PAYING IT BACK FOR MANG MELITON

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Paying It Back for Mang Meliton a.k.a "Mang Milton"
Posted by Mike on Dec 26, '08 10:06 PM


Meet Meliton Zamora, a retired University of the Philippines janitor and my hero.

For forty-five years, he swept floors, cleaned up trash, watered plants and did odd jobs at the University.

I met him when I was active with the UP Repertory Company, a theater group based (then) at the third floor lobby of the Arts & Sciences (AS) building. He would sweep and mop the hallway floors in silence, venturing only a nod and a smile whenever I passed him.

Back then, for me he was just one of those characters whom you got acquainted with and left behind as soon as you earned your degree and left the university for some big job in the real world. Someone whose name would probably ring a bell but whose face you'd have a hard time picturing. But for many UP students like me who were hard up and had a difficult time paying their tuition fees, Mang Mel was a hero who gave them the opportunity to finish university and get a big job in the real world.

The year was 1993 and I was on my last semester as a Clothing Technology student. My parents had been down on their luck and were struggling to pay for my tuition fee. I had been categorized as Bracket 9 in the recently implemented Socialized Tuiton and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP). My father had lost his job and to supplement my allowance, I worked part time as a Guest Relations Officer at Sam's Diner (back when the term GRO didn't have shady undertones) and took some odd jobs as a Production Assistant, movie extra and wardrobe mistress.

To be eligible for graduation, I had to enroll in my last three courses and pay my tuition fee. Since my parents didn't have enough money for my matriculation, I applied for a student loan hoping that my one of my Home Economics (HE) professors would take pity on me and sign on as a guarantor for the student loan. But those whom I approached either refused or were not eligible as guarantors. After two unsuccessful weeks of looking for a guarantor, my prospects looked dim, my future dark. And so, there I was, a downtrodden twenty year old with a foggy future, crying in the AS lobby. I only had twenty four hours left to look for a guarantor.

Mang Mel, with a mop in hand, approached me and asked me why I was crying. I told him I had no guarantor for my student loan and will probably not be able to enroll this semester. I had no hopes that he would be able to help me. After all, he was just a janitor. He borrowed my loan application papers and said softly, "Puwede ako pumirma. Empleyado ako ng UP." He borrowed my pen and signed his name. With his simple act of faith, Mang Mel not only saved my day, he also saved my future.

I paid my student loan the summer after that fateful day with Mang Milton and it has been 15 years since then. I am not filthy rich but I do have a good job in the real world that allows me to support my family and eat three meals a day. A few weeks ago, a friend and UP Professor, Daki, told me that Mang Mel recently recorded an album which he sells to supplement his meager retirement pay, I asked another friend, Blaise, who's taking his Master's degree at UP to find out how we could contact Mang Mel. My gesture of gratitude for Mang Mel's altruism has been long overdue. As fate would have it, my friend saw Mang Mel coming out of the shrubbery from behind the UP library, carrying firewood. He got Mang Mel's address and promised him that we would come over to buy his album.

Together with Blaise and my husband Augie, I went to pay Mang Mel a visit last Sunday. Unfortunately, he was out doing a little sideline gardening for a UP professor in Tandang Sora. We were welcomed into their home by his daughter Kit. As she pointed out to a laminated photo of Mang Mel on the wall, she proudly told us that her father did retire with recognition from the University. However, she sadly related to us that many of the students whose loans Mang Mel guaranteed neglected to settle their student loans. After forty-five years of service to the University, Mang Mel was only attributed 171 days of work for his retirement pay because all the unpaid student loans were deducted from his full retirement pay of about 675 days. This seems to me a cruel repayment for his kindness.

This is a cybercall to anyone who did not get to pay their student loans that were guaranteed by Mang Mel. Anytime would be a good time to show Mang Mel your gratitude.

Mang Mel is not asking for a dole out, though I know he will be thankful for any assistance you can give. So I ask those of you who also benefited from Mang Meliton's goodness or for those who simply wish to share your blessings, please do visit Mang Mel and buy his CD (P350 only) at No. 16-A, Block 1, Pook Ricarte, U.P. Campus, Diliman, Quezon City (behind UP International House) or contact his daughter Kit V. Zamora at 0916-4058104.

2008 CINEMA ONE ORIGINALS FILMFEST WINNERS

“Yanggaw” dominated the awards tally but the coming-of-age film “Imburnal” won Best Picture in the 2008 Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival Friday night.

