A couple of days ago, Ho Wi Ding, the director of “Pinoy Sunday” made a post on Facebook stating “Many years ago, after watching the premiere of my feature debut Pinoy Sunday, a European programmer warned me that, many years later, I won’t be proud of this film enough to include it in my filmography. Twelve years later, Pinoy Sunday is still in demand, showing in small non-profit venues like schools or film festivals, within Taiwan or abroad. Last year, it was screened in the 48th Seoul Independent Film Festival. Next Wednesday, January 11th, at 8pm, it will be screened again in Oldham Theater of Asian Film Archive. A film without expiry date. Yes. Many years later, I am still proud of Pinoy Sunday.”

The aforementioned comment was actually the instigation for me to watch the film, with the answer in the question of why the European programmer made that comment,...

Pinoy Sunday is not a typical Taiwanese film. Firstly, it plays out primarily in Tagalog, with only occasional snippets of dialogue spoken in Taiwanese, Mandarin or English. Secondly, it maintains a fairly light-hearted tone, telling a simple story of Filipino migrant workers without feeling compelled to get bogged down in social commentary or berate the injustices of an unfair society. Instead, Malaysian-born writer-director Ho Wi Ding lets his film ride for the most part on the shoulders of his two lead actors - Jeffrey "Epy" Quizon and Bayani Agbayani - a task they effortlessly accomplish through their natural charisma and frequently hilarious onscreen chemistry.

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