Scarecrow (Bambanti)
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2015
Zig Madamba Dulay / Feature Narrative / Philippines / 2015 / 90 min / Colour / DCP2K / In Tagalog / Arabic, English subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance advised for viewers under the age of 15. Individuals under the age of 15 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or over.
Synopsis
In Luna, a rural town in the Philippine province of Isabella, Belyn lives with her three children and her mother-in-law. Widowed, illiterate and terribly poor, the young woman is deeply in debt and can barely afford to feed her family, let alone pay for a costume for her son Popoy’s performance in a street parade or the investigation into her husband’s murder. To make ends meet, she works as a laundress for her late husband’s kindly sister-in-law Martha, who does what she can to support her poor relatives.
One day, however, a gold watch belonging to Martha’s daughter goes missing. The victim of all-too-easy class prejudice, Popoy is immediately presumed to be the culprit. When Poppy is vaguely implicated in the theft by a fortune-teller, his protestations of innocence go unheeded; the police get involved, and soon Belyn and her son are branded as thieves. As a chasm opens between the two families, Belyn defends her son’s honour with vigour – but will that be enough to bring the truth to light?
This deeply moving film features wonderfully naturalistic performances from all its cast as it shines a light on the complicated relationship of social injustice, privilege and familial expectations.
Credits
- Director
- Zig Madamba Dulay
- Screenwriter
- Zig Madamba Dulay
- Producer
- Brillante Mendoza, Wilson Tieng, Jed Medrano
- Editor
- Zig Madamba Dulay, Cyril Bautista
- Music
- Gian Gianan
- Cinematographer
- Sol Garcia
- Sales Company
- Solar Entertainment Corporation
- Production Company
- Solar Entertainment Corporation
- Cast
- Alessandra De Rossi, Micko Laurente, Shamaine Buencamino, Julio Diaz, Erlinda Villalobos, Delphine Buencamino