The awarding ceremony, hosted by Bianca Gonzalez and Atom Araullo, was held at the Dolphy Theater of ABS-CBN.

Here is the list of winners this year:

Best Actor:
Marki Gil (Alon) tied with
Ronnie Lazaro (Yanggaw)

Best Actress:
Charee Pineda (Alon)

Best Supporting Actress:
Tetchie Agbayani (Yanggaw)

Best Supporting Actor:
Joel Torre (Yanggaw)

Best Director:
Richard Somes (Yanggaw)

Best Sound:
Joey Santos and Eduardo Velasquez (Yanggaw)

Best Editing:
Borgy Torre (Yanggaw)

Audience Choice:
Yanggaw

Best Screenplay:
Sherad Anthony Sanchez (Imburnal)

Best Cinematography:
J. Geolamen, Jose Fiola and John Torres (Imburnal)

Special Jury Prize:
Kolorete

Best Production Design:
Kolorete

Best Musical Score:
Leujim Martinez (Alon)

Best Picture:
Imburnal

The seven finalists, including the non-winning films like “Motorcyle”, “Dose” and “UPCAT”, will be screened at IndieSine, Robinsons Galleria, from December 3 to 10.

FINAL Showing Sked: Cinema One Originals movies at IndieSine

Start:	Dec 3, '08
End:	Dec 9, '08
Location:	IndieSine, Robinson's Galleria

December 03, Wednesday

1:40 pm - 3:20 pm ALON

3:45 pm - 5:45 pm UPCAT

6:15 pm - 7:35 pm MOTORCYCLE

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm DOSE

9:55 pm - 11:30 pm YANGGAW


December 04, Thursday

12:40pm - 02:40 pm KOLORETE

3:05 pm - 04:30 pm DOSE

4:55 pm - 6:55 pm UPCAT

7:30 pm - 8:50 pm MOTORCYCLE

9:30 pm - 11:05 pm YANGGAW


December 05, Friday

12:40pm - 2:40 pm ALON

3:05 pm - 4:30 pm MOTORCYCLE

4:55 pm - 6:55 pm UPCAT

7:20 pm - 9:20 pm KOLORETE

9:45 pm - 11:20 pm YANGGAW

10:00 pm - 11:30 pm DOSE


December 06, Saturday

12:40 am - 2:40 pm KOLORETE

3:05 pm - 4:30 pm MOTORCYCLE

4:55 pm - 6:55 pm UPCAT

7:20 pm - 9:20 pm ALON

9:45 pm - 11:15 pm YANGGAW


December 07, Sunday

12:40 pm - 2:15 pm YANGGAW

2:40 pm - 4:40 pm ALON

5:05 pm - 6:30 pm DOSE

6:55 pm - 8:55 pm UPCAT

9:20 pm - 11:00 Pm MOTORCYCLE



December 08, Monday

12:40 pm - 1:55 pm MOTORCYCLE

2:20 pm - 4:20 pm KOLORETE

4:45 pm - 6:15 pm DOSE

6:50 pm - 8:25 pm YANGGAW

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm UPCAT


December 09, Tuesday

12:40 pm - 2:40 pm ALON

3:05 pm - 5:05 pm KOLORETE

5:30 pm - 6:55 pm DOSE

7:15 pm - 8:45 pm YANGGAW

9:00 pm - 12:20 am IMBURNAL

DEKADA CINEMANILA WINNERS

thanks, gibbs.  :)

++++++++++++++++++++

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YOUNG CINEMA: SHORTS & DOCS
Best Documentary: Marlon (Philippines) by Ralston Jover and James Amparo
Best Short Film: Tumbang Preso (Philippines) by Antoinette Jadaone
Ishmael Bernal Award: Surreal Random MMS Texts Para Ed Ina, Agui, Tan Kaamong Ya Makaiiliw Ed Sika: Gurgurlis Ed Banua [Surreal Random MMS Texts for a Mother, a Sister, and a Wife Who Longs For You: Landscape with Figures] (Philippines), by Christopher Gozum


INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Lino Brocka Award-Grand Prize: The Band's Visit (Israel), by Eran Kolirin
Grand Jury Prize: The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (Iceland/Philippines/France), by Olaf De Fleur Johannesson
Vic Silayan Award for Best Actor: Kenneth Moraleda for Lucky Miles (Australia)
Vic Silayan Award for Best Actress: Angeli Bayani for Melancholia (Philippines)


