Film News: Asian Pop-Up Cinema Presents the Filipino ‘Islands’ to Stream April 1-3, 2022

CHICAGO – Season 14 of Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) continues with the Midwest Premiere of “Islands” – written and directed by Martin Edralin – streaming on APUC’s website from April 1st-3rd, 2022, and featuring a post-film Q&A from Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com. For complete information, including “How to Watch,” click APUC “Islands” [24].

Islands is a Philippines/Canada co-production about immigrants, as Filipinos living in the Great White North has carved a life for themselves, except for one lonely man. Joshua (Rogelio Balagtas) lives with his aging parents, and when his mother dies he only has his father left, and quits his job to care for him full time. Enter his cousin (Sheila Lotuaco) who volunteers her caregiving services to the duo. As the situation normalizes in the household, truths are revealed about Joshua’s life that he didn’t expect. The beauty of writer/director Martin Edralin’s story is that it never goes where expected, choosing to let subtle character studies drive the narrative. Balagtas as Joshua won the BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE as the 2021 SXSW Film Festival.

Rogelio Balatas in ‘Islands,’ Written/Directed by Martin Edralin
Photo credit: AsianPopUpCinema.org

For a calendar of films and dates as the APUC Spring continues, click SEASON 14 CALENDAR [25]. For ticket info, click SEASON 14 TICKETS [26]. In Chicago, venues for films are AMC River East, Alliance Franchise de Chicago and the Tower Auditorium at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Suburban films will screen at AMC Niles and the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago (Wheeling, Illinois). APUC is curated by Founder & Executive Director Sophia Wong Boccio.

In a preview of APUC’s post-film Q&A for “Islands,” writer/director Martin Edralin explains the background of the film to Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com …

Official Trailer for Asian Pop-Up Cinema series, Season 14 …

[28]	By PATRICK McDONALD [29] Editor, Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [28]