Awesome news, New York film fans. Asian CineVision recently announced that Amigo, the latest film from acclaimed maverick director John Sayles, will be the Opening Night presentation at the 34th Asian American International Film Festival. The film tells the story of a village mayor caught in the murderous cross-fire of the Philippine-American War. Here's a description of the plot:
When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries not to betray his people. But the situation is complex. Rafael's brother Simon (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local Filipino guerillas and considers any concessions to the Americans to be traitorous. A devious Spanish friar (Yul Vazquez) is charged with translating, but thwarts communication with his spiteful intrigues. A sympathetic American lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) begins to learn that "hearts and minds" cannot be won at gunpoint.I've been a fan of John Sayles for years, and I'm really interested to see his fictional account of this forgotten conflict. The 34th Asian American International Film Festival runs August 10-20 in New York City. More announcements coming soon, but that should set you up for Opening Night. Be sure to check back here for the full AAIFF website when it goes live.
Rafael is forced to make the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. Friendship and betrayal, romance and heart-breaking violence, AMIGO is a page torn from the forgotten history of imperialism and a mirror of today's unresolvable conflicts.
For the rest of you, I hear that Amigo will get a limited North American release on August 19 from Variance Films. For more information about the film, check out the Amigo official website here and the Facebook page here.