The Consulate General of the Philippines in Dubai and N. Emirates welcomes the screening of three (3) Filipino entries in this year’s 9th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) which runs 9-16 December 2012, as follows:
SINAPUPUNAN (THY WOMB). Shaleha Sarail who is unable to fulfill her husband’s greatest wish of having a son. In order to make his dream come true, she resolves to find the woman who will bear her husband a child. The award-winning Brillante Mendoza returns to his roots in this small, intense and beautiful film about a poverty-stricken couple desperate for a child.
Sinapupunan screens Wednesday, 12 December, 945PM, Mall of the Emirates (1) and Saturday, 15 December, 800PM Mall of the Emirates (5).
HARANA (SERENADE) is a rare chance to see old fashioned courtship, where singing was once used to woo a woman. SERENADE is a lovely portrayal of a side of the Philippines rarely seen on the screen. Florante, a classically trained guitarist returns to the Philippines after 12 years and rediscovers harana – a long-forgotten Filipino tradition, when men sang under the window at night to fearlessly declare their love for a woman. He finds three of its last surviving practitioners – a farmer, a fisherman and a tricycle driver – and asks them to travel with him to perform. As word spreads around Manila of leathery faced men whose style of expressive singing touch the hearts everywhere they performed, it culminates in recording the first authentic harana album in the last 50 years. But can harana be restored to its former glory or is it doomed to vanish silently into the night forever?
A music documentary, Harana screens Wednesday, 12 December, 915PM, Mall of the Emirates (4) and Friday, 14 December, 1230PM Mall of the Emirates (5).
DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY follows the real life rock’n'roll fairytale story of Arnel Pineda, a Filipino who was plucked from YouTube to become the highly successful frontman of Journey, a quintessential American band with eight platinum-certified albums to their credit. Having overcome a life full of painful obstacles and now saddled with the immense pressures of leading a world- renowned band and replacing a legendary singer, the film follows Arnel’s personal journey as he is catapulted from relative obscurity into the dizzying heights of rock’n'roll stardom and frenzied celebrity back home.
A music documentary, Don’t Stop Believin screens Monday, 10 December, 1245PM, Mall of the Emirates (12) and Wednesday, 12 December, 615PM Mall of the Emirates (11).