Dubai: Four award-winning Filipino films will be screened at cinemas in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on November 25 to 26 as part of the first Philippine Film Festival in the UAE.

The film festival is organised by Kitsch Company in partnership with the Movie Workers Welfare Fund (Mowelfund), a Philippine-based organisation of actors and film industry workers founded by former Philippine president Joseph Estrada.

The event will also feature workshops with Mowelfund executive director Boots Anson-Roa and actor and director Soxie Topacio as resource speakers.

Kitsch Company aims to highlight Filipino tradition and culture through films.

"We chose the right movies to cover all the facets of the society to build a stronger sense of what the Filipino culture is among our compatriots here," Obet Ramos, managing partner of Kitsch Company, told Gulf News.

Culture

The festival intends to reach out to the Filipino youth who were born and raised in the UAE. "Filipino students who are raised here are taught Filipino culture based on books. This is a chance to highlight our culture through the point of view of films. The festival will also help many Filipinos here who are confused and are searching for their identity." Ramos added.

To be screened are Rosario, Ded na si Lolo (Grandfather is Dead), Botelya (Bottle), and Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon? (We Were Like This Before, How Are You Today?).

Rosario is a period film directed by actor Albert Martinez set in the 1920s about the true story of a young and liberated Filipino woman who defied conventions and risked her comfortable life for the love of her life.

Ded na si Lolo is a drama-comedy about the superstition and mourning practices of Filipinos. The film was the Philippines' entry in the foreign-language film category of the 82nd Annual Awards where the coveted Oscars is given out.

Botelya, which stars veteran actresses Anita Linda, Caridad Sanchez, Boots Anson Roa, Angel Aquino, Alessandra de Rossi, Katrina Halili, and Rosa Rosal, tells the story on how different mothers separated by years and divergent social conditions are actually united in being selfless and in giving unconditional love to their children.

Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon? is an award winning Filipino romantic musical drama set in the Spanish colonisation era. It was directed by Filipino national artist Eddie Romero and starred Christopher De Leon and Gloria Diaz.

Tickets are limited

Admission is free but the number of festival tickets is limited. Those who are interested may send an email to marketingservices@thekitschcompany.com for details.

WHAT: ‘Our Films, Our Culture' - 1st Philippine Film Festival in the UAE

WHERE: Selected cinemas in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to be announced in November

WHEN: November 25 to 26