We are so excited to be hosting the Chicago premiere of THE SEARCH FOR WENG WENG on December 12th with our friends at Chicago Filmmakers. We are even more excited that Director Andrew Leavold will be flying in from Australia and will be in attendance to introduce the film with a Q&A after the screening. We here at the Chicago Cinema Society have been big fans of the few films that Weng Weng has starred in and had been waiting anxiously for this documentary as we, too, were curious as to what had happened to this almost mythical individual. Leavold’s journey to the Philippines with barely any leads on Weng Weng’s possible whereabouts is incredible. Do not miss this amazing documentary!
Synopsis:
One night in 1996, Australian cult video store owner turned guerrilla filmmaker Andrew Leavold dreamt he was in the Philippines directing a documentary about Weng Weng, the two-foot-nine Filipino James Bond. Ten years later, he’s actually in Manila making a deal with the forces of chaos and following his two decade obsession to its logical conclusion.
It’s just the beginning of a very strange adventure, and as fate would have it, it’s all captured on film. As for Weng Weng: he remains an enigma even to those who worked with him. His reign as the midget Agent 00 was an outrageous novelty that plucked him from complete obscurity and returned him just as quickly. What was he like? When and how did he pass away? In a country of 80 million people, it seems the truth about Weng Weng has slipped between the cracks forever.
“THE SEARCH FOR WENG WENG” leapfrogs from one eccentric character to the next – directors, producers, actors, stuntmen, dwarf waiters, even Imelda Marcos herself, each one with a unique place in Filipino cinema – all the while dismantling the country’s greatest filmic urban legend. Proving reality sometimes really is stranger than fiction, it’s part detective story, part forgotten B film history, and part surreal Quest for the Holy Grail – that is, if the Grail is a two foot nine superstar called Weng Weng.
THE SEARCH FOR WENG WENG
Digital Projection, 96mins
Location: Chicago Filmmakers
5243 N Clark St. 60640
Date: Friday, December 12th
Time: 8:00pm
Ticket price: $8.00
