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| The Loboc Children's Choir performed on opening night of the ASEAN FilmFest |
Four outstanding movies
from the Philippines are featured in this year’s ASEAN Film Festival, with one
of them, Song of the Fireflies, making
it as the opening film for the yearly event.
The internationally
renowned Loboc Children’s Choir, on which the film revolves, was also flown in
for a post-screening concert at the Hong Kong Palace Theatre in West Kowloon on
Aug. 20, before a diverse crowd of ASEAN diplomats, film buffs and FilmFest
executives.
After their concert,
the young singers were joined onstage by their founder and music trainer Alma
Taldo, whose struggles to form the choir and help it navigate the tough series
of choral competitions across the Philippines, served as an inspiration for the
movie.
Together they received
a plaque of appreciation from the Hong Kong-ASEAN Foundation and the Philippine
Consulate General led by Consul General Romulo D. Israel, Jr.
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| Still from Leonor Will Never Die |
Also making it to the
list was Leonor Will Never Die, an
imaginative debut feature by a multi-awarded filmmaker Martika Ramirez Escobar.
The film described as “vibrant
love letter to the golden age of Philippine cinema,” was shown twice at M Theatre
in West Kowloon: the first on August 23, and the second a week later, on August
30, which also featured a post-screening talk by Escobar.
Leonor Will Never Die won the Special Jury Award
for Innovative Spirit at the Sundance Film Festival.
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| Boses tells the story of a young abused boy who regains his voice through music |
Soon to be shown is the third movie on the list, Boses, which shows the universal healing
power of music. It tells the story of Onyok, a mute seven-year-old boy who
regains his voice and heals his trauma from abuse through violin lessons given
by a reclusive musician named Ariel.
This Cinemalaya movie has won wide acclaim, and swept almost
all major awards at the Golden Screen Awards in 2009, including Best Director
for Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, Best Motion Picture for Drama, Best Editing, Best
Musical Score, Best Original Screenplay and Best Breakthrough Performance By An
Actor for Julian Duque, who played Onyok.
As an added
bonus, Ongkeko-Marfil and one of the film’s co-writers Froi Medina will join a
talkback after the Boses screening
set for September 12, 3pm onwards, at the Emperor Cinema at iSquare in Tsim Sha
Tsui.
Renowned
Filipino violinist Coke Bolipata, who plays the role of Ariel in the movie,
will also do a mini-concert with four of his young musical talents after the
screening.
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| Unmarry is about a couple who goes through annulment then realize they can still be friends |
Last on the list
is Unmarry, a 2025 movie directed by Jeffrey Jeturian, one of the most awarded
independent filmmakers in the Philippines today.
The movie starring Angelica
Panganiban and Zanjoe Marudo,
revolves around a couple who goes through the process of annulling their
marriage and discussing custody of their three children. During a series of
meetings and hearings they formed a bond that raises the possibility of finding
a new chance at love.
The movie will be
screened at Emperor Cinema at Entertaiment Building in Central on September 20.
The ASEAN FilmFest 2026 which runs from August 20 to September 27, features more than 30 carefully selected movies from 11 ASEAN members, as well as Hong Kong, China, Australia, Pakistan and Russia, all shown to the public for free. This is the biggest lineup since the festival's inception.
This year's featured films include for the first time one from Timor-Leste, ASEAN's newest member.
