Film fest in San Francisco to start with ‘Weng Weng,’ end with ‘Rekorder’

SAN FRANCISCO — Australian filmmaker Andrew Leavold’s “The Search for Weng Weng,” a loving tribute to Philippines’ littlest action hero, the two-foot-nine Weng Weng, will open FACINE/21, the 21st annual Filipino international cine festival on Thursday, December 11, at 7 p.m.

The film festival will close on December 13, Saturday at 9:00 p.m. with the critically acclaimed Mikhail Red debut film “Rekorder,” an urban thriller about a videographer who unwittingly gets involved in a murder.

The festival, co-presented with Global Filipino Network and West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, and sponsored by PAWA, Inc., runs from December 11 through December 13 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 – 16th Street, San Francisco.

The annual festival has been the premier showcase in the United States of new Filipino works and Filipino film classics for the past 21 years. It is organized by FACINE or Filipino Arts & Cinema International, a not-for-profit media arts organization based in San Francisco, which aims to advance the interests of cinemas from the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora.

Festival co-presentor West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center is the oldest Filipino nonprofit social service agency in Northern California that provides services to Filipino and other low-income families of color, including college preparation assistance for the youth.

Co-presentor Global Filipino Network, a California-registered nonprofit, aims to connect and empower Filipinos across the globe through education and outreach, using media and technology.

This year’s festival highlights the special screenings of important films by esteemed independent filmmakers.

Raymond Red is the first Filipino to earn major film honors in a top-tier foreign film festival – Cannes’ 2000 Camera D’Or for his short film, “Anino/Shadows,” and also this year’s FACINE Gintong Ani Award.

The festival will be the occasion for the gala screening of the much-awaited Mes de Guzman’s “Ang Kwento Ni Mabuti/Mabuti’s Story,” starring the Philippine superstar Nora Aunor on Friday, December 12 at 7 p.m.

A wide array of new works by filmmakers from the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora on varying subjects and genre will be presented in different programs.

Major sponsor of this year’s festival is PAWA or the Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc., a nonprofit organization of Filipino American writers and artists whose main goal is to create and encourage literature and arts for the preservation and enrichment of Filipino and Filipino American historical, cultural and spiritual values.

For more information and full program schedule: www.facinesf.com. For further information, email: [email protected] or call: 415-756-7331 or for advanced tickets purchase, check website: www.roxie.com