"KONTRA AGOS: A Resistance Film Festival" is a week-long film
festival that will celebrate independently produced films that go
against the current conventionality of popular cinema. It aims to be
a venue for the convergence of a range of films that are
inclined to be thematically and structurally subversive.

The idea for the festival came from filmmakers Kiri Dalena and
Sunshine Matutina.Filmmaker Waise Azimi is also one of the principal
organizers.

The festival is scheduled from December 5 to 11 at the Indie Sine,
Robinson's Galleria An Initiative of Southern Tagalog Exposure and
Digital Cheese in cooperation with the Independent Filmmakers
Cooperative.



PROJEKT DESAP
- a photo exhibit on human rights abuse and desaperacidos


(OPENING FILM)
1. WALAI
Directed By: Adjani Arumpac

Synopsis:
Walai is an exploration of spaces.

It prods on the memories of four Muslim women who once lived in the
infamous White House in Cotabato City. The documentary seeks
narratives in "places...we tend to feel without history." It traces
the past through the women's experience of what has happened inside
the wrecked home—nostalgia and fear, loss and love, and birth and
death.

(CLOSING FILM)
2. PAPA 2 & Naga Story: The Other Side of Silence
Directed By: Gopal Menon

Synopsis - Papa 2
PAPA 2 was a notorious interrogation centre run by the Indian Armed
Forces in Kashmir till 1996. Officially, over 2000 - unofficially,
over 10,000 - people have disappeared from the Kashmir Valley over
the past 15 years. Most of these are enforced disappearances. The
film, "PAPA 2", documents the struggle of the mothers and wives of
disappeared persons to trace their loved ones. It features interviews
with the families of the affected people and also members of the
Association of Parents of Disappeared People.

Screened at Film South Asia 2003, Katmandu; ivFest 2003, Trivandrum;
Nottam 2002, Kerala; WSF 2004, Mumbai, The Netherlands Himalayas Film
Festival, Amsterdam, 2004, SOAS, London, 2004. Invited to the Banff
Mountain Film
Festival, Alberta, Canada.

Synopsis - Naga Story: The Other Side of Silence
The Nagas are a 3 million-strong indigenous people who occupy the
North-East frontier of the Indian subcontinent. The Naga political
struggle is one of the oldest nationality movements in South Asia,
continuing till present times. The film Naga Story provides an
introduction to the history of the Naga struggle, and documents the
human rights abuses suffered by the Naga people in more than 50 years
of the existence of Independent India. Naga Story, which took 5 years
to complete, is the first comprehensive film about the Naga struggle
for identity, self-determination, peace, and justice.

Winner of the 'Spirit of the Himalayas' First Prize at The
Netherlands Himalayas Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2004. Withdrawn from
MIFF 2004 along with 6 other films as part of the Campaign Against
Censorship by Indian filmmakers. Screened at the protest
festival "Vikalp 2004", Mumbai. Invited to the Telluride Mountain
Film Festival, Telluride, Colorado, USA, and the Banff Mountain Film
Festival, Alberta, Canada, and Signs 2005, organised by Federation of
Film Societies India, Kerala.


3. SA NGALAN NG TUBO
Documentary
Directed By: a film by Tudla Productions

Synopsis
A video documentary that chronicles what happened on November 16,
2004 when seven people died at the picketlines of the Hacienda
Luisita in Tarlac. Millworkers and farm workers of the sugar refinery
and plantation owned by the Cojuangcos, one of the wealthiest landed
families in the Philippines, went on strike. Their demands were met
with a volley of gunfire from military and police. Beginning with the
history and background of the land issue, the film builds the tension
gradually, leading up to the actual footage of the Hacienda Luisita
incident, when even the filmmakerholding the camera had to run for
his life.


4. THE JIHADIST
Documentary
Directed By: Gutierrez Mangansakan II

Synopsis
The Jihadist is an autobiographical documentary on the filmmaker's
struggle as an artist amid the backdrop of the Moro revolution. His
search for his rightful place in the memory of his homeland yields
questions that require him to confront his identity as a Moro and
come to terms with his homosexuality.


5. THE THRESHOLD
Directed By: Mikhail Red

Synopsis
Seeking the threshold, the wanderer endures a dark journey into the
limits of the human mind where fears and anxieties are represented by
a series of rooms he must go through.

