Modern Heroes Modern Slaves

YAYA

December 2018 •English

YAYA is a story about a filmmaker who explores the complex relationship between his family and the domestic worker who spent decades away from her family in the Philippines to raise his. This documentary is a tribute to all the domestic workers in Hong Kong, who has served as the backbone of Hong Kong's economy by unleashing a substantial female workforce into the economy and taken care of so many lives with love and care. You are all heroes in the hearts of the Hong Kong people. - Justin Cheung, the director

Filipinescas - Getanzte Legenden der philippinischen Inselwelt

November 1961 •German

TV movie about dance rites in the Philippines

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

November 1991 •English

A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.

Appointment in Tokyo

December 1945 •English

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Singapore GaGa

August 2005 •Chinese

Singapore GaGa is a 55-minute paean to the quirkiness of the Singaporean aural landscape. It reveals Singapore's past and present with a delight and humour that makes it a necessary film for all Singaporeans. We hear buskers, street vendors, school cheerleaders sing hymns to themselves and to their communities. From these vocabularies (including Arabic, Latin, Hainanese), a sense of what it might mean to be a modern Singaporean emerges. This is Singapore's first documentary to have a cinema release. With English and Chinese subtitles.

Chop Thye Bee

July 2021 •English

An intimate portrait of an inter-generational family as they bid farewell to the common ground that binds them together.

Bontok, Rapeless

September 2014 •Tagalog

Two Filipina victims of sexual abuse search the truth behind the finding of a renowned anthropologist: that merely a few generations ago, the Bontok Igorot lived in what seems an unthinkable utopia—a rape-less society.

The Green Guerillas: The Fight For The Philippines Rain Forest

January 1994 •English

Filmed in a village of the indigenous Mandaya people, located in a mountainous area of southeastern Mindanao, the country's second largest island, the documentary portrays the struggle of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, for the rights of indigenous Filipino peoples and the environment, which are constantly under threat from landowners, large logging companies and agribusiness.

Storm Children, Book One

September 2014 •Tagalog

The Philippines is visited by an average of 20~28 strong typhoons and storms every year. It is the most storm-battered country in the world. Last year, Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), considered the strongest storm in history, struck the Philipines, leaving in its path apocalyptic devastation.

Bukit Orang Salah

October 2013 •English

At various points in its history, tiny St. John's Island was where Singapore's colonial founder Sir Stamford Raffles docked his ship upon arrival, a quarantine centre for immigrants and pilgrims returning from Mecca, a penal colony for political detainees and secret society leaders, and a sleepy holiday resort. Unlike its neighbouring islands, however, St. John's was never fully developed. It occupies an in-between space, the vestiges of its history scattered around the land. Its indeterminacy stands in sharp contrast to Singapore, where land use is meticulously planned to fulfil economic and social functions. In this film, St. John's Island - otherwise known as 'Bukit Orang Salah', a nickname coined by the people who were quarantined there - becomes a site of and for reflection, prompting questions about our history, heritage and identity.

Jeepney

August 2013 •English

JEEPNEY visualizes the richly diverse cultural and social climate of the Philippines through its most popular form of mass transportation: vividly decorated ex-WWII military jeeps. The film follows jeepney artists, drivers, and passengers, whose stories take place amidst nationwide protest against oil price hikes that pressure drivers to work overseas to earn a living, far from their homes for years at a time. Lavishly shot and cut to the rhythm of the streets, JEEPNEY provides an enticing vehicle through which the rippling effects of globalization can be felt.

Shirkers

January 2018 •English

In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore's first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges – who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges' vanishing footprints.

Singapore On Film

February 2019 •English

Rare archive footage reveals what Singapore was like dating back to 1900, showing coolies sharing lunch, rickshaw pullers, a grand Peranakan funeral, and more.

Call Her Ganda

April 2018 •English

When Jennifer Laude, a Filipina trans woman, is brutally murdered by a U.S. Marine, three women intimately invested in the case--an activist attorney, a transgender journalist and Jennifer's mother)--galvanize a political uprising, pursuing justice and taking on hardened histories of US imperialism.

Hors les murs

Invalid date •French

Kasama Kang Tumanda

May 2024 •Tagalog

A filmmaker follows her grandparents’ daily life after her chain-smoker and alcoholic grandmother is forced to stop drinking beer for a month.

Wild Cards - The Artistry Of Playing Cards

June 2016 •English

This behind the scenes documentary showcases a Singapore-based collective who practice the art of card flourishing. To date, Virtuoso (a.k.a. The Virts) have managed to gather an international following of more than 37,000 people. But how far can a Singapore Brand go in an international scene that is dominated by big personalities like David Blaine? This film examines how these innovative performer entrepreneurs are managing to harness the possibilities of the Internet to extend their reach beyond the shores of Singapore, and develop new business models to share their passion for their craft. Other aspects explored includes the science behind the art of cardistry as well as the cultural associations attached to cards in Asia.

Carlos Sainz: The Operator

December 2024 •Spanish

Women Of Malolos

August 2014 •English

A musical docudrama about the brave and outstanding Women of Malolos to whom Jose Rizal addressed his famous letter in Feb 22, 1898.

Baon Sa Biyahe

December 2022 •Tagalog

The Jeepney is a common affordable transportation in the Philippines. Made from abandoned American Jeeps during World War II, the Jeepney remains a symbolic figure of the Philippine identity.