Two PH docus compete in Thailand

“Sunday Beauty Queen”

Two Philippine movies will vie for top honors in the Asean Competition of the 7th Salaya International Documentary Film Festival in Thailand, from March 18 to 26.

Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Sunday Beauty Queen,” best picture winner at the Metro Manila Film Festival last December, will be competing with six other documentaries—including another entry from the Philippines.

Villarama told the Inquirer that she was “grateful” that a “premier festival in Thailand” had included Filipino films in this year’s lineup.

“It’s always amazing to share our stories with other countries, as it’s now getting more difficult to screen Filipino films in the Philippines,” she remarked. “It would be interesting to hear how the Thais would relate to the journey of our migrant workers. My hope is that, after watching the docu, they will understand us more and have a deeper connection with what we’re going through as a nation.”

“Sunday Beauty Queen” follows Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, as they mount and join a pageant every weekend, “gleefully reclaiming their dignity” in the process.

The other Philippine entry at the Salaya Doc is Jeffrie Po’s “The Soil of Dreams”—which recounts “the long night of Typhoon Sendong.”

The docu is told through the recollection of survivors—including a band of quarry workers.

The Salaya Doc was established in 2011 by the Thai Film Foundation, in collaboration with the Film Archive.

The two Philippine films will be competing with docus from Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.—BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.