Crossroads – Filipino Film and Society

Crossroads is a thoughtfully curated program of Filipino films, assembled specifically for the 2017 Castlemaine State Festival, providing unique insight into Philippine cinema and the country’s eventful and intriguing past.

The Filipino film industry began in the first few years of the 20th century and is widely considered to be the oldest film industry in Asia. From theatre and literature-inspired film themes of the 1930s, war and heroism under American and Japanese occupation, slasher and action films made under martial law, romantic comedies of the 90s to a new wave of independent and regional filmmaking, Filipino films reflect contrast and unparalleled diversity. They reveal the complex relationships between Filipino film and Philippine society, and how potent social forces and film have the capacity to influence one other.