MicroCinema: When The Apocalypse is Over (New Generations of Philippine Cinema)

Indie Memphis and Crosstown Arts are excited to present When The Apocalypse is Over, a block of aspect ratio-, post-production-, or VFX-heavy shorts from the latest generations of filmmakers in the Philippines.

Through heavy manipulation of the frame, these films evoke longing — for different bodies, for other ways of life, for a non-dystopian world — and through that longing push cinematic language to new, absurd, and exciting places. The short films begin abstract and end explicitly political. Some of them engage with and subvert the stories of Philippine mythological creatures. For instance, Dikit, queers and twists the tradition of the manananggal, a vampire-like creature that is able to separate its torso from its lower body, through an innovative use of split screen. Together they cry out for someone, something, and somewhere different.

Content Warning: This program includes depictions of violence and references to state and domestic violence and their long-lasting effects.