ACF
Asian Cinema Fund
Asian Network of Documentary(AND) Fund
2008 Asian Network of Documentary (AND) Fund
LIST KANO: An American and His Harem (aka. KANO: An American and His Women)
| Category | Dong-Eui Cinema Fund |
|---|---|
| Project | KANO: An American and His Harem (aka. KANO: An American and His Women) |
| Director | Monster JIMENEZ |
| Country | Philippines |
| Director's Profile | Monster served her apprenticeship with one of the Philippine′s greatest directors, Mike de Leon. In 2000, she co-founded Arkeofilms, an independent film production company, where she remains a partner and Artistic Director. Arkeofilms has gone on to produce a number of highly-regarded films, garnering attention both in the Philippines and worldwide. She wrote and produced the full-length feature film [Big Time](2005), a multiple award-winning film which was shown in several international festivals. [KANO: An American and His Women] is Monster′s first full-length documentary feature. |
- Synopsis
- Victor Pearson, a Vietnam War veteran, was discharged less than a year later for war shock and post-traumatic stress disorder. He then settled in a remote province in the Philippines. He married a Filipina by asking a group of prostitutes in a bar, "Who wants to marry me?" In 2001, he was arrested and subsequently convicted on two counts of rape. Since his convictions, he has converted to Islam and has married six of his concubines. All the wives get monthly allowances on top of their household needs. Everybody is living off Pearson’s allowance and hoping there will be enough for their own families. So this "make shift family" is never ever really settled, as every day is a constant battle to survive.
- Director's Note
- This documentary is the story of how one American man and his harem have created this most dysfunctional of families, and how such sad, sordid circumstances bind them in inscrutable ways. [KANO: An American and His Women] reflects the tragic twists of the Philippines’ history, and the depths of crushing poverty. It is a story of desperation, survival, and strangely, of hope.
- Festivals
- 2010 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam - IDFA Award for First Appearance
- Still Cut
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