Green Rocking Chair

  • 61'
  • Philippines
  • 2008
Roxlee is a film maker with a special sense of humour. He draws and writes comic strip stories that are absurd and surreal. Just as strange, creative and original are the animation films he makes. And his paintings. And his musical performances. Yes, Roxlee is a versatile guy. Here, he is the protagonist in a fiction film that has the form of a documentary. He undertakes a quest into the use of Baybayin, an old form of writing that was developed before the Spanish colonists set foot in the Philippines in 1521. Does Baybayin still exist as an actively written language? That's what Roxlee wonders at the start of the quest.
But gradually it becomes apparent that the film maker is interested in more than just pre-colonial writing. With his eye for the absurd within everyday events, he makes an unusual portrait of his country and of his compatriots. An unpolished portrait that has been made with modest means, but that is rich in crazy insights and strange humour. In this sense, Roxlee is himself like one of the characters in his surrealist comic-strip stories. And seen through his eyes and his camera, the everyday reality of the Philippines is also a kind of comic strip. The film also comprises real animation about the fable of the monkey and the tortoise. (GjZ)


  • 61'
  • Philippines
  • 2008
Director
Roxlee
Premiere
European premiere
Country of production
Philippines
Year
2008
Festival Edition
IFFR 2009
Length
61'
Medium
DV cam NTSC
Original title
Juan Baybayin
Language
Tagalog
Producer
Roxlee
Production Company
Baybayin Productions
Sales
Baybayin Productions
Screenplay
Roxlee
Cinematography
Albert Banzon, Jim Lumbera, Bulan
Editor
Lot Arboleda, Jim Lumbera, JP Papa, Mark Mirabuenos
Production Design
Lot Arboleda
Music
Roxlee, Kadangyan, Mangyan Hanunuo Tribe
Cast
Zeroxlee, Ronnie Lazaro
Local Distributor
Hubert Bals Fund
Director
Roxlee
Premiere
European premiere
Country of production
Philippines
Year
2008
Festival Edition
IFFR 2009
Length
61'
Medium
DV cam NTSC
Original title
Juan Baybayin
Language
Tagalog
Producer
Roxlee
Production Company
Baybayin Productions
Sales
Baybayin Productions
Screenplay
Roxlee
Cinematography
Albert Banzon, Jim Lumbera, Bulan
Editor
Lot Arboleda, Jim Lumbera, JP Papa, Mark Mirabuenos
Production Design
Lot Arboleda
Music
Roxlee, Kadangyan, Mangyan Hanunuo Tribe
Cast
Zeroxlee, Ronnie Lazaro
Local Distributor
Hubert Bals Fund