ALBINO

SYNOPSIS: Shot on ghostly black-and-white 35mm and left largely without dialogue, this hypnotic fable (original title ANAK ARAW) follows a Filipino albino boy who believes he is the son of an American serviceman, teaching himself English one word at a time from a battered Tagalog-English dictionary. Director Gym Lumbera blends original footage with unearthed archival images to conjure a dreamlike 1950s Philippines where sharks circle quiet lakes, mountains breathe smoke, and Nat King Cole croons in phonetic Tagalog. Less a plotted story than a spell, it’s an experimental meditation on colonization, memory, and the slippery nature of national identity.