20th Anniversary New York Asian Film Festival

Jul 15-31, 2022

FilmsGuestsTalks & EventsSchedule & TicketsProgram Book

Photo: ©︎The IdeaFirst Company

New York Premiere

Big Night!

Dharna, a gay hairdresser and model citizen beloved by his community, learns that his name has been added to a government watchlist, falsely claiming he is a drug addict. This makes him a target of extrajudicial killings, and he embarks on the most challenging night of his life, trying desperately to clear his name and stay alive. Eccentric family and friends, a bodacious all-male cabaret, greedy local bureaucrats and a whacked-out movie star are just some of the colorful encounters in Dharna’s extraordinary odyssey. Director Jun Robles Lana weaves a savage satire fleshed out from real life, where the innocent often fall victim to indiscriminate death hunts.

Director: Jun Robles Lana
Cast: Christian Bables, Eugene Domingo, John Arcilla
Languages: Tagalog with English subtitles
2021; 105 min.

SCHEDULE:

Wednesday July 27, 6:15pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Director Jun Robles Lana and Actor Christian Bables will attend the screening.

Christian Bables

Christian Bables made his film debut playing the transgender character Barbs in Die Beautiful (2016), for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Gawad Urian Awards. He won Best Leading Actor at the 5th Hanoi International Film Festival for Signal Rock (2018), and Best Actor for Big Night! (2022) at the Metro Manila Film Festival. He has also appeared in Finally Found Someone and The Ghost Bride (both 2017), and The Panti Sisters (2019).

Jun Robles Lana

Jun Robles Lana made his writing-directing debut with Bwakaw, the Philippines’ official Oscar entry in 2012. Among other highlights of his filmography are Barber’s Tales (2013), which earned him a Best Director award from the Madrid International Film Festival; Shadow Behind the Moon (2015), which won Best Director, Actress, Netpac and Fipresci awards at Vladivostock; Die Beautiful, which won the Audience and Best Actor awards at the 2016 Tokyo International Festival, and Kalel, 15 (2019), which won Best Director at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.