Film
Bristol Bad Film Club: The Search for Weng Weng + director Q&A
- Director
- Andrew Leavold
- Certificate
- 12A
- Running Time
- 93 mins
In something of a break with tradition, the Bristol Bad Film Club‘s August selection isn’t actually a bad film but a documentary about the extraordinary story of a star of bad films. A couple of years ago, the BBFC screened For Y’ur Height Only, which made actor Weng Weng‘s name as “the Filipino James Bond”. Weng, whose real name was Ernesto de la Cruz, stood just 2′ 9″ tall because of primordial dwarfism. But his diminutive stature didn’t prevent him becoming the most famous Filipino celebrity of his generation. That, however, was nearly 40 years ago. Whatever happened to Weng Weng?
That’s what Australian filmmaker Andrew Leavold set out to discover in his long-gestating documentary, The Search for Weng Weng. Leavold spent 20 years trying to track down his subject, and a further seven making the film. We’ll leave you discover the story’s secrets for yourself, suffice it to say that Variety‘s approving review noted that Leavold’s film is an “entertaining, good-humoured yet respectful homage to a unique exploitation-film figure.” The director will be present for a Q&A after this screening as part of a tour to promote his tie-in book of the same title. Advance tickets, price £5, are available here.
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