SAPI: Filipino Supernatural Threats!

With the last screening of Sapi today, you might want to brush up on your supernatural threats of the Philippines. Sure it might be all a media hoax, but still, who wants to be licked to death?

First up, spirit possession and soul loss. If you are placed in a frightening or startling situation, your soul could be knocked right out of you. Even more, if you have been rude or thoughtless or malicious or have just run across the wrong mangkukulam or bruha, (practitioner of black magic), you can get the whammy put on you and end up possessed. Spirit possession is a big problem.

In 2011, 56 students were possessed at Compostela National High School in the Philippines. (And this CNN article reporting on it is really asking for some whammy). In June, 2013, 22 elementary school students exhibited signs of spirit possession.

School administrators have suspended  classes in an elementary school in Mandaluyong City on Thursday after "evil spirits" possessed 20 students.

Report said some of the female students of Isaac Lopez Elementary  School on Barangay Vergara began yelling while others fainted inside the classroom.

Teachers rushed to the scene and tried to restrain the "possessed" students from hurting themselves, the report added.

After calming down, four of the students told the teachers that they saw images of a mother and a child. They also saw an image of a man in black clothes.

Due to the commotion, school officials decided to suspend classes for the whole day.

They had apparently been playing a divination game beforehand, but school principal Loida Matic reports that they were faking possession. Still, even if you feel you have a good hold on your soul,  be careful out there. The spirits of the jealous dead and malicious spirits (Hantu Demon) might just be thinking of moving in. Of course, there are several other supernatural threats to be aware of.

Manananggal in flight via here.

Dila:  A dila won't possess you, but it will lick you to death. Yes, to death. It is a tongue spirit and you know where it comes from? Through the floor. Possession isn't looking so bad, now, is it?

Membabarang: Female black magic practitioner who will make insects come out of you. (Note: Do not annoy a membabarang).

Manananggal: Sometimes also called or considered an aswang, a manananggal is a spirit, usually of a woman who died in childbirth, whose upper body flies around on wings, with viscera dangling, while her lower body remains in place as a roost. Manananggal hide out on the roofs of women in childbirth or pregnant women and try to eat the babies/fetuses by sticking their very long tongues through chinks in the roof and into the woman. Then they suck out the baby/fetus. So, ladies, keep your roofs patched!

Tiyanak: And also, you should probably not investigate any baby's crying you might here. Tiayanak are ghosts of dead babies who pretend to be cute, helpless babies left behind in the forest. Then they eat you. Of course, if you can't resist the pitiful cries of a baby, always keep a silver spike on hand for dealing with any tiyanak you encounter.

So, yeah. Be careful out there!
 

SAPI Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

FINAL SCREENING: Sapi

Missed the premiere of Brillante Ma Mendoza's Sapi? You still have a chance to catch this deft mix of satire and horror today!

From Steve Gravestock's notes:

One of the masters of contemporary Philippine cinema, Brillante Ma Mendoza embarks on a very different course with his most recent film, the alternately hilarious and terrifying Sapi, a caustic media satire and horror film about the lengths news services will go to capture and capitalize on a story.

The film follows two competing television news teams as they chase a variety of leads, gradually zeroing in on an impending and possibly apocalyptic storm, and a middle-aged teacher who may or may not be possessed by a demon. Writer and actress Raquel Villavicencio plays the ruthless head of the top-rated network, coming off as a Tagalog variation on Faye Dunaway's fabled character in Network. Her team has eschewed covering politics in favour of triedand- true tabloid fodder: demonic possession.

SAPI Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

SAPI and SOUL: Seven More Movies About Possession

At this year's Festival, there are two movies screening in the Vanguard Programme about possession. What are the chances? It's like there's some global cultural zeitgeist centering around the idea that people are not acting like themselves or have been taken over by an alternate consciousness. But there's been talk that those movies are played out.

Enter the theme of possession! Sapi, directed by Brillante Ma Mendoza, is a satirical assault on the media that also happens to focus on a case of demonic possession, while Soul is another look at demonic possession from Chung Mong-Hong.

