Focus: Philippines

Up until recently rather underappreciated as a cinema nation, over the past years the Philippines have managed to become the leading country by far in South-East Asia from a cinematographic perspective. The local short film industry has made a great contribution in this regard. It is "independent" in the best sense, and the actual germ cell of Philippine filmmaking. Beyond the country's borders, however, it remains virtually unknown. For this reason, we have decided to take a concentrated look at Philippine culture and society, going beyond the officially propagated self-image of the state to enthusiastically document the current socio-political discourses of this nation which finds itself entangled in diverse national, global, post- and neo-colonial difficulties.