PAN DE SALAWAL
(THE SWEET TASTE OF SALTED BREAD AND UNDIES)
Hello beautiful people!
After 8 long years since conception, my first full-length 'baby' and film, Pan De Salawal, will finally come to life! The universe has been kind- it chose this magical story as one of the finalists in the biggest film festival in the Philippines, and shall be shared with the world in August 2018.
This story is very personal to me- it is a promise to my dearest, best friend who passed on years ago, who took her life for she felt life wasn't worth living anymore. I wish I could turn back time and tell her how loved and special she is; but all I can do now, for my friend, is to share Pan de Salawal. Through Sal’s story, I sincerely wish others would realize that no sickness or loneliness is reason to give up. There is always something or someone that comes, to make life sweet and worth living.
I really believe this film is special and can touch so many. But in order to make it, we sincerely need your help!
HELP US MAKE MAGIC!
We are still aiming to complete our funding. Every single dollar can help. It will go mostly into Production Design and Post-Production. Please donate any amount from the bottom of your heart :)
This is a small film, but it is intimate, uplifting and magical. Please please please help us make it come to life. Spread the word and support our film!
Logline:
An ill-stricken community along the Manila railroad gets their own dose of miracles from a 10-year old wanderer from the South, who violently hurts the sick as her odd yet magical way of healing them.
Synopsis:
The Manila Railroad. In the shanty-town beside the tracks, Sal (75)- a lonely baker suffering from a chronic kidney condition, wants to end his life via the oncoming train. Sharing his grim, grey life are his neighbors- a barber with hand tremors, a folk-dancer paralyzed by stroke, a macho meat vendor with tumor in his breast- all hoping for a miracle.
Their prayers are answered through Aguy- a 10-year old girl wandering from the South. Orphaned after a distressed birth, she has known no family nor home. But she possesses an extraordinary gift- the ability to heal. When she sees someone in pain, she hurts them—by slapping their faces or punching their chests or anything violent—and they get healed.
With a series of miracles, life along the railroad is off to a new start. Especially for Sal, who has grown fond of the little healer. Through their endearing bond, like kite-flying loose undies up in the air and baking delicious pan de sal again after so many years, Sal realizes how beautiful life can be. He doesn’t wish to die anymore; he wishes to get healed, so he can take care of Aguy, like his own daughter.
But as Aguy is able to heal the sick shanty-town, she however, cannot heal Sal. As his kidneys fail, urinating with too much pain and blood, Aguy realizes she must hurt him the worst possible way she can.
WHAT MAKES PAN DE SALAWAL SPECIAL
Pan De Salawal shall take us into a world where an old, gritty shanty-town by the Manila railroad becomes a place of magic and hope. Although it is set in the slums, the film will not highlight poverty, unlike most Filipino films to date. Instead it will show how beautiful it is to be Filipino. From simple joys like pan de sal (salted bread) dipped in coffee and the exciting Manila train ride- to unwavering virtues like smiling, laughing even, at the face of illness, and 100% faith that a loved one will get healed.
In today’s world of cynicism, it is good to believe in miracles. It can be spiritual- a gift from heaven, or it can be entirely human- from the kindness of someone. It can be the work of the universe, or can come from within ourselves. Miracles are everywhere. Even being alive is a miracle in itself. This is what Pan de Salawal is about- a story on sickness and suicide told in a magical way, celebratory of health and life.
BE THE MIRACLE WE NEED! HELP US MAKE MAGIC!
About the Writer/Director
Che Espiritu is a Filipina filmmaker from the gritty, beautiful Metro Manila. She studied Film in the University of the Philippines and later on completed her Master’s degree in Motion Picture Arts in Florida State University, USA. She continues to widen her perspective as a storyteller in her backpacking travels all over Asia. She has recently been selected as a fellow in the Asian Film Academy in Busan, South Korea last 2016.
Being the eldest of five and exposed to educating street children in Manila, Che developed a penchant for Children’s stories with a dark tinge of Magical Realism—a marriage of Kiarostami’s neorealism and Miyazaki's world of the real and surreal. Her short films, Last Children and Mami (Mommy), have been featured in Toronto International Film Festival and other children’s festivals in Asia, Europe and America. She is currently working on her first full-length film (Pan De Salawal) and ultimately dreams of becoming one of Asia’s renowned Children’s filmmakers in the future.
