AsiaLENS: AEMS Documentary and Independent Film Series at the Spurlock Museum: A is for Augustin

• Event Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022–Tuesday, March 8, 2022
• Time: 7:00 pm–9:00 pm (CST)
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free

• Film

A is for Augustin
A film by Grace Pimentel Simbulan.
2019 / 74 minutes

In-person screening and conversation with filmmaker Grace Pimentel Simbulan.

Living in a remote corner of the Philippine islands, Agustin is a tribesman who loves to sing, but never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. When his boss cheats him out of his wages seemingly for the thousandth time, 40–year old Agustin decides to enroll in grade 1. Over the next six years, however, Agustin becomes increasingly torn between two realities — the children’s world in school, and the increasing challenges of the world outside. This film invites audiences to hope and dream with Agustin, and to understand the harsh reality that makes his optimism and the optimism of many Indigenous peoples ultimately so fragile.

AsiaLENS Film Series

AsiaLENS is a film screening and discussion series offering campus and community audiences an opportunity to view documentary and independent film on issues reflecting contemporary life in Asia.

AsiaLENS screenings are funded in part by the Spurlock Museum's Y.T. Lo and S. de Mundo Lo Scholar's Studio Endowment and B.A. Knight Endowment.