Desire & Solitude: The Cinema of Isabel Sandoval

Isabel Sandoval’s sumptuous new feature Moonglow is the most dazzling work yet by an artist recognized as “one of the most exciting and multitalented filmmakers on the indie scene” (The Criterion Collection) and “a rarity among the young generation of Filipino filmmakers.” (The Museum of Modern Art).

Sandoval joins Asia Society to present the film’s first theatrical preview alongside her three previous features and two titles that influenced it — Max Ophuls’ The Earrings of Madame de… and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï.

Over the course of a still young but incredibly accomplished and promising career, Sandoval has demonstrated a consistent ability to visualize the most interior human experiences, situating her characters’ loneliness and longing in a world whose macro currents constantly threaten to burst through the dam of everyday life. Her mature mis-en-scene underscores the layers of feeling experienced by her characters, and a keen attunement to the drama of ethical dilemmas makes the predicaments they face both epically tragic and profoundly relatable. Without a doubt, Sandoval is one of the most vital Asian auteurs at work today.

Organized by Asia Society Curator of Film Inney Prakash with Isabel Sandoval.

Visit this page to see a list of upcoming screenings included in this program.