Rising hopes of a revival in Filipino cinema
Filipino cinema made a resounding statement at this year's Cannes Film Festival, signalling a potential return to the global stage for a country with a rich, yet often overlooked, cinematic history. Five Filipino-produced films graced the Croisette, including acclaimed director
Lav Diaz's feature-length production Magellan , Japanese co-production Renoir, and short films Bleat! and Ali.
Advertisement
The festival marked a historic moment for Filipina filmmakers. Kyla Danelle Romero became the first Filipina filmmaker to compete for
the Palme d'Or in the 'Short Films in Competition' section with her 15-minute film Agapito, a poignant story about an impoverished family working as pin-setters in an old bowling alley. Her director of photography, Geia de Vera, also made a statement as one of the first Filipina cinematographers featured in the same category.
The news is a welcome sign that Filipino cinema may be ready to make an international comeback and shows 'a renewed interest in what artists from this side of the world have to offer in terms of cinematic storytelling,' according to Anne Frances Sangil, associate professor at De La Salle University.
While Filipino films may not boast the same global renown as those from regional powerhouses
such as Japan or South Korea, the country has long enjoyed 'a definitive, strong national cinema,' declares Sangil. During its 1950s heyday, the local film industry produced hundreds of films. The very best received international acclaim – Manuel Conde's Genghis Khan earned a technical achievement citation at the 1952 Venice Film Festival.
Despite its lack of overseas influence, Filipino cinema has been quietly flourishing domestically for some time.
Advertisement
'The new era of Filipino cinema began long ago, with the coming of the New Wave [around the millennium],' says Parichay Patra, a film critic, academic and co-editor of Sine Ni Lav Diaz, the first book-length study of Lav Diaz. 'With more dedicated festivals, short and independent works, it could acquire more visibility on the international scene.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
4 must-see Hong Kong art exhibitions this summer
Ailsa Wong: 1 Ailsa Wong's Lightning (2025). Photo: De Sarthe In her solo exhibition '1', Hong Kong-based artist Ailsa Wong imagines a shared sentient body – a single organism made up of many, not unlike an ant colony where every role is vital to the whole. This idea takes form in an immersive, cave-like environment filled with moving sculptures, interactive video games, a mechanical sound installation and mixed-media works that speak to the diversity of her practice. De Sarthe, 26/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang, until July 26. Robert Ryman Classico 6 (1968) by Robert Ryman. Photo: courtesy Robert Ryman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York The late American artist's first solo show in China presents works from the 1960s to the 2000s across two floors of David Zwirner . Known for his use of white paint, Robert Ryman treated the medium not as absence but as inquiry as he tested how surface, scale, material and even fasteners shape a painting's relationship to its space.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Global Labubu craze reflects China's creative and consumption ambitions
Who could have predicted the meteoric rise of the Labubu doll , which has gained cult status globally after capturing hearts in China? At a recent Beijing auction, a Labubu figurine sold for over 1 million yuan (US$139,350), cementing its place as a pop culture phenomenon. The global craze may prove fleeting. But the significance of the Labubu phenomenon lies in what it reveals about China's consumer culture as it evolves to become more expressive, brand-savvy and globally influential. No longer driven solely by price or practicality, Chinese consumers, especially Generation Z, seek something more meaningful: emotional resonance, personal identity and joy. This shift is reshaping how brands connect and elevating storytelling, design and cultural relevance as key drivers of value. The last Singles' Day shopping festival revealed a surge in spending on toys and collectibles, particularly those linked to popular games and animated series. In China, this phenomenon is known as 'IP consumption': where consumers engage emotionally with intellectual property, not just as fans but also as collectors and lifestyle participants. More than a fleeting trend or impulse buying, it signals a deeper cultural and psychological shift – one closely tied to broader economic changes. For decades, China's economic growth was powered by a massive investment in manufacturing . As companies raced to cut costs rather than innovate, the result was a marketplace where function and price reigned supreme, with emotional appeal often an afterthought.
South China Morning Post
18 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How Hong Kong culinary icon Chua Lam inspired a generation to explore the world through food
With Chua Lam's death on June 25 , Hong Kong has lost not just a culinary icon but a storyteller who inspired a generation of Hongkongers to explore the world through food. Advertisement As a child of the Asia-Australia diaspora, my first experience of Chua Lam was via television. My mother had rented one of his series on VHS tapes, and I remember sitting down to an episode of him visiting a vineyard in Australia. While tasting the wine, the vineyard's owner said: 'This is a rare vintage, so we should drink it instead of spitting it into the spittoon.' Chua, however, looked straight at the camera and said to the audience, in Cantonese: 'This wine isn't that great, but we can drink it anyway.' I was instantly captivated – not only because of Chua's candour, but also because he said it with confidence. Through that confidence, you felt wisdom in his words. Chua at Luk Yu Tea House in Central, Hong Kong, in 2008. Photo: David Wong Born in Singapore in 1941 to a poet father – who later worked at Hong Kong film studio Shaw Brothers – and a school principal mother, Chua was the third of four children. As a child, he lived above a movie theatre, which helped fuel an obsession with cinema.
