Earlier in the 25th Tribeca Festival I covered two animated shorts, “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe!” and “Saba”. They were both sweet films that fully explored the abilities of the animation medium. Amidst feature debuts (and so many world premieres at any given film festival), shorts often get less attention. However, as is usually the case, they have as much to offer as full length films, just in a smaller package. Some cover everything they promise in their short run-time; others sometimes get the run-time wrong. That’s just part of the risk.
As the festival nears its close, I had the opportunity to watch two more short films, this time in the live action genre. There was “Kaya,” a film about a determined Filipina martial arts hopeful and “32B,” a film billed as a ‘comedy,’ but which I felt had more to say about single fatherhood, girlhood, and how society pressures parents and young women into conformity. Both have much to offer and were solid additions to the festival.
*Festival information for both films follows at the bottom of article.
‘Kaya’
“Kaya,” written and directed by Isabel Lamers, is a story of dedication and personhood — and also a treatise on belonging. Taking place in the Philippines, its subject (director Lamers in the lead role as Nia) finds herself in-between two worlds. She’s a light-skinned Filipina young woman (her own cohorts ask her where she’s from) and she’s also into martial arts. Her mother (Gaye Angeles), insists the latter will make her less appealing to men. It’s no secret that Nia feels left out of the bigger picture. She’s subtracted from membership in two distinct groups by merely existing.
Lamers’ film is good, painting Nia’s pain in palpable scenes that never feel out of place or too much. At 12 minutes, I feel the film could have been longer, but it’s not necessary that it is. In a short span, Lamers — both through writing and acting — shows us how important belonging is and how painful it is when we don’t. The film’s opening shows Nia lying bloody on the floor of a gym as she’s trying (and failing) to make the Filipino Martial Arts team. She’s a skilled kickboxer but can’t learn this new form of fighting. Her opponent, Malic (EJ Lipana) is tough and unforgiving on her during a match. However, after the match is over we learn they have more in common than she thought. He’s gay, and others on the team tease him. And while he initially thought she wasn’t Filipina due to the color of her skin, they bond and he agrees to help train her to make the team.
There are powerful scenes in “Kaya.” The training sequences themselves we learn are choreographed by 87Eleven (affiliated with the “John Wick” saga). The time that Nia and Malic spend together training is a bright part of the short. Malic is a good guide; and a scene as Nia finally learns one of the advanced moves he’s taught her — and is genuinely proud of herself — made me feel a sense of pride alongside her. Regrettably, not all of the film’s most powerful scenes are life-affirming. Two others — one as she tries to embrace her mother but is reminded ‘she didn’t take a shower first ’ and another as she laments how she doesn’t fit into White nor Filipino culture — were especially painful. But “Kaya” isn’t a sad movie. Its ending sequence and its literal life affirming ‘kick’ was a splendid close to a film about identity and perseverance.
Lamers has a good eye for telling this story. Her film is helped by both Cinematographer Cesca Lee and Editor Daniel Tong. The fight sequences are exhilarating — you can tell a lot of work was put into them to make them feel realistic and hard-hitting. Lamers looks beat up at the end of the fights. She battles both the physical combat and casual racism she faces with grace. As an actress, Lamers also is a tour de force. I liked the way the film humanized her and gave credibility to her anger. Alongside her, EJ Lipana was a great asset. As an outsider himself, his friendship with Nia was realistic and I thought he put forth a great performance. Rounding this out, Kayley Carrigan — who plays the hard-nosed martial arts club owner — portrays a good adversary for Nia. The training fight between her and Nia at the film’s end was a good wrap-up. It shows us one thing: Nia will never back down, and I was cheering right alongside her.
“Kaya” had its world premiere at Tribeca Festival in the ‘Competitive Edge’ program on June 4th. It has one more showing on June 13th at 2:30 PM EST in AMC 19th Street East 6. The film was co-hosted with ‘New York Women in Film & Television.’
Grade B
’32B’
“32B” is a fantastic Egyptian short written by Haitham Dabbour and directed by Mohamed Taher. While the premise is simple — a single father must entertain that his preteen daughter, Malak (Jessica Hosameldin), is at the age where she needs to wear a bra — the way the short handles the material makes it important rather than comedic. It helps that the film’s lead, Hazem, played by Mohamed Mamdouh, is very relatable. At the start of the film we see him watching his daughter play at a sporting event while a family friend (Hana Shiha) suggests he needs to get his daughter a bra. However, the way she suggests it is kind of dismissive. It’s clear she wishes the man had remarried or had a female friend that could help his daughter rather than he himself.
However, subsequent scenes show us what a capable father he is in other areas. He cooks clean, healthy dinners, he spends time with his daughter at the table, and he engages her in conversation about her math studies. They have a very good rapport together. And despite the fact that her father struggles internally with bringing up this difficult topic — and Mamdouh does a fantastic job in making the whole ordeal feel as awkward for us as it does for him — they bond. I liked when Malak tells him she wants to major in something that “requires no math whatsoever” and her father relates. I can’t remember the last time I saw this kind of father/daughter bonding in an American film.
However, that’s not say that “32B” (named, clearly, after a bra size) is not a comedy. It is. It accomplishes this mostly through the pained way that Hazem wears worry on his face and fails to bring the topic up to his daughter. A trip to a bra store also contains humor — along with much awkwardness — as he tries to find an acceptable undergarment for Malak without letting on he’s shopping for his daughter. The clerk tries to give him advice on buying a bra for a woman — and how important a step that is in a relationship — before Hazem is forced to blurt out, “it’s for my daughter!” Along the way, Mamdouh’s acting is superb. He has a strong foundation in theater, per the press notes, and it shows here. His facial acting is a strong point of the movie. The same is true of the many ways he rehearses how to bring the subject up to Malak. His rehearsals contain both comedy and awkwardness. To underline the proceedings, a light, teasing score by Ahmad Mostafa Zaky complements the picture perfectly.
“32B” comes to head in a believable way. It’s not as severe as its press notes would have you believe, and it doesn’t cause as much tension. However, it ushers in what I felt was a mixture of emotions in Hazem: relief, new tension, confusion, and fear. Watching your daughter grow up before your eyes — and losing that little girl you knew — can be hard enough. But finding yourself in the situation as a single father to handle things a mother ought to is on another level. The film’s comedy comes from the fact that Malak is not nearly as awkward about this as is Hazem. But the sweet takeaways come from the fact that Hazem really cares and works to give Malak what she needs, even under his own insecurities (mainly, will guys notice her more now??). It reminded me of two other single father comedy/dramas: Kevin Hart’s touching “Fatherhood” and Eugenio Derbez’ “Instructions Not Included.” All three movies empathize with the fatherly struggle in a way that was empathetic instead of humiliating.
At the end of the day, “32B” is a good movie. Both Hosameldin and Mamdouh are excellent and the topic it broaches is strong and necessary. That it took place in another culture only made it that much stronger, as you can instantly see how much the human condition shares from country to country. The cinematography by Mostafa Fahmy is bright and pristine, and makes this Cairo seem a lived in place. But under it all, “32B” is about father/daughter relationships, how difficult that can be without a mother figure present, but still how that doesn’t have to mean good things can’t come of it. Hazem is awkward and unsure. But then again, what parent isn’t?
Grade B+
“32 B” had its North American premiere at Tribeca Festival on June 6th at Shorts Theater at Spring Studios in NYC. The film has additional showings on June 13th at 8:15 PM at AMC 19th Street East 6 and June 14th at 12 PM at AMC 19th Street East 6.
