Pinoy Sunday

Director: Ho Wi Ding
Writer: Ajay Balakrishnan, Ho wi Ding
Cast: Epy Quizon, Bayani Agbayani, Alessandra de Rossi, Meryll Soriano
Language: Tagalog, Chinese, English
Theatrical Release Date: October 6, 2010
On The Web Film Website IMDB Entry homepage

Synopsis: Nomadic in spirit, "Pinoy Sunday" is an atypical road movie that shows Taipei from the point of view of immigrant workers. Inspired by Roman Polanski’s 1958 short film, "Two Men and a Wardrobe," the film follows the absurd adventures of Manuel (Epy Quizon) and Dado (Bayani Agbayani), two Filipino workers in a bicycle factory, during a day-long journey of self-discovery.

Constrained in alienating working conditions, Manuel and Dado spend their time between the factory workshop and the adjacent dormitory. They live in fear of breaking the factory’s strict rules and being deported back to a life of poverty. Starved of connections to their home culture, they live for Sunday, when they can meet fellow countrymen at church, speak their native language, fall for the beautiful singer in the nightclub, or even for break up with a lover. Sunday is when real life begins.

And it’s on a Sunday like any other that Manuel and Dado spot a bright a red couch, abandoned on the sidewalk. The couch becomes a sudden materialization of a colorful mirage, the incarnation of comfort and of the future beautiful décor for their dormitory. Embarking on a journey through parts of the city totally unknown to them, Manuel and Dado will carry the heavy couch far from the factory into remote urban landscapes, populated by locals who only speak Mandarin.

Light and humorous, the narration takes on the contours of a fine tale of adventure, even though discrimination, hardship and injustice are visible beneath this cheerful veneer. The sparkling performances of both protagonists give the film an aura of innocence. Pristine photography and carefully composed images make "Pinoy Sunday" a surprisingly accomplished debut feature for Ho Wi Ding, and a shining gem of the new Asian cinema. [Synopsis by Giovanna Fulvi/Toronto International Film Festival]