PASCALINA
Dir. Pam Miras, 2012
Philippines, 96 min.
In Tagalog with English subtitles.
NY PREMIERE!
Special thanks to Cinema One Originals
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 – 7:30 PM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 – 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30 – 7:30 PM
“What to do when your pet bunny dies? Eat it. And cry while you puke, of course. We all have our bad days.” –Ria Limjap (SPOT.ph)
Pam Miras’ first feature film PASCALINA (2012) “[bangs] your head against the genre threshold” (to borrow a phrase from writer Amanda K. Davidson). It’s horror, drama and dark comedy–with mumblecore characteristics–hitting every extreme like it’s no big deal.
Shot entirely on digital Harinezumi, a Japanese-designed 2-3 pixel ‘toy’ camera (with a ‘tiny, tiny mic’), PASCALINA is eerie and fuzzy. Maker SuperHeadz claims that the Harinezumi is “bringing lust to digital!” The effect is carnal and claustrophobic, like sharing a closet with someone.
The look of the the film does much to bring us inside our heroine’s disconsolate head. Pascalina (Maria Veronica Santiago), a young nurse in Metro Manila, is insecure and feeling unfulfilled. Her boyfriend leaves much to be desired, her sisters make her miserable, her boss won’t let it slide when she dyes her hair Manic Panic red… But when Pascalina inherits the curse of the aswang from a dying aunt, everything for her starts to change. For those unfamiliar, an aswang is a cross between a ghoul, werewolf, witch and vampire in Filipino folklore, known for being shape-shifting fetus-eaters.
Winner of Best Picture at the 2012 Cinema One Originals Film Festival, PASCALINA is a must-see, especially for those following an emerging New Filipino Cinema.
PAM MIRAS is a director and screenwriter based in the Philippines. Her short film REYNA (1999) was awarded Best Short Feature at the 13th CCP Independent Film & Video Competition and the 23rd Gawad Urian Awards. Her film BLOOD BANK (2004) won Best Short Film at .MOV Fest, Best Screenplay at Cinemalaya (2005), and has been screened internationally. She is also a screenwriter for television and independent features. PASCALINA is her first feature film. It won Best Picture at the 2012 Cinema One Originals Film Festival and has screened internationally. It was shown as part of New Filipino Cinema 2014 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (Los Angeles) last summer. Miras’ most recent personal work is a short film titled PUSONG BATO (HEART OF STONE), finished shortly after PASCALINA in 2013. It was shown in a program of Tito & Tita films in Echo Park in 2014 and will be included in the 2014 Singapore International Film Festival.