Scene from “Alipato”
Khavn dela Cruz’s latest film, “Alipato: The Very Brief Life of an Ember,” had its Philippine premiere yesterday at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute of the Cultural Center of the Philippines on the first day of the Cinemalaya indie film festival.
After Cinemalaya, “Alipato” will have screenings at the 66th Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia on Aug. 11 and 18.
The Melbourne fest, which runs until Aug. 20, describes the Filipino film as a “neon-lit dystopia bursting with child gangsters, surreal violence, karaoke and goat-cam.”
The futuristic film follows a “hell-raising” gang of orphans in the middle of a crime spree.
The Melbourne fest website sums up “Alipato” as “the wildest cinematic ride of the year…transgressive, politically engaged and stunningly filmed.”
Other Filipino films to be featured in Melbourne are Lav Diaz’s “Ang Babaeng Humayo” and Carlo Francisco Manatad’s “Jodilerks dela Cruz, Employee of the Month.” BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.