ Konjorn

Director: Attaporn Thaihirun

Country:Thailand

Year: 1999

Running Time: 89 minutes

Producer: -

Starring: Chatchai Plengpanich, Ray MacDonald, Ramavadi Nakchattri

Synopsis:

Ray McDonald plays Daeng, a homeless man traumatized by the death of his family. One day, Daeng witnesses a crime that involves migrant workers who used to work for a rich Thai-Chinese family. Inducted into Thailand’s National Audiovisual Heritage in 2012, “Konjorn” (translated as vagabond) is a pioneer of Thai independent filmmaking, a brash, fearless experiment in form and story that has withstood the test of time.

Director’s Biography:

Attaporn was born on December 24, 1968. He was a teen actor appearing in major films such as “Nampu” (1984) and “Butterfly and Flower” (1985). He was born in a filmmaking family and raised by his mother, Yuwadee Thaihirun, a prolific film and TV producers. “Konjorn” is Attaporn’s first film as writer-director, released in 1999 and considered one of Thailand’s first independent films. The film’s audacious camera movement and bold, experimental spirit have stood the test of time and still excites a new generation of spectators. Attaporn passed away in 2012.