By Kyle Twardowski<\/strong> \/ Triton’s Call Staff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time of the year again.\u00a0 Time to grab your popcorn and watch some independent films.\u00a0 The Guam International Film Festival is right around the corner running from 26 September to 30 at Tango Theaters in the Agana Shopping Center.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ourselves are surprised we lasted this long\u201d said Kel Muna, programmer and co-founder of the Guam International Film Festival.<\/p>\n

Since the first year that the festival was running, they weren\u2019t quite sure what was going to happen.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 With GIFF being the first of its kind on Guam, the founders we\u2019re running on trial and error.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the programming of the festival and the types of movies the come through, we don\u2019t have the expectation of an increasing measure of expertise or production knowledge in terms of the movies coming in.\u00a0 I always wipe the slate clean every year\u201d said Muna.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in the position to present and admire someone else\u2019s vision is great, and presenting that to the masses is great\u201d said Muna.<\/p>\n

With this being said, the festival has had and is going to have some repeat directors showcased at the international level.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cWinter Light\u201d which is also a Grand Jury Nominee for Best Narrative Short at the 2015 GIFF.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnbelievable, just unbelievable, it goes toe to toe with the feature films we have programmed this year\u201d said Muna.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

The GIFF also has two feature films which will be competing for the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature, \u201cWelcome to the Happy Days\u201d coming out of Taiwan and \u201cThat thing Called Tadhana\u201d coming out of the Phillipines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phillipines and Japan have always kind of dominated the ring as far as feature films go, but we\u2019ll see how it goes this year\u201d said Muna.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community has backed it, and supported it, and we have to deliver the goods now\u201d said Muna.<\/p>\n

The Guam International Film Festival is here and it\u2019s bringing milestones with it this year.\u00a0 The lineup and talent has improved over the years for the festival and is sure to not disappoint the community in its fifth year.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the Happy Days by Gavin Lin<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That Thing Called Tadhana by Antoinette Jadaone<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s hearts and find the answer to the question, \u201cWhere do broken hearts go?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a full lineup of screening times and synopsis information on the films, check out guamfilmfestival.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kyle Twardowski \/ Triton’s Call Staff It\u2019s that time of the year again.\u00a0 Time to grab your popcorn and watch some independent films.\u00a0 The Guam International Film Festival is right around the corner running from 26 September to 30 at Tango Theaters in the Agana Shopping Center.\u00a0 The festival is also turning five but … <\/p>\n

Read more “Guam Int’l Film Festival in its fifth year”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14,4],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[248],"yoast_head":"\n