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17 - 27 September 2018: Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival

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Part two of Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival – a new UK-wide film festival focussing particularly on underrepresented cinemas, from Azerbaijan to Vanuatu and everything in between, opening windows on a world whose landscapes and peoples remain largely absent from our screens.

Diamond Island
Davy Chou
2016 | 101 min | Colour | Digital
Khmer with English subtitles
Q&A with Kanitha Tith

Like many other young people growing up in rural Cambodia, 18 year old Bora is lured to the city where we he goes to work on the construction of a new property development. In his new life in the city, he forges new friendships and is even reunited with his larger than life older brother Solei, who took off from their home unannounced five years ago. Solei introduces Bora to the exciting world of Cambodia's privileged urban youth, with its girls, its nightlife and its illusions. Diamond Island is a wistful tale of urban youth set against the backdrop of a changing Cambodian cityscape. read more

People Power Bombshell: The Diary of Vietnam Rose
John Torres
2017 | 89 min | B/W & Colour | Digital
Filipino/Tagalog with English subtitles
Q&A with John Torres

People Power Bombshell is the result of found footage of an unfinished film by prolific Filipino director Celso Advento Castillo. Heralded as the saviour of Filipino cinema in his homeland, Celso Advento Castillo made many diverse films across genres, including “bomba” films – erotic dramas with moral tales. In the 1980s, he was making a film with the promising young actress Liz Alindogan, but due to financial difficulties the film was never completed. The film was also being shot at a time when the People Power Revolution was taking hold. It was from under Alindogan’s bed that the reels of footage were recovered. 30 years later, John Torres set about mixing this footage with new footage, together with a new soundscape including interviews with the original cast and crew. The result is a unique piece of work, recalling the experiences and memories of the cast and crew as if from an imagined script, while Alindogan reveals the difficulties she encountered, never having truly realised her dream of becoming a film star in the 80s. read more

The Island Funeral
Pimpaka Towira
2015 | 105 min | Colour | Digital
Thai with English subtitles
Introduced by Sonali Joshi

Laila, along with her brother Zugood, and friend Toy, set off from Bangkok in search of their long lost aunt, as conflict and political turmoil take over the capital. Yet, away from the political tension of the city, they are oblivious to the volatile situation and violent outbreaks that have been taking place in the south of Thailand for many years. The tense atmosphere is palpable, with increased military presence in the area. Over the course of a 1,000km road trip, fragmented images from Laila’s past surface, from her family, life, work and love, which overlap with the memories of those around her, while their feelings of insecurity intensify as they head further towards an unknown destination. read more


Supported Purin Pictures, CREAM (Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media, University of Westminster) and Day for Night.

More info: www.day-for-night.org/aperture