A FILM ON THE HUMAN CONDITION

"I wanted to make a film about the essence of the human mind and
soul, the core of being, where every emotion is explored. The film
deals about the human condition, how we are trapped and detained
within the complex cells within ourselves." - Mikhail Red


6. LUNES NG HAPIS (MONDAYS OF SORROW)
Short Narrative
Directed By: Nick Olanka

Synopsis
Virgie and Ismael are lovers in the midst of a military offensive in
Sta. Filomena, a town in Southern Luzon suspected of being overrun by
rebels. Virgie is a teacher of a local elementary school and Ismael
is a captain of the troop assigned to infiltrate the rebels. Every
Monday they meet and make love passionately and violently. One day,
Virgie's student Tikoy asks her to help find his missing father, Mang
Lino, a rumoured rebel sympathizer. Events unfold and point to Ismael
as being responsible for Mang Lino's disappearance, because of this
Virgie is overwhelmed by guilt. The next Monday, as they make love
Virgie chooses between her love for Ismael and her love for her
community.


7. HILO
Feature
Directed By: JP V. Carpio

Synopsis
Originally conceptualized as a short film shot in 2004 and completed
nearly three years later as a full length, the film charts the
various emotional courses during a dinner between Emerson, a
university professor, and Jenny, a university student.

The film also features the full length feature debuts of Jenny Logico
and Emerson Sanchez.


8. ANG BAYAN KONG PAYAPA
Directed by: Elvert Dela Cruz Bañares


Synopsis
This is the state of our nation cycle.


9. RED SAGA
Directed By: Gabriela Krista Dalena

Synopsis
Children of the Land faithfully guard the last harvest from thieves.
This poetic film offers a glimpse into the passion and pain of the
people's protracted war in the countrysides.


(MINDANAO FILMS)

10. [Me'guyaya]
Documentary
Directed by: Eduardo C. Vasquez, Jr.

Synopsis
Me'guyaya is a Te'duray term for merry-making or thanksgiving. In
2003, an active and concerned group of people in Upi, Shariff
Kabunsuan initiated a festival that would unite all residents in
thanking God for the abundant harvest. Since then, it has become a
big town event that celebrates the richness and diversity of the
Muslim, Christian and Lumad peoples of Upi.

The documentary delves on how the Me'guyaya serves as a catalyst for
cultural unity as everyone gets involved in the festivities.


11. [Tranquil Times]
Documentary
Directed by: Loren Hallilah I. Lao

Synopsis
The documentary delves on the good governance efforts of the private
sector, civil society and the local government unit of Wao, Lanao del
Sur working together to erase remnants of the religious and ethnic
clashes of the 1970s. It explores how peace has been achieved in this
multi-ethnic town, propelling the once-turbulent municipality into
its present agricultural renaissance.


12. [George's Town]
Documentary
Directed by: Moises Charles Hollite

Synopsis
George Sabandal is one of about 2,500 internally displaced persons
(IDPs) who have sought refuge in the town of Buluan, Maguindanao as a
result of the "all-out war" in 2000. Refusing to go back to the place
of his origin, he has created a new life for himself and his family
in their ideal town.


13. [Sulu]
Documentary
Directed by: Al Jacinto

Synopsis
Born of a Muslim mother, young writer Arthur Sakaluran Abasalo
decides to visit Sulu despite the perceived strife and presence of
Muslim rebels and Abu Sayyaf terrorists. In Sulu, he meets a former
Muslim rebel-turned policeman who tells him about his life story and
how he got separated from his family for more than a decade. He
returns to Sulu to start a new life after being reunited with his
family.

Arthur returns to Manila after a short stay in Sulu, bringing with
him memorable stories and truths about the island feared by many as a
dangerous place to go.


14. [Biniton]
Feature
Directed by: McRobert Nacario

Synopsis
A story depicting the process of preparation and cooking of a dish
called Biniton that is particular to the community of Saniag,
Ampatuan. The process of cooking, in the eyes of an old woman, brings
to life the hardships they experienced amidst armed conflict at the
same time the process of preparation, through the experience of Amel,
her grandson walks us through the current situation of their
community. How amidst the hardships and diversity in culture they had
all managed to bounce back and become united.


