A Celebration of Asian Cinema
In a cocktail reception marking the commencement of the ASIA ON SCREEN film festival, diplomats, media members, corporate partners, and other Asia Society friends gathered for the ASIA ON SCREEN Opening Night on May 7, 2015, to celebrate the achievements of local and regional cinema.
Representatives from the embassies of Australia, Cambodia, China, India, and Vietnam attended the gathering, and were joined by guests from entities including APEC, the Korean Cultural Center, the Japan Foundation, and the congressional district of Marikina.
Attendees were welcomed to the event by Suyin Liu Lee, Executive Director of Asia Society Philippines, Joaquin Cu-Unjieng, Project Development Officer of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), and Lala Fojas, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Shangri La Plaza Corporation.
During the course of their remarks, the three speakers highlighted the growing Asian independent film industry, the artistic capacity to represent individual countries through the medium of cinema, and the enormous potential for film industries to flourish in a region as demographically and culturally diverse as Asia.
Opening remarks were followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Dir. Milo Sogueco and his cast (Ricky Davao, Mylene Dizon, Bing Pimentel, Barbie Forteza) from the critically-acclaimed Filipino film MARIQUINA. Cinema enthusiasts and distinguished guests of the evening were subsequently ushered to a screening of the film, which presents the tale of a father-daughter relationship set in the historic shoemaking district of Marikina.
Through the generous support of Commune Café, Watami, and Woo Galbi restaurants, attendees were additionally able to sample the delectable cuisines of East and Southeast Asia while enjoying their evening of Asian film and culture.
ASIA ON SCREEN film festival, which ran from May 8 – 12 at Shang Cineplex, is co-presented by Asia Society Philippines and Security Bank, partnered by Shangri-La Plaza and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), and sponsored by UBER, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Happy Living Wines Philippines, and 2Go Express.
The festival is also supported by the embassies of Australia, China, Indonesia, Iran, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and Royal Kingdom of Thailand. Media partners are ANC, Business World, CNN Philippines, Coconuts Manila, DZAR 1026 SMNI Radio, Hinge Publications, Malaya Business Insight and WhenInManila.Com.
Written by Avanti Narayanan and photos by Monica Ricafort.