This week, our editors bring us news of ongoing efforts to address the daily relevance of poetry in Greece, as well as lauded film adaptations in the Philippines. Read on to find out more!
Christina Chatzitheodorou, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Greece
Various events have taken place to ‘seal off’ 2024. At Zatopeck Book Café, a big poetry night took place on the evening of December 27, in which a dozen young poets read their poems amidst the holiday atmosphere. Among the participants are: Dimitris Angelis, Eleni Athanasiou, Eleni Alexiou, Panagiotis Arvanitis, Anna Afentoulidou, Anna Vasiadi, Eleni Velenza, Gerasimos Voutsinas, Eleni Galani, Valia Gentsou, Thodoris Gonis, Spyros Goulas, Stella Dumou, Stella Dumou, and many more.
On the same day, at a different spot in Athens, the Vakhikon Editions and Enastron Book Café hosted an event organised by the poets Eftichia Katellanaki, Irini Paradisano and Evangelia Tatsis in collaboration with Kapou Opa, entitled ‘Does Christmas “urgently” need poetry?’ Τhe contemporary urgency that penetrates every aspect of daily life within Greece and beyond affects not only the poets but their work as well; sometimes, poetry’s response is to become a political protest against the injustices that we experience, or it becomes the very medicine against the sepsis characterising our world.
In December, a new title was added to the continuously increasing collection of Greece’s translations of Arabic literature. Basim Khandaqji’s novel, A Mask, the Colour of the Sky, was written while the author was imprisoned—amidst the tens of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails for fighting against the occupation. Translated by Persa Koumoutsi and Vicki Boutri, the Greek edition was published by Salto Editions after the novel was named the winner of the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) earlier in 2024. It revolves around Nour, a Palestinian archaeologist born in a refugee camp in Ramallah who finds a blue Israeli identity card. In an effort to understand the enemy that had conquered his land and made him refugee in the first place, Nour takes over the identity and infiltrates a team of Israeli archaeologists who will be excavating one of the settlements.
Among other works, Khandaqji has published poetry collections such as the Rituals of the First Time (2010), as well as novels, including The Eclipse of Badr al-Din (2019) and The Breath of a Woman Let Down (2020).
Alton Melvar M Dapanas, Editor-at-Large, reporting from the Philippines
Isang Himala (A Miracle), a musical film based on a 2018 play and a 1982 cult classic film, took the catbird seat at the fiftieth Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Directed by Orizzonti Prize-winning director Jose Lorenzo ‘Pepe’ Diokno from a script he co-wrote with novelist, journalist, and National Artist Ricardo ‘Ricky’ Lee (who also wrote the 1982 film), Isang Himala follows Elsa (portrayed by singer-pianist Aicelle Santos), a young woman from the mining barrio of Cupang, who claims to have been gifted powers to heal the sick by the Virgin Mary. As a result, the once-badlands of a barrio and the course of the lives of its villagers were irrevocably changed.
The film was based on the 2018 play Himala: Isang Musikal (Miracle: A Musical) by ‘theatre’s wonderkid’ Ed Lacson Jr., which was, in turn, adapted from the 1982 cult classic directed by the late Ishmael Bernal and top billed by actress Nora Aunor—both National Artists for Film, like Lee. At the MMFF, the musical film won major prizes including the Best Supporting Actress for Kakki Teodoro (who played the free-spirited Nimia, one of Elsa’s old friends who returned to Cupang and built a cabaret), the Best Musical Score for librettist Vincent De Jesus, and the Best Original Theme Song.
In his blog ‘Lessons From the School of Inattention,’ lawyer and film critic Francis Joseph ‘Oggs’ Cruz lauded the timelessness of Elsa’s tale: ‘. . . a palpable parable of a nation thirsting for salvation, clawing the very bottom of the barrel for any semblance of hope amidst the misery of the times.’ In the words of a Rolling Stone Philippines review: ‘. . . the consequences of blind faith are laid bare, exacerbated by the evils of self-delusion, lust, and greed. It’s tragic, heartbreaking, and utterly devastating.’ Santos, Teodoro, singer Bituin Escalante, and other cast members from the 2018 play have reprised their respective roles for this 2024 film, resulting in a cast dominated by what critics dub as the crème de la crème of Manila theatre.
Other personal favourites from the 2024 MMFF include the found-footage horror Stranger Frequencies: Taiwan Killer Hospital (based on 2018 South Korean Gonijam: Haunted Asylum), the action thriller Topakk (debuted at the 78th Cannes Film Festival and 76th Locarno Film Festival), the folk horror Espantaho, and the prison drama Green Bones (which Lee also co-wrote).
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