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Debut Features from S.E.A. Directors On Our Movie Watchlist

      Despite the pandemic's impact on Southeast Asian theatres, great films have been coming out from the region and garnering success in international festivals. Here are debut films from Southeast Asian directors that we are looking forward to see real soon.



1. MANTA RAY (Dir. Phuttiphong Aroonpheng)

Logline: A Thai fisherman finds an injured Rohingya man who doesn't speak a word. But when the fisherman suddenly disappears, the stranger slowly takes over his life. 

      It is said that the film contains political symbolism that points to the condition of Rohingya refugees. Rohingyas are considered the most persecuted minorities in the world and its people are currently displaced in 17 regions. Manta Ray's trailer is an artistic display of hypnotic scenes with a character well-crafted to evolve on the themes of identity and displacement, the very same issues Rohingya people are facing.

      Manta Ray premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival and was awarded the Orrizonti Award for Best Film. It also received the Special Jury Prize for Best Director at Cairo International Film Festival and screened at the 74th Locarno International Film Festival.

Watch Manta Ray trailer at: https://youtu.be/noAl_ON576A


2. WHITE BUILDING (Dir. Kavich Neang)

Logline: 20-year old Samnang dreams of perfoming on television dance competitions with his friends while his parents maintain a traditional lifestyle as they all face displacement from their tenement home that is scheduled for demolition.

      The White Building (aka Municipal Apartments) was built in the 1960's on reclaimed land and was designed to house middle-income earners. Many artists became its tenants until it faced demolition in 2017. Neang's family is among those who lived for generations at White Building making the film a personal piece that presents generational differences. 

      White Building received the Orrizonti Award for Best Actor at the 78th Venice International Film Festival and has been selected as Cambodia's official entry to The Academy Awards 2022.

Watch White Building trailer at: https://youtu.be/jtAUltfvadI


3. MONEY HAS FOUR LEGS (Dir. Maung Sun)

Logline: A young director makes his first feature but struggles in between bankruptcy, censorship, producer disputes and unimaginable mishaps during production.

      Money Has Four Legs is a comedy inspired by Sun's own experience as an indepentent filmmaker in Myanmar. The trailer presents a scene depicting the excessive movie censorship in the country and cut aways on how the director works around it in vain. 

      The film premiered at the 25th Busan International Film Festival and screened at Helsinki CineAsia 2021.

Watch Money Has Four Legs trailer at: https://youtu.be/RDcx9Jg3GOI


4. WHETHER THE WEATHER IS FINE (Dir. Carlo Manatad)

Logline: After the devastating effect of Typhoon Haiyan in the coastal region of the Philippines, an escaped prisoner searches for his mother and his girlfriend so they can all flee to the city before another typhoon hits.

      Inspired by Manatad's own experience during the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda, the characters traverse into a background of people desperate for survival. The film also plays on the the equilibrium of a destroyed community and its people losing their humanity presented in surreal or satirical intentions.

      Whether The Weather Is Fine premiered at the 74th Locarno International Film Festival.

Watch Whether The Weather Is Fine trailer at : https://youtu.be/ftnwKicisZc


#KrabenRahu #WhiteBuildingMovie #MoneyHasFourLegs #KunMaupayManItPanahon #PhuttiphongAroonpheng #KavichNeang #MaungSun #CarloManatad #SoutheastAsianDebutFeature

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