SMALL VOICES (MGA MUNTIN TINIG) Asian New Classics

For many, the best of Filipino cinema is defined by its resolute devotion to exposing the country’s problems. With SMALL VOICES director Gil M. Portes opts for a decidedly more optimistic stance, albeit one tempered by a realistic outlook.

The film follows Melinda (Alessandra de Rossi), who arrives at a remote province to replace another teacher who is leaving for a brighter future in an unnamed country. Immediately, Melinda encounters problems. The principal is mainly interested in earning money from the students by selling them frozen treats; her fellow teachers prefer to discuss sex and graft; and the parents are more intent on developing their children’s backs than their brains. When a bureaucrat saunters by to inform the school about a choral contest, Melinda senses an opportunity. But she’ll have to convince all of them-children, parents and her peers. – that participating is in their best interests.

Smoothly and sensitively directed, SMALL VOICES is a profoundly affecting and hopeful film, all the more so for acknowledging the fierce social realism that characterizes the best of Filipino cinema.