This Father’s Day weekend, Fathers of Circumstance brings together five powerful and tender films from Japan and the Philippines that question and expand the traditional meaning of fatherhood. Happening on June 14–15, 2025 at Red Carpet Cinemas, Shangri-La Plaza, the screenings are curated by film programmer and festival coordinator Eunice Helera as part of the Professional Development and Networking Initiative for ASEAN-Japan Film Programmers and Curators, organized by the Japan Foundation in partnership with the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
The program features:
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Like Father, Like Son (2013) by Hirokazu Kore-eda
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Dear Etranger (2017) by Yukiko Mishima
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Close-Knit (2017) by Naoko Ogigami
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Kinakausap ni Celso ang Diyos (2024) by Gilb Baldoza
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Ang Tatay Kong Nanay (1978) by Lino Brocka
Spanning themes of class, gender, and chosen kinship, the films offer a moving exploration of what it truly means to nurture, to provide, and to stay. Kore-eda’s tale of fatherhood across economic lines finds a local echo in Baldoza’s portrayal of Filipino fathers whose love outweighs material means. Mishima’s Dear Etranger quietly aches with a stepfather’s need to belong. In Close-Knit and Ang Tatay Kong Nanay, fatherhood takes shape through the love and resilience of a transgender woman and a gay man, parents not by blood but by choice and heart.
“This program is deeply personal,” Helera shares. “I lost my biological father three years ago, and with him, the chance to fully know his love. Since then, I’ve carried grief, longing, and the imagined version of what could have been. But I was never fatherless. I had my stepdad, who cheered me on since childhood. My grandfather, who stepped in without hesitation. Two uncles, one a mentor who helped shape my path. And a queer aunt, who showed up with unwavering loyalty and care.”
Screenings will be followed by talkbacks, including Q&As and guest appearances from select filmmakers.
Tickets are priced at Php 100 to Php 150, with an all-access festival pass available for Php 500.
