“Harana”
“Harana” will make you want to pick up a guitar, climb into a hammock, and strum the afternoon away bellowing sentimental love tunes. Shot lusciously and predominantly in the Philippines (Cavite, Ilocos Sur and Manila), this documentary replete with nostalgia follows Filipino-American musician Florante Aguilar as he traversed the countryside looking for hanaristas (men who in their youth practiced the harana, a ritual of courting women by breaking out in melody beneath their windows) in order to preserve the beloved songs of this almost-lost tradition. Go and be serenaded by director Benito Bautista’s touching triumph of the diasporic soul. Screened at CAAMFEST on March 16, 2013 (5:50pm, Pacific Film Archive Theater) and March 17, 2013 (7:10pm, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas).