The director of The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros returns with this tale of a sexually rebellious girl whose alcoholic father is the official circumciser in her Filipino jungle village.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2007
Tuli 2007
Daisy (Desiree del Valle) is the daughter of the official circumciser in a remote Filipino village. An unhappy and violent alcoholic, he takes his life’s frustrations out on his daughter whom he forces to perform the ritual on the young boys of the village. Daisy’s revenge is to publicly flaunt her relationship with Botchok – who happens to be a young woman. And to make things even worse, when the couple decide to have a baby, Daisy asks the only uncircumcised male in their community to father her child. These three ‘outsiders’ unite against the forces of tradition to form a complex but genuine love triangle.
“Auraeus Solito departs from the Filipino urban jungle of his lauded debut The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros and explores life in the wilder jungle of Tuli, in which a strong-willed daughter upsets every arrangement her alcoholic father tries to impose on her… [The film] sets up a heady brew of daring sexuality and ancient rituals that broadens Solito’s reach as a developing film artist.” — Robert Koehler, Variety