SOUTHEAST ASIA (SEA) FILM COMPETITION
Best SEA Short: Frou Frou... Shh, Wag Mong Sabihin Kay Itay (Philippines), by Michael Juat
Best SEA Film: Confessional (Philippines), by Jerrold Tarog and Ruel Dahis Antipuesto
Best Actor: Mario Maurer for The Love of Siam (Thailand)
Best Actress: Anita Linda for Adela (Philippines)


DIGITAL LOKAL
Lino Grand Prize: Imburnal, by Sherad Anthony Sanchez
Lino Grand Jury Prize: Next Attraction, by Raya Martin
Best Actor: Carlo Aquino for Carnivore
Best Actress: Jodi Sta. Maria for Sisa
Best Director: Ato Bautista for Carnivore


UN MILLENNIUM DEV'T GOALS PRIZE
Lay-An, Candles Burning on Still Water, by Milo Tolentino


LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Pete Lacaba, who wrote many of Lino Brocka's best-known works: Jaguar (1979), Bayan Ko (My Country, 1984) and Orapronobis (Fight for Us, 1989).


[The Cinemanila International Film Festival website here. For ticket reservations and updated screening schedules, call 9115555 or visit http://www.blogger.com/www.gatewaycineplex10.com]

Congratulations to all the winners! But especially to Angeli Bayani (Vic Silayan Best Actress awardee for Melancholia), a talented theater actress who's now making her mark in movies as well. Angeli, for some years a mainstay in Tanghalang Pilipino productions, has not been seen onstage lately; her last major role was as Queen Gertrude in Tony Mabesa's Hamlet Redux for Dulaang UP in 2006; last year, she also had a lead part in Ogie Braga's Virgin Labfest entry, Sa Pagdating ng Barbaro. It's clear that her recent focus on indie movies is paying off. Her subtle, unsettling portrayal of a woman torn apart by unrequited love in the 2006 full-length Cinemalaya entry, Ang Huling Araw ng Linggo, was praised by Nestor Torre and other critics. Angelí's gone from strength to strength with parts in other well-received indie releases (including Lav Diaz's latest film-a-thon, Death in the Land of Encantos), and now this--Cinemanila 2008 Best Actress, no less. Brava.

Call me biased, but another notable name in the winners' list: Mario Maurer, SEA Best

Actor for the gay coming-of-age film from Thailand, The Love of Siam (directed by Chukiat Sakweerakul). What a hottie, and quite a sensitive actor, too. Have you seen this film? Aysus, go, look for it in your favorite DVD stalls, or, failing that, in Torrent. Restrained, bittersweet and moving, and the two young leads--Maurer and Thai pop star Witwisit Hirunwongkul--are beautifully cast (trailer here). Saw this film on DVD while on a long-weekend outing with friends not too long ago, which meant it wasn't the usual staid movie-watching experience. At each of the film's high points we hooted and whooped it up, and, by the end credits, we were on our feet in a raucous ovation. Ah, nothing like watching faggy movies--good faggy movies--with fellow fags. But, really, you'd enjoy The Love of Siam, too, even if you are straight (or think you are--grin). You'd thank me for the recommendation.


A note on Cinemanila: On its 10th year, still as chaotic and ad hoc as ever, from the press events to the screenings and even its website. But, as film critic Noel Vera points out, “It's still hands down the best buffets of films, local and otherwise, available in Manila.” So we keep watching. Early rumors had it this edition would have Martin Scorsese as special guest. Not an impossibility, since Quentin Tarantino came by last year and rocked the town. But there was no Mr. Scorsese. Maybe Tikoy Aguiluz and company should have invited Mario Maurer instead. That woulda been da bomb, eh?

2008 DEKADA CINEMANILA AWARDEES

2008 DEKADA CINEMANILA  AWARDEES :

YOUNG CINEMA: SHORTS & DOCS
(EDWIN, CHAIR; ARLEEN CUEVAS; TAN PIN PIN) 

BEST DOCUMENTARY:   MARLON (PHILIPPINES) BY RALSTON JOVER & JAMES AMPARO 

We award the Best Documentary award to Marlon for giving a fresh look on the subject of blindness. We applaud the directors or their sharp eye for details, their patience and their restraint. They let the mundane details of the daily life of a poor blind boy speak to the audience directly but quietly… For trusting these details to resonate with the audience universally and ..for not exploiting a subject that could be easily exploited.

BEST SHORT FILM:  TUMBANG PRESO (PHILIPPINES) BY ANTOINETTE JADAONE 

We applaud the film Tumbang Preso for the clever use of one set of dialogue to contrast and parallel the world of Estong as a child and Estong as a grown-up. The director understands the short film medium and has the discipline to work within the limitations of it to produce a fun and very watchable short film.

ISHMAEL BERNAL AWARD:       CHRISTOPHER GOZUM FOR SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS PARA ED INA, AGUI, TAN KAAMONG YA MAKAIILIW ED SIKA : GURGURLIS ED BANUA (SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS FOR A MOTHER, A SISTER, AND A WIFE WHO LONGS FOR YOU : LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES) -

We found Christopher Gozum’s flm inspiring. He was able to combine the beauty of Carlos Bulasan’s poetry with minimalist and random images of LCD screens, daily life, creating rhythm light and sound from them to convey the longing and displacement of a Filipino working in the Middle East. Revelatory and humbling, we hope this award will encourage the director to continue his quest of mapping the human heart through film.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
(DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA, CHAIR; TANJA MEDING; PAOLO MINUTO) 

LINO BROCKA AWARD GRAND PRIZE : THE BAND’S VISIT  (ISRAEL) BY ERAN KOLIRIN

The Band’s Visit is about a military band from Egypt that inadvertently land in an out-of-the-way community in Israel on its way to give a performance elsewhere. The discomfiture of the strangers is treated with humor that turns the tale into a warmly human account of a poignant encounter between two cultures as the prim-and-proper band leader gradually opened up to the straightforward woman-shopkeeper hosting some of the band members for the night. 

GRAND JURY PRIZE : THE AMAZING TRUTH ABOUT QUEEN RAQUELA (ICELAND/PHILIPPINES/FRANCE) BY OLAF DE FLEUR JOHANNESSON 

The film successfully combined fact and fiction to glimpse with respect and graciousness. The life story and aspiration of a ‘lady boy’ from Cebu who gets to realize his/her dream of seeing Paris, in the process allowing the viewers an insight into the heart and mind of its main character.

VIC SILAYAN AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR :  KENNETH MORALEDA FOR LUCKY MILES (AUSTRALIA)

VIC SILAYAN AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS : ANGELI BAYANI FOR MELANCHOLIA (PHILIPPINES)

SEA FILM COMPETITION
(WONG TUCK CHEONG, CHAIR; KENNETH MORALEDA; ANNA CAPRI) 

BEST SEA SHORT   : FROU FROU…SHH  WAG MONG SABIHIN KAY ITAY  BY MICHAEL JUAT

Clever appropriation of cinematic, media and cultural clichés done with finely tuned comedy. uses a glossy exterior and high production values to deceptively comment of notions of artistic expression and satirises  everything from a cynical but biting point of view.

BEST SEA FILM  : CONFESSIONAL BY JERROLD TAROG & RUEL DAHIS ANTIPUESTO

Clever excecution of the mockumentary style to comment on the art of fimmaking, personal relationships, politics, and culture. The film was well orchestrated in the use of film making production elements to support a point of view and engage the audience. Showed great ability in amalgamting seemingly disparate elements to a cohesive whole.

BEST ACTOR : MARIO MAURER FOR LOVE OF SIAM  (THAILAND) 

Mature acting choices within  a wide range of situations. Beneath a calm and placid external demeanor his  performance he displayed a rich inner struggle dealing with emotional burdens, with family, friends, his social circle and his romantic and sexual awakening.

BEST ACTRESS : ANITA LINDA FOR ADELA (PHILIPPINES)

A beautifully understaed performance rich in emotional nuances. Showing an great reflective understanding of the relationships between the different characters within the film’s microcosm.

DIGITAL LOKAL
(LAV DIAZ, CHAIR; PIMPAKA TOWIRA) 

LINO GRAND PRIZE : IMBURNAL BY SHERAD ANTHONY SANCHEZ 

Water as the greatest metaphor on the lifeblood of the Filipino – this film earnestly shows the experience is both harrowing and poignant.

