October 18 (Saturday) | 6:00 PM | Cinema 3 | Film Screening and Film Talk
In a small rural town in the Philippines, Oyo, a 23 year-old nurse, goes home to visit his grandparents and reminisce one last time before he migrates to Canada. RJ, his childhood friend and tricycle driver, accompanies him doing his bucket list of things, and to find a carabao he can take a picture with. They visit their elementary teachers: Ma’am Cabalza has amnesia, Sir Ulep has left, and Ma’am Maborrang just fainted. He accompanies his grandparents to the doctor, about a back pain his grandmother is experiencing. And lastly, he can’t seem to find any carabao in their ever changing town. On their way to the airport, the tricycle gets a flat tire. They stop near an abandoned, unfinished bridge. Oyo walks towards it and along it, seeing the river and the mountains beyond. RJ follows and they both sit at the edge of the unfinished bridge.
Philippines | 2022
Director: Austin Tan
Genre: Social Realism, Eco-Cinema
Ibanag with English Subtitles
Duration: 21 mins
Rating: R13
QCinema International Film Festival Shorts Competition 2022: Nominiert, Bester Spielfilm
Austin Tan
Known for his introspective and politically grounded storytelling, Austin Tan is an upcoming director and screenwriter from Cagayan Valley in northern Philippines, whose body of work spans both narrative and experimental forms, often rooted in social and political realities. He is notably known for his short film Happy 2023rd Birthday, Mylene!, which was a finalist at the CineFilipino Film Festival in 2018 and featured in the 2019 Viddsee Juree Awards Philippines Showcase. Why Did the Carabao Cross the Carayan? was part of the QCShorts program at QCinema International Film Festival 2022 and screened in cinemas across Metro Manila.