CANNES, FRANCE – Ali, directed by Bangladesh’s Adnan Al Rajeev, written by the Philippines’ Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Romero, and produced by Kristine de Leon, won the special prize in the Short Films Competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
In the closing ceremony held Saturday evening, May 24, at the Grand Theatre Lumiere, Ali, which made history as Bangladesh’s first Cannes competition entry, bagged special honors in the tight short films race of the world’s most prestigious film festival.
Palestine, France, and Greece’s I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, directed by Tawfeek Barhom, won the Palme d’Or for short films.
Visually stunning, Ali centers around a teen boy in the Bangladeshi countryside who joins a singing competition for a chance at a new life in the city while hiding his true voice and self.
Ali’s story is specific to Bangladesh and yet its theme of struggling to assert one’s true voice is universal. In an email interview when Arvin, who also had a short film entry, Agapito, co-directed with Kyla, arrived in Cannes, he explained how he and Kyla collaborated with Adnan on the story for Ali.
Arvin said, “We met Adnan through our producer, Kristine de Leon. He was one of the co-producers of Radikals (Arvin’s Cannes Critics’ Week entry last year). We met face-to-face in Cannes 2024 to present Radikals at the Semaine de la Critique.”
“From then on, the collaboration between us started. In many conversations with Adnan, we came up with the screenplay for Ali. It was also so surreal. Adnan was a first-time director and he got into Cannes with his first short film.” And for Adnan to win a special prize as well is significant.
Asked how he and Kyla reacted when they saw the stirring, beautifully shot movie, shot in the Bangladeshi countryside, Arvin said, “When we saw Ali for the first time, it was so unreal! I think the theme of this interview with Rappler is unreal because, truly, it is! The visuals, the direction of Ali – it was something we only imagined when we wrote the script – cinematic.”
Kristine celebrated her birthday in Cannes with career milestones. She produced both Agapito and Ali, the first Bangladeshi film to be officially selected for the Short Films Competition in Cannes.
The young producer told Rappler via email while she was in Cannes, “Producer Tanveer (Hossain) was passionate about elevating Bangladeshi cinema and introducing it more prominently to the international film industry. We worked closely together during our time at the Busan Asian Film School, where we helped build systems for their (Bangladesh) national film council.”
“Before I became a producer, I was working at the FDCP so I had some knowledge I could contribute. I’m just happy and proud that our shared vision and hard work paid off for Bangladesh. It’s inspiring to see one Asian film industry support and uplift another. Co-production truly works.”
Krisitne added, “Both Tanveer and Adnan placed immense trust regarding the production strategy and process in me, even as a young woman navigating this industry. Their confidence has been both empowering and affirming.”
Citing Ali’s simple yet moving narrative, Kristine shared, “In crafting this intimate narrative, Adnan sought to unveil a broader truth – a tale of love, sacrifice, and the intricate ways in which families and communities shape our identities. While deeply rooted in his personal and national context, the story transcends borders, echoing a universal reality: countless voices remain unheard across the globe.”
She continued, “By bringing these silenced stories to light, Adnan aims to honor Bangladesh’s legacy of resilience and give voice to those whose truths have long been suppressed.”
On producing not one but two Cannes entries in a single year, Kristine admitted, “I just feel humbled. It has led me to reflect on my journey as a young woman producer navigating this industry. It made me appreciate and celebrate the people I’ve worked with and feel deeply grateful for my support system.”
“Collaboration is an important key element in producing films. Co-production works in many aspects!”
The emerging force in producing indie cinema pointed out, “I also produced Arvin Belarmino’s Radikals which was part of the official selection of Semaine De La Critique Cannes 2024.”
Both Ali and Agapito earned applause when they were screened, along with the other short film entries, at the Debussy theater.
Agapito is set in one afternoon in a duckpin bowling alley where bowling pins are still set manually by pin setters played by a cast led by Nour Hooshmand (who graced the screening along with several castmates). Within the short film’s length, Arvin and Kyla manage to evoke the lives of these workers who are not yet replaced by fully automated machines and whose humanity is captured when a visitor arrives.
Kyla made history as the first Filipina to compete in the prestigious film festival’s Short Films Competition.
On having the honor of having entries for two consecutive years in Cannes Film Festival, including Radikals, which was the only Southeast Asian film in a field of 13 shorts last year at Critics’ Week, Arvin exclaimed, “It is surreal! In all honesty, I never thought that would ever happen to me. Of course, it is a dream. My friends who are also my collaborators would joke about it, just because it’s something almost impossible to happen.”
“And when it did, the night we received the news that we are going to Cannes again with Agapito in competition at the Courts Métrages (Short Films), just a year after we competed with Radikals at La Semaine de la Critique, we shared a long, deep silence of disbelief.”
“We all ran at 901 Studios just before midnight and screamed our hearts out in joy, crying, hugging each other, and finally saying, we did it!”
Asked how he and Kyla came up with their Agapito story, Arvin replied, “It started when Kyla and I saw a news report online about a bowling alley somewhere in Metro Manila that still operates manually, using people instead of machines to arrange the pins for customers to hit. It was a revelation for us and we got so curious about it.”
“It started out of curiosity until we were able to relate the story to our own lives. Agapito (Arvin’s late brother) was my brother. He belonged on the spectrum and it was when our curiosity met cinema.”
Arvin continued, “I couldn’t really tell you how we come up with it or thought about the story because, to be honest, it just comes. And as filmmakers, we accept that gift of a story and try to make it as vivid in cinema as how we feel and see the world around us.”
Agapito, with its slice-of-life glimpse into the lives of the workers manually setting the bowling pins, has the potential to be developed into a feature film. Arvin reacted to this suggestion, “Kyla and I never really thought about developing it into a full-feature yet. Maybe because we are both developing our respective features at the moment.”
“I have been developing Ria for over four years now. We are in preparation to shoot it very soon this June.”
He added, “Kyla, on the other hand, is going to develop her first feature, Giliw (Beloved), at the Cinéma de Demain in Cannes. Then she will develop it more as the years go by, with labs around the world, just like I did with Ria. So, Agapito, as a feature, not yet, but that door remains open.”
Spike Lee on Fil-Am DP Matthew Libatique
Rappler asked Spike Lee about working again with three-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Filipino-American Matthew Libatique, in Highest 2 Lowest. In his return to the Croisette since his 2018 grand jury prize-winning BlacKkKlansman, Spike fielded Highest 2 Lowest in out of competition.
The crime thriller also marks Spike, Denzel Washington, and Matthew’s first time to collaborate again after almost 20 years since Inside Man. It is Spike’s reinterpretation of cinema master Akira Kurosawa’s1963 classic, High and Low.
Ultimately, Highest 2 Lowest is Spike and Matthew’s visual ode to New York, with lush, wide shots of the metropolis where the filmmaker lives and has made many of his iconic films and where the DP was born.
In Spike’s Cannes press conference with cast members Jeffrey Wright and Ilfenesh Hadera, the filmmaker said in reply to Rappler’s question about teaming up with the Fil-Am DP again: “Matty Libatique, my brother, is one of the great cinematographers working today. I was so elated when he told me that he could do the project.”
“We have a partnership and when you’re close with somebody [like Matthew], you don’t have to have any long dialogue. You know, it’s very short. Boom, boom, boom with Matty.” – Rappler.com