15. [A Step for My Dream]
Feature
Directed by: Mona Labado

Synopsis
Seven-year-old Abdul dreams of becoming a leader of his town. He has
natural charisma and easily becomes friends with people even if he
hasn't known them for long. But his grandmother reminds him of their
peasant roots which is no match to the traditional ruling family.
Undaunted, Abdul sees it as a challenge envisions his future.


16. [Dreams]
Feature
Directed by: Sheron Dayoc

Synopsis
Nine-year-old Satra has been mute for as long as she could remember.
But her determination to secure a good education reverberates clearly
amid the strictures of her Yakan culture.


17. STANDING UP
Documentary
Directed By: Waise Azimi

Synopsis
STANDING UP is a feature length documentary young Afghan men training
to become professional soldiers in the new Afghan National Army.
Situated at the Kabul Military Training Center, Standing Up
chronicles the struggles and lives of these Afghan men from the
moment they arrive at the KMTC to the last day of training of their
training. Extensive access to the KMTC training program has provided
an insiders perspective into one of the most underreported and
important stories in the War Against Terror, the story of those who
are Standing Up to the first line of defense.


18. BINGO
Directed By: Noriel M. Jarito

Synopsis
Bingo reveals life's monotony of rural existence. People embrace
almost anything: dull, inspiring, tame, untamed, reputable, and even
deceptive. Their horizon is bounded by beliefs which sometimes manage
to mislead, mock, and misuse their fate. They surrender and never
question the path they trace. Thus, they are lost. Submission is
sweet, to do otherwise is bitter. Their incomprehension is at the
maximum level that wrong becomes right, and what is right becomes
wrong. To play "Bingo" inside a church is never questioned and is
labeled licensed by some unprincipled Catholic Church leaders.
Christianity is the largest religion and surely many of its followers
are destitute enough to consider "Bingo" inside their church as a
source of momentary abundance.

Bingo reveals all: People are born. People are being baptized. People
marry. People die. All these should have been valuable and symbolic,
yet have gone awry and worthless instead. Why? Because of people's
shallowness and ignorance.


19. UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE
Documentary
Directed By: Anna Isabelle Matutina and Herbert Docena

Synopsis
This documentary contextualizes the issue of US military presence in
the country within the long and bitter history of conflict in the
south. Countering the reductionist frame set by the narrative of
the "global war against terror," it examines the historical
conditions that led to the emergence of the Moro separatist movement
and the subsequent rise of the Abu Sayyaf. It dissects the
government's contradictory attempts to downplay its threat while at
the same time justifying escalating military operations in the
region.

Against this backdrop, the documentary then probes allegations of US
military involvement in the war.


20. THE SINGH FAMILY HOME VIDEOS
Documentary
Directed By: Emmanuel A. Dela Cruz

Synopsis
A documentary work in progress, "The Singh Family Home Videos" charts
an intimate look at the family life of the filmmaker's neighbors, a
Punjabi Indian family who has assimilated into the Filipino culture
and community. Is nationality a matter of origin? Is identity a
matter of choice? Or is your "home" a matter of where you are or
where you'll be?

A fictional narrative feature based on this work, tentatively
called "1434456" is slated to be produced in 2008 by the inependent
film group, UFO Pictures("Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo
Oliveros," "Sarong Banggi" and "Endo") and is vying for a Cinemalaya
subsidy.


21. VOICE, TILTED SCREENS
Directed By: John Torres

Synopsis
Voice, Tilted Screens is, at once, a meditation. It is a meta-film
that unravels a journey, a chronicle of stories through foreign
regions. It is a probing letter from outside circles, an honest
account of illegitimate views from uneven terrain, and a narrative-
driven exploration of the nooks and peripheries of the body,
geography, and weather. As the journey progresses, the film
increasingly traverses the countries of revelation, film, and heart
to where all journeys are meant to end with.


22. BINYAG(Baptism)
Short Narrative
Directed by: Mariami Tanangco


Synopsis

A Rookie cop gets baptized into the world for crimefighting - Manila
style.


23. SIMULA
Directed By: Ruelo Lozendo

Synopsis
A worm enters a man's ear and lives inside his body. As the worm's
metamorphosis unfolds, the man experiences his own transformation.


24. PUTOT
Short Narrative
Directed by Jeck Cogama

Synopsis



www.kontra-agos.blogspot.com