In honor of these two films that take a differing approach to a similar theme, we thought we'd share our list of seven other movies about possession.

1. Burnt Offerings, 1976

The Rolf family, played by Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Lee Montgomery, is hoping to have a nice, relaxing summer vacation in an old mansion from the 1890s. In exchange for their incredibly low rent, they must not bother the elderly woman who lives on the top floor. What could possibly go wrong? For one thing, the house really really likes Karen Black. A lot. Maybe a little too much, actually.

2. Demons, 1985

Written by Dario Argento and directed by Lamberto Bava, it's obvious right away that Demons is going to deal with some crazy shenanigans. A movie about demonic zombie vampires comes frighteningly true when one of the audience members gets scratched by a creepy mask that's featured in the movie and becomes infected, turning into a demonic zombie demon, who then attacks everyone in the theater. Who then turn into demonic zombie demons. Being trapped in the theater only makes things worse. Talk about self-reflexivity!

3. Ghostbusters, 1984

Although Ghostbusters deals primarily with well, ghosts, there's also that important part of the movie in which Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis become possessed by Zuul and Vinz Clortho, respectively. The subtext of "The Keymaster" and "The Gatekeeper" might have been lost on you if you saw this movie for the first time when you were ten years old. Sigourney Weaver's post-possession outfit is definitely what all the hip demons will be wearing this season.

4. The Hidden, 1997

Director Jack Sholder had previously delivered two more good movies to us: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and Alone in the Dark. In 1987, just a couple of years before Kyle McLachlan portrayed Special Agent Dale Cooper, he played another FBI agent in Sholder's science fiction film about an alien who gets its kicks by causing people to do outlandish, illegal, and usually (self-)destructive things. You can see nods to this movie in Men In Black (gross cockroach aliens wearing human suits) and District 9 (weird alien weaponry that can only be used by aliens).

5. Insidious, 2011

Insidious premiered at Midnight Madness in 2010 and scared the crap out of everyone who saw it. A lot of what makes Insidious so effective is that it doesn't rely on the typical possession/exorcism tropes and builds up suspense throughout. It's also not afraid to be funny in order to disarm you. (True confession: after I saw it I remained scared for six months.)

6. REC, 2007

While filming a documentary series on fire fighters, reporter ÁngelaVidal and her crew encounter something terrifying in an apartment building when the firemen are attacked by an old woman who was supposedly trapped in her apartment. The found footage conceit works in REC's favor because it feels organic and unforced. REC also has a cool twist on the zombie genre. Jaume Balagueró's 2007 film went on to spawn two sequels and there's a fourth installment on the way. REC 2 screened at Midnight Madness in 2009!

7. Session 9, 2001

An abandoned mental institution. An asbestos removal crew. A person who is plagued by nyctophobia, or an extreme fear of the dark. These are all important elements in Session 9 and along with the not-completely-explained personal problems of the crew, they synthesize into a seriously scary psychological horror. Trust me, the voice of "Simon" is going to stay with you for a long time.

Now that you know that there can be good movies about possession that aren't The Exorcist, you'll be well prepared for both Sapi and Soul, both screening at this year's Festival.

SAPI Screening Times:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

SOUL Screening Times:

Monday, Sept 9th, 6:15 PM SCOTIABANK 11

Tuesday, Sept 10th, 6:15 PM SCOTIABANK 3

Saturday, Sept 14th, 12:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

SAPI: Poster and Trailer

We're sorry, little afflicted girl, but the poster and trailer for Sapi were posted by Indiewire and we just have to look.

First up, the poster has all the creepy markers, smoke and skulls and an old house and a robed figure.

I don't think you should tell them what you are afraid of...

And here is the full-on creepy trailer.

SAPI screens two more times:  

Saturday, Sept 7th, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK 10

Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

Director Profile: Brillante Ma Mendoza of SAPI

The first think you'll read on director Brillante Ma Mendoza's website is that he "is a living national treasure of the Philippine alternative cinema". And don't for a second assume that it's a hyperbolic statement because we completely agree, as should you.

