Supot - World Premiere & In Competition: Asian Short Film Competition 21st Busan International Film Festival

Supot is a film about a young boy trying to impress his father. He doesn’t fare too well in the beginning- he brings shame, but this is more than a story about circumcision. It’s about rite of passage, redemption, and courageousness; courageousness to overcome fear of pain and to feel worthy of acceptance. Many of us have had issues with our fathers growing up. It makes us who we are. Whether we seek their acceptance and are found wanting or if we always feel inferior. Supot is a story of redemption, where a boy finds his inner strength through spider fighting and standing up to his bully brother. By going through this conflict he’s able to gain the courage he lacked in the beginning. He’s able to become a man in his father’s eyes

SUPOT (Uncircumcised) was filmed over 8 days in the rural province of Brgy. Tua, Magallanes, Cavite, Philippines. It is the first film ever made in the small village. Director Phil Giordano was dubbed “The Werner Herzog of the Philippines” because he requested a 33-foot technocrane for an establishing shot of the circumcision location. It took 5 hours to bring the crane down the mountain. The crew shot other portions of the script while this took place. Cinematographer Malay Prakash and Gaffer Balaji Manohar of SUPOT where the same team responsible for Little Master, winner of the 2014 Kodak Student Cinematography Award. They shot on the same camera for both films and used the same post-house for color grading: Gravitate, located in Singapore. There was no running water in the village where they filmed, so on occassion crew members had to use drinking water to shower or to flush the toilet. Everyone involved in the production lived how the people in the village did and the crew stayed in a local housing during filming.

Synopsis

After refusing a ritual circumcision intended to usher him into manhood, Rene-boy (10), tries alternate methods to remove this mark of cowardice.

Starring: Andrei Fajarito, Kinopi Malbas, John Arcilla and Mercedes Cabral

Written and Directed By: Phil Giordano

Supot was a finalist at the Starz Denver Screenwriting Competition, a Semi-Finalist at the Showtime Tony Cox Screenwriting Competition and Grand Jury Prize winner at the New York Screenplay Competition. 

Supot will have its World Premiere at the 2016 Busan International Film Festival in the Wide Angle: Asian Short Film Competition Section on Oct. 8, 2016.