This Sunday At Cinemanila: Highlights

December 1 - Wednesday
December 2 - Thursday
December 3 - Friday
December 4 - Saturday
December 5 - Sunday
December 6-8 Cinemanila Extension

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CINEMANILA 2010 GRAND JURY PRIZE WINNER EASTERN PLAYS (Directed by Kamen Kalev. Bulgaria, Sweden / 2009 / 89 mins.)

8:30 PM | Cinema A (35mm)

Two brothers who have lost contact are suddenly brought together when they play opposite roles in a racist beating: while Georgi, who has recently joined a neo-Nazi group, participates in the violence, Itso witnesses and recues a Turkish family. Georgi, now being asked to participate in larger events, starts to question his implication in the movement and Itso wonders if the beautiful Turkish girl he saved could be his ticket from his sad life in Sofia. Only by reuniting will the two brothers be able to assess what they really want from life.

MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED! (Directed by Mark Hartley. Australia / 2010 / 84 mins.)

7 PM | Cinema B (Digital & 35mm)

A fast-moving, no-holds-barred exploration of the blood-drenched and action-packed world of Filipino genre filmmakingof the ‘70s and ‘80s, Machete Maidens Unleashed! features interviews with cult movie icons and a large assembly of cast, crew and critics, each with a jaw-dropping story to tell about filmmaking with no budget, no scruples, no boundaries and--more often than not--no clothes.

PHILIPPINE PREMIERE OF INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED FILM A PROPHET (Directed by Jacquies Audiard. France, Italy / 2009 / 150 mins. Grand Prix , 61st Cannes Film Festival 2009)

Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read nor write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans.

CLOSING FILM: AMIGO (Directed by John Sayles. USA / 2010 / 128 mins.)

8:00 PM | Cinema 1

During the Philippine-American War in 1898, a garrison under the command of US Lieutenant Compton is left to “protect” San Isidro, a remote region in the Philippines. Compton is fair and sympathetic, but his job is to pacify the area, not to make the natives happy. He can only communicate with Rafael, the barrio head, through the Machiavellian friar Hidalgo who’s the only one to understand English and who bears a deep resentment towards Rafael. Neither side can understand or trust the other, but are forced to live together, trying to survive in the middle of a ‘dirty’ war. When the American occupation policy gets tougher, Rafael has to answer to both the Americans and the Filipino patriots—with deadly consequences.

Amigo is one of only a small handful of American films that addresses the tensions of the forgotten Philippine-American War in 1900.

CINEMANILA 2010 is presented by