Mendoza started off his career as a production designer--making quite a name for himself as such. It wasn't until 2005 that he directed his first feature film, Masahista, about a young girl working as a masseur in Manila. The film screened at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival and won the Golden Leopard award.

Kinatay still

Since that first festival win from his very first feature, Mendoza has gone on to direct a staggering 16 films. Just a reminder: only eight years have passed since 2005. Yeah, wow is right. Even more impressive was that pretty much all of these films went on to screen at film festivals and collect an impressive number of awards. 2007's Manoro won two awards at the Cinemanila International Film Festival and Foster Child won Best Picture at the Durban Film Festival; 2008's Serbis saw him nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and in 2009 he won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for Kinatay. 2009's Lola cleaned house at numerous festivals, winning Best Film at the Dubai International Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the Miami International Film Festival, just to name a few.

Are you feeling as awed and impressed as we are yet? Thought so.

Captive still

After Lola, Mendoza took a break (we can see why!) and came back in 2012 with two films: Captive, and Thy Womb. The former, starring award-winning actress Isabelle Huppert, screened at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Bear award and the latter screened at a handful of festivals, including the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and, of course, picked up a handful of awards along the way.

We're starting to wonder where Mendoza puts all of these awards. If ever a director needed an Awards Room, it would be Brillante Ma Mendoza.

Lola still

Mendoza has always strived to make his films ultra-realistic, controveserial, and observational--something for which he has been both praised and criticized. His film Kinatay, despite it's Cannes win, proved to be polarizing with critics. Ebert notably called it the "worst film in the history of the Cannes Film Festival" (as of 2009, at least) while (and this is kind of cool) it inspired director Quentin Tarantino to write Mendoza a personal note praising the film, saying it "was bold, daring, and to me, the whole point of making a movie in the first place."

We are quite certain that Sapi will be no less challenging and daring, especially given the subject matter. Mendoza has made films about a broad range of topics--from kidnappings to masseurs--but Sapi is his first attack on mainstream media. Prepare your senses for an onslaught, kids. And to those of you Vanguarders who are brave enough to tackle this film, make sure to tell the rest of us (read: this author, who is a big baby) what it's like.

SAPI Screening Times:

• Friday, Sept 6th, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 3
• Saturday, Sept 7th, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK 10
• Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

SAPI Premieres Tonight!

SAPI premieres tonight. SAPI is Brillante Ma Mendoza's entry into the realm of satirical horror or satire with horror elements, whichever you prefer. At Tiff.net, Steve Gravestock writes:

One of the masters of contemporary Philippine cinema, Brillante Ma Mendoza embarks on a very different course with his most recent film, the alternately hilarious and terrifying Sapi, a caustic media satire and horror film about the lengths news services will go to capture and capitalize on a story.

The film follows two competing television news teams as they chase a variety of leads, gradually zeroing in on an impending and possibly apocalyptic storm, and a middle-aged teacher who may or may not be possessed by a demon. Writer and actress Raquel Villavicencio plays the ruthless head of the top-rated network, coming off as a Tagalog variation on Faye Dunaway's fabled character in Network. Her team has eschewed covering politics in favour of triedand- true tabloid fodder: demonic possession.

SAPI Screening Times:

Friday, Sept 6th, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 3

Saturday, Sept 7th, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK 10

Sunday, Sept 15th, 3:00 PM SCOTIABANK 14

SAPI Trailer

Since a teaser trailer first made its way onto the internet last February, websites like Twitchfilm.com and Indiewire.com have been eagerly anticipating director Brillante Ma Mendoza's Sapi. Mendoza, a Festival veteran (with 2012's Thy Womb) sets his sights on the corruption of mainstream media in this brilliantly satiric and dark horror film that is sure to make you more than uncomfortable the next time you catch yourself watching the news. Check out the trailer below:

Sapi will be playing at this year's Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. You can learn more about the film on the Festival Website or the official Sapi film website. Screening times are:

• Fri Sept 6, Soctiabank 3, 10:00PM
• Sat Sept 7, Scotiabank 10, 9:45PM
• Sun Sept 15, Soctiabank 14, 3:00PM