About

Screening introduced by director Shireen Seno

'Big Boy is a meditation on a history of violence – not just in war and colonization but also in creation, in coming into being. It is a questioning of the tight-knit family unit which the Philippines are synonymous with, and how this myth of family might parallel the myth of a nation. The preoccupation with height and outward appearance, the belief in a better life elsewhere, these are some of the myths of growth and progress that are present in the Philippines until today. The film will present an alternative history or rather, a collision of histories that uncover the persistence of, yet ultimate mayhem, that is memory' Shireen Seno

'Shot on Super-8, the feature debut by visual artist Shireen Seno shows authentic-looking images of a family on the Philippine island of Mindoro in the middle of the last century. The "big boy" from the title is Julio, a boy who is pulled from both ends every day in order to stretch him. His growth has to provide evidence of the effect of a growth serum that his parents sell. In the aftermath of World War II, the family finds a parachute with American goods, such as cans of food. In the former US colony, the discovery leads to an obsession with the American Dream – the dream of a different and better life.

Seno shows that the idea of typically close-knit family life in the Philippines is a myth. And the memories she portrays of a Filipino past are not only nostalgic, but also about the violence often hidden just below the surface.' International Film Festival Rotterdam

Ages 18+