PH animated short film goes to Japan, US
“Our Forgotten Friends”
Filmmaker Avid Liongoren’s new short film, “Our Forgotten Friends,” has been invited to two festivals in Japan and the United States.
The Filipino short film will be shown at the New Chitose International Animation Festival in Hokkaido, Japan, from Nov. 2 to 5.
Established four years ago, the Chitose fest is the first film festival held inside an airport’s terminal building, which boasts not only a movie theater, but also a huge exhibition space, accommodations, spa and other facilities.
Liongoren recalled that this animation festival is the same event that presented his debut full-length feature film, “Saving Sally,” last year. “It’s a great animation festival, so I am happy that our work is included again this year. Our lead animator, Jether Amar, will attend because I have to stay behind to shoot a film.”
According to the director, the short film was “shot all around the planet: France, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, the United States, the Philippines.”
Avid Liongoren’s “Our Forgotten Friends”
He explained that the film was “a side project while doing the festival run of ‘Saving Sally.’” While traveling all over the world, attending festivals for his award-winning film, he used his phone to capture various scenes, featuring different people and places.
“It was initiated by the Japan Foundation via their Anime-Asean program. The writer, Paulle Olivenza, and I had a Tokyo artist residency with them last year,” he remarked.
He pointed out: “This is our first short film that was not fully self-funded. Paulle and I worked on this project in Tokyo … and I brought it back home for Jether and the rest of Rocketsheep to work their magic.”
After Japan, “Our Forgotten Friends” will be part of the 2nd Cinematografo International Film Festival in San Francisco, California, from Nov. 8 to 11.
Cinematografo is described by its website as “the premier event for Filipinos abroad to tell their stories and [serves as a] platform to bring these films to the world stage.”
This year’s theme is “Breaking down walls,” which “refers not only to the political situation, but also to [the goal of empowering] storytellers to break through barriers.”
Liongoren said that he planned to grace the Cinematografo event, where their other animated shorts will be showcased, as well.
