By Kyle Twardowski / Triton’s Call Staff

It’s that time of the year again.  Time to grab your popcorn and watch some independent films.  The Guam International Film Festival is right around the corner running from 26 September to 30 at Tango Theaters in the Agana Shopping Center.  The festival is also turning five but is bringing one of its heaviest lineups of film yet with 58 films from 30 different countries and is sure to not disappoint its audiences.

“We ourselves are surprised we lasted this long” said Kel Muna, programmer and co-founder of the Guam International Film Festival.

Since the first year that the festival was running, they weren’t quite sure what was going to happen.  In other countries, such as the Phillipines and the U.S., film festivals are not something to be considered as taboo and are easily recognized and understood in their worth.  With GIFF being the first of its kind on Guam, the founders we’re running on trial and error.

With the festival now running top tier films from around the world, it should stand that the GIFF is serving its purpose through the community, education, and entertainment.

“In terms of the programming of the festival and the types of movies the come through, we don’t have the expectation of an increasing measure of expertise or production knowledge in terms of the movies coming in.  I always wipe the slate clean every year” said Muna.

Thinking of how some of the directors have grown and the quality of some of their submissions has improved over the years, is what Kel Muna does.  He says that he goes in every year without expectations but it is easy to see the improvements in the quality of work that comes through the festival.

“Being in the position to present and admire someone else’s vision is great, and presenting that to the masses is great” said Muna.

With this being said, the festival has had and is going to have some repeat directors showcased at the international level.

Julian Higgins is a Grand Jury Award Winner from the inaugural GIFF in 2011 and is now back for the second time with a short film entitled “Winter Light” which is also a Grand Jury Nominee for Best Narrative Short at the 2015 GIFF.

“Unbelievable, just unbelievable, it goes toe to toe with the feature films we have programmed this year” said Muna.

The development of directors and work is what filmmaking is all about, and being able to see it first hand through the GIFF submissions was a heartwarming experience and being able to showcase this to the audience is even greater.

The GIFF also has two feature films which will be competing for the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature, “Welcome to the Happy Days” coming out of Taiwan and “That thing Called Tadhana” coming out of the Phillipines.

“The Phillipines and Japan have always kind of dominated the ring as far as feature films go, but we’ll see how it goes this year” said Muna.

“The community has backed it, and supported it, and we have to deliver the goods now” said Muna.

The Guam International Film Festival is here and it’s bringing milestones with it this year.  The lineup and talent has improved over the years for the festival and is sure to not disappoint the community in its fifth year.

Welcome to the Happy Days by Gavin Lin

 

THE HAPPY DAYS is a hot springs hotel in Taipei, the Xinbeitou area. In this area, people can see many historical buildings and elements which are full of Japanese heritage due to the Japanese colonialization before world war two (WWII). HAPPY DAYS hotel was also founded around 1970s by the protagonist: Fan-Ju’s grandmother, Shu-Min, who has run the hotel for decades. However, “Welcome to HAPPY DAYS,” a once vibrant slogan, is nowadays the last and feeble greeting of this old hotel that still remains. Unfortunately, Grandma Shu-Min breaks her legs and is hospitalized, nobody, not even her granddaughter FanJu can run this hotel and bring it back to life. Not until a mysterious young American: Allen, who shows up at the door one day and volunteers to work at the hotel. Can a Taiwanese girl and a foreigner revive HAPPY DAYS? Can they face the challenges of running a hotel and while discovering Grandma Shu-Min’s secret hidden in the hotel? With a touch of sulfur, love and friendship between Allen and FanJu will blossom and things are going to change. Welcome to the HAPPY DAYS!

 

That Thing Called Tadhana by Antoinette Jadaone

 

While struggling to meet the strict airline baggage requirements, a woman meets a man who heroically comes to her aid. Both are in despair out of love, which urges them to form a charming friendship which would take them out of the crowded airport and into the secluded city of Sagada, where they would attempt to mend each other’s hearts and find the answer to the question, “Where do broken hearts go?”

For a full lineup of screening times and synopsis information on the films, check out guamfilmfestival.org.