A Lost Love Story Returns: Japanese Silent Film Screening at UPFI Cine Adarna + A Chance to Win JFM Limited Edition Merch

 A love story nearly erased. A voice that brings it back to life.

The International Silent Film Festival Manila continues its celebration of cinema history and live performance with a special screening of The Scent of Pheasant’s Eye: An Episode from the Tales of Flowers, directed by Jirô Kawate. This rare 1930s Japanese silent film is adapted from the work of Yoshiya Nobuko—one of Japan’s earliest openly queer women writers and a trailblazer of shōjo and yuri literature. In a time when stories of women loving women were rarely told, Yoshiya wrote them into existence, offering narratives that still feel quietly revolutionary.

This revival is told in the tradition of how silent films once were—through the voice of a benshi. Nanako Yamauchi, one of only around 20 active benshi remaining in Japan, will perform a live narration that blends storytelling, performance, and emotion, bringing this nearly forgotten film vividly to life.

Accompanying her is a live original score by an all-female ensemble: Mariah Reodica, Teresa Barrozo, and Pat Sarabia. Together, they weave indie rock, experimental sound, and bold percussion into a contemporary reimagining of Yoshiya’s world.

Attend the screening and get a chance to take home limited edition Japan Foundation Manila merchandise, including:

• JFF & JF Tote Bags
• SUKI: The Official Magazine of JFM
• JFF Postcards
• Japanese Film Festival Theater Fans

First come, first served. One item per person while supplies last.

This isn’t just a screening—it’s a reclamation. A revival. A tribute to queer storytelling and women’s voices, past and present.

July 14, 2025 | 2:00 PM | Cine Adarna, UP Film Center

Free admission | Walk-ins welcome | Register here: https://bit.ly/JapaneseSilentFilmScreening

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For more information and updates:

Visit the International Silent Film Festival Manila on Facebook and Instagram.

International Silent Film Festival Manila 2025 Officially Kicks Off at Shangri-La Plaza

The International Silent Film Festival Manila (ISFFM) 2025 officially kicked off on June 17, 2025,

at Shangri-La Plaza, warmly welcomed by members of the press and media. After years of

pause and reflection, the festival returns with renewed energy and purpose, bringing together

cultural institutions, musicians, and film lovers in a celebration of cinema, music, and

international collaboration.

Mr. Johnny Rios, Retail Operations Head of Shangri-La Plaza Corporation, also graced the

event and offered his warm welcome to the partners and media in attendance. He expressed

the mall’s excitement in supporting ISFFM as one of their special cultural collaborations with

participating countries, envisioning Shangri-La Plaza as a space for world cinema to thrive and

be experienced by wider audiences.

This year’s festival embraces the exclamation point as its central symbol—a mark of excitement,

urgency, and joyful noise. In the spirit of silent film, where expression is everything and every

gesture is heightened, the exclamation point becomes a fitting emblem for a festival that seeks

to amplify its voice in silence. It signals a bold return, a shared declaration: we're back.

The 2025 edition reassembles its international community, reconnecting participating countries

and introducing new voices, with an eye toward growth and reinvention. This is not just a return,

but a reimagining of what the festival can be. Once again, ISFFM affirms its role as a platform

for cultural dialogue, artistic experimentation, and cinematic exploration.

This year’s edition features new partnerships with Instituto Cervantes, the Philippine Italian

Association, Japan Foundation Manila, the Austrian Embassy, and the Goethe-Institut

Philippinen. Their curated films include Gigantes y Cabezudos (Spain), The Scent of Pheasant’s

Eye (Japan), Wie Sich Der Kientopp Rächt, Aschenputtel, and Geschichten von Freiheit und

Freundschaft (Germany), Beethoven (Austria), and Fra Diavolo (Italy)—a rich tapestry of stories

from across cultures and eras.

These films will be accompanied by live musical scores from a compelling lineup of Filipino

musicians. Featured performers include the genre-bending Psychic Surgeon, Pepe Manikan’s

Progharmonic Orchestra, Hearlife Verein, the experimental duo Ma.Ma, and the all-female trio of

Teresa Barrozo, Pat Sarabia, and Mariah Reodica — each bringing their distinct sound to this

celebration of silent cinema.

Opening the festival on July 11 is Japan’s featured film, accompanied by a special performance

from Nanako Yamauchi, a benshi or silent film narrator. Yamauchi will provide a live

interpretation of the Japanese silent film, reviving the traditional art of benshi narration and

offering audiences a rare and immersive cultural experience.

The festival runs from July 11 to 13 at Red Carpet Cinemas, Shangri-La Plaza, with a pocket

screening event taking place on July 14 at Cine Adarna, UP Film Center.

ISFFM 2025 promises not only a revival of the beloved silent film tradition but a fresh encounter

with its enduring power. The excitement is palpable—and this year, it ends not with a period, but

with an exclamation point.

For more details kindly visit International Silent Film Festival in Manila on Facebook

(https://www.facebook.com/InternationalSilentFilmFestivalManila) and @ISFFM on Instagram.