Director: Leah Vilani Kihara
USA, 10:00 min, 2003, Video, Colour

Canadian Premiere

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, “Kava Kultcha” deals with the age-old concept of colonialism in a contemporary context with a uniquely Polynesian point of view.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Leah Kihara (Native Hawaiian) has spent the past five years establishing herself as one of the few female directors of colour in Hawaii.

Basal Banar

Director: Kanakan Balintagos
Philippines, 120:00 min, 2002, 16 mm, Colour

Palawanon & Filipino with English subtitles

North American Premiere

"Basal Banar" is the first Palaw'an feature documentary from the Indigenous people of South Palawan, Philippines. "Basal is the most Sacred Ritual of the Palaw'an. It is a ritual of Communion with the Spirits of Nature and the Weaver of the Universe to invoke the needs of the people. Banar is the Palaw'an word for Truth. Basal Banar is an invocation to the Universe for the healing and reclaiming of our land, our seas, the spirit of our people." “Basal Banar” is a rare and extraordinary glimpse into the journey of the filmmaker as he returns to his tribal village. Kanadan-Balintagos deftly blends journal, documentary, and experimental-film techniques into a poetic, visual Tultol – a chant sung to tell a story.

Kanadan Balintagos was one of the first of his tribe to be born outside of his tribal land in Manila. He studied Theater Arts at the University of the Philippines and Film at the Mowwelfund Film Institute. He is a theatre artist, filmmaker and Indigenous people's advocate. He has produced short film and video shown in festivals around the world, including "Impeng Negro", an ode to Rogelio Sikat's short story on racism, first exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and 1st Prize winner for alternative film from the Cultural Centre of the Philippines. He has also produced a music video (The Last E!Bimbo) which won Asian Viewers’ Choice Award and an experimental animation on a Palaw’an myth that also took home an alternative film award. “Basal Banar” is his first feature film.

Co-presented by the Reel Asian International Film Festival
www.reelasian.com