Interview: 'The Missing' director Carl Joseph Papa and actor Gio Gahol on making Oscar history for the Philippines

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Carlo Aquino and Dolly de Leon.

Carl Joseph Papa's Oscar submission The Missing (original title: Iti Mapukpukaw)  centers on a mouthless young man whose life is rocked when a familiar alien returns to his life. In telling this deeply personal story using animation, Papa examines the long-term effects of childhood trauma on people and how far kindness could go in helping them in reclaiming their voice. The Missing is the Philippines' official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, becoming the country's first animated feature film to represent the country (out of 33 submissions). Out of the eight countries that submitted for the category's first competitive year in 1956, only the Philippines is yet to be nominated.

In this in-depth discussion, writer-director Carl Joseph Papa and actor Gio Gahol tackle the taboo topic of childhood sexual abuse in the country, pulling off the feat of shooting the film within four days, the artists that inspired them in their craft, and working with BAFTA nominee Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness)...

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A Glimpse at Oscar's Nominated Animated Shorts

by Chris Feil

Is this an off year for the Animated Short category? It’s (shamefully) my first year to catch the entire lineup, but unfortunately that seems to be the general response. If you check out the films in theatres you will also be treated to a few of the shortlisted contenders, but the package sadly doesn’t include the delightful In A Heartbeat. Even if this is also the least exciting lineup of the three Short categories this year, there are still delights to be found in this category, with animation styles the run the full spectrum from hand-drawn to computer generated to stop motion animation. Let’s look at the nominees...

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Hertzfeldt's Return to "World of Tomorrow"

Chris here. Even the most niche of cinema is getting sequelized these days. Remember Don Hertzfeldt's masterwork animated short World of Tomorrow? Of course you do. The mini-major was an unforgettable science-fiction mix of rudimentary and complex visuals with equal bits silliness and profundity, and gained as much popularity as any short film in recent memory. Well we'll get to revisit Emily Prime for Hertzfeldt's follow-up, World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts.

Hertzfeldt has been teasing the new short on Twitter for a few months and it played Fantastic Fest to equally high praise as its predecessor. Could this mean that Hertzfeldt could be back in the Oscar shorts race again after losing two years ago? The bigger question might actually be found in the film's not-so-short title: is Hertzfeldt planning an entire saga on Emily Prime or is "episode" simply a cheeky word choice? 

Based on a new teaser, the filmmaker will be delivering on more hypnotic visuals and melancholy wit that made the first so very special. Take a look at what is in store - and if you haven't seen World of Tomorrow yet, it's still on Netflix. Hello Again, Emily!

Final Predictions: Animation, Documentary, and Sound Categories

Another day another dizzying array of last minute nerves over this confusing Oscar race. We've already talked Picture, Director, Actor, and the Screenplay categories right here. Now several more categories...

Animated Feature
A couple of months ago The Red Turtle looked like the sure thing "art" entry in the this category but it doesn't appear to have gathered much momentum and I worry it may be omitted. Working the opposite trajectory is Kubo and the Two Strings (more and more popular... could it even give Zootopia a run for the win?) and My Life as a Courgette which could pick up nominations in both animated feature and foreign language feature, something that has never happened before.  

Documentary Feature
The only question that seems relevant at this point is "can anything beat O.J.: Made in America?"...

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Judy by the Numbers: "Take My Hand, Paree"

This week's number is hands down the weirdest entry in Judy's filmography. It doesn't fit neatly into Judy's biography or star image; it really appears to be one of those things that happened because the timing was right. In 1962, Warner Bros released a UPA animated feature called Gay Purr-ee. It's a movie about Parisian cats that feels like An American in Paris meets The Aristocats as played by the Looney Tunes. In a bit of early celebrity stunt casting UPA cast two big voices for its dimunitive feline leads: Judy Garland and Robert Goulet. 

The Movie: Gay Purr-ee (WB, 1962)
The Songwriters: Harold Arlen (music) & E.Y. Yarburg (lyrics)
The Cast: Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Hermione Gingold, Paul Frees, Mel Blanc, directed by Abe Levitow.

The Story: Gay Purr-ee really needs to be seen to be believed. Done in the limited-animation style of UPA, the movie sets jittering characters against beautifully drawn backgrounds. As the casting of Mel Blanc may have tipped some readers off, the movie was actually produced and co-written by famous Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones. (Jones was fired from Warner Bros after making this film as he had violated his contract with them.) However, though the movie is occasionally stunning, it lacks the focused insanity of Jones's animated shorts.

Judy is credited with having brought her "Over the Rainbow" songwriters onto the film. Despite this, neither the film nor the soundtrack did well. When the film fizzled, Judy continued her successful touring schedule. However, another new opportunity was about to present itself to her.