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Fil-Canadian thriller 'Apoy' shown at Canadian film fest

A Fil-Canadian film student's new thriller is garnering attention within the Canadian Film Festival Circuit.

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<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TJ1QWG1bMok?&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>“Apoy” or fire in Filipino, is a short psychological thriller that was written and directed by Filipino-Canadian film student Nushi Sharma.It tells the story of a boy, obsessed with flame and duck embryo or “Balut,&quot; who decided to get rid of his aunt because she was standing between him and his mother.Sharma is a graduating student from the University of British Columbia. She said she wanted her film to explore the complex dynamics within the family.“It can be quite jarring and new to the Western world but I think these dynamics are very important,” she said. “It is very important to teach anyone in your family, especially the ones that are growing, to place their emotions in a better way.”“Apoy” was first shown at the UBC Persistence of Vision Film Festival where it won Best Screenplay. It then got chosen to screen at the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival.“It&#x27;s really nice to feel support from a film festival and basically allow us to show stories from all across the world,” Sharma added. “It just makes me really happy that people get to see and experience Filipino actresses, filmmakers, and creatives.”Playing the role of the mother in the film is Fil-Canadian actress Sherrylyn Vivero.She was hailed as an &quot;Outstanding Performer in a Canadian Short Film&quot; by the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival.“I wasn&#x27;t expecting it because I am only a supporting character, not a lead character,” she said. “But then Nushi said, ‘your performance was really very good.’ The judges were happy to see it.”When Vivero and her son, 11-year-old Haven, read the script of &quot;Apoy,&quot; they were drawn to it because it was dark and deep and decided to audition for the roles of mother and son.Both of them got the part, and Haven as the lead character, admitted it was a difficult role to play.The production team also helped in bringing Sharma’s vision of the thriller onscreen.“We really just want to make sure that the tableaus were able to hold interest,” said cinematographer Tristan Ramos. “We have really long shots in order to get them to be interesting to look at for like lengthy periods of time, [which] is kinda difficult.”Producer Julz LaBrash is proud to have worked on “Apoy” and said that even if the dialog was in Filipino, she was able to relate to it.Sharma hopes to screen &quot;Apoy&quot; in other festivals here and abroad.

A Fil-Canadian film student's new thriller is garnering attention within the Canadian Film Festival Circuit.

Fil-Canadian thriller 'Apoy' shown at Canadian film fest

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Fil-Canadian thriller 'Apoy' shown at Canadian film fest

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Rowena Papasin | TFC News Vancouver

Published Feb 17, 2024 08:23 PM PHT

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