LINO GRAND JURY PRIZE : NEXT ATTRACTION BY RAYA MARTIN 

It is a strongly structured film and Martin’s work is showing us a new path for cinematic language

BEST ACTOR : CARLO AQUINO FOR CARNIVORE

BEST ACTRESS : JODI STA. MARIA FOR SISA 

BEST DIRECTOR : ATO BAUTISTA FOR CARNIVORE

UN MDGs PRIZE :  LAY-AN, CANDLES BURNING ON STILL WATER BY ROMMEL TOLENTINO

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD : PETE LACABA

DEKADA CINEMANILA | 10th CINEMANILA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL | DEKADA CINEMANILA AWARDEES

http://www.cinemanila.org.ph/
2008 DEKADA CINEMANILA AWARDEES :

YOUNG CINEMA: SHORTS & DOCS
(EDWIN, CHAIR; ARLEEN CUEVAS; TAN PIN PIN)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: MARLON (PHILIPPINES) BY RALSTON JOVER & JAMES AMPARO

We award the Best Documentary award to Marlon for giving a fresh look on the subject of blindness. We applaud the directors or their sharp eye for details, their patience and their restraint. They let the mundane details of the daily life of a poor blind boy speak to the audience directly but quietly… For trusting these details to resonate with the audience universally and ..for not exploiting a subject that could be easily exploited.

BEST SHORT FILM: TUMBANG PRESO (PHILIPPINES) BY ANTOINETTE JADAONE

We applaud the film Tumbang Preso for the clever use of one set of dialogue to contrast and parallel the world of Estong as a child and Estong as a grown-up. The director understands the short film medium and has the discipline to work within the limitations of it to produce a fun and very watchable short film.

ISHMAEL BERNAL AWARD: CHRISTOPHER GOZUM FOR SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS PARA ED INA, AGUI, TAN KAAMONG YA MAKAIILIW ED SIKA : GURGURLIS ED BANUA (SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS FOR A MOTHER, A SISTER, AND A WIFE WHO LONGS FOR YOU : LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES) -

We found Christopher Gozum’s flm inspiring. He was able to combine the beauty of Carlos Bulasan’s poetry with minimalist and random images of LCD screens, daily life, creating rhythm light and sound from them to convey the longing and displacement of a Filipino working in the Middle East. Revelatory and humbling, we hope this award will encourage the director to continue his quest of mapping the human heart through film.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
(DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA, CHAIR; TANJA MEDING; PAOLO MINUTO)

LINO BROCKA AWARD GRAND PRIZE : THE BAND’S VISIT (ISRAEL) BY ERAN KOLIRIN

The Band’s Visit is about a military band from Egypt that inadvertently land in an out-of-the-way community in Israel on its way to give a performance elsewhere. The discomfiture of the strangers is treated with humor that turns the tale into a warmly human account of a poignant encounter between two cultures as the prim-and-proper band leader gradually opened up to the straightforward woman-shopkeeper hosting some of the band members for the night.

GRAND JURY PRIZE : THE AMAZING TRUTH ABOUT QUEEN RAQUELA (ICELAND/PHILIPPINES/FRANCE) BY OLAF DE FLEUR JOHANNESSON

The film successfully combined fact and fiction to glimpse with respect and graciousness. The life story and aspiration of a ‘lady boy’ from Cebu who gets to realize his/her dream of seeing Paris, in the process allowing the viewers an insight into the heart and mind of its main character.

VIC SILAYAN AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR : KENNETH MORALEDA FOR LUCKY MILES (AUSTRALIA)

VIC SILAYAN AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS : ANGELI BAYANI FOR MELANCHOLIA (PHILIPPINES)

SEA FILM COMPETITION
(WONG TUCK CHEONG, CHAIR; KENNETH MORALEDA; ANNA CAPRI)

BEST SEA SHORT : FROU FROU…SHH WAG MONG SABIHIN KAY ITAY BY MICHAEL JUAT

Clever appropriation of cinematic, media and cultural clichés done with finely tuned comedy. uses a glossy exterior and high production values to deceptively comment of notions of artistic expression and satirises everything from a cynical but biting point of view.

BEST SEA FILM : CONFESSIONAL BY JERROLD TAROG & RUEL DAHIS ANTIPUESTO

Clever excecution of the mockumentary style to comment on the art of fimmaking, personal relationships, politics, and culture. The film was well orchestrated in the use of film making production elements to support a point of view and engage the audience. Showed great ability in amalgamting seemingly disparate elements to a cohesive whole.

BEST ACTOR : MARIO MAURER FOR LOVE OF SIAM (THAILAND)

Mature acting choices within a wide range of situations. Beneath a calm and placid external demeanor his performance he displayed a rich inner struggle dealing with emotional burdens, with family, friends, his social circle and his romantic and sexual awakening.

BEST ACTRESS : ANITA LINDA FOR ADELA (PHILIPPINES)

A beautifully understaed performance rich in emotional nuances. Showing an great reflective understanding of the relationships between the different characters within the film’s microcosm.

DIGITAL LOKAL
(LAV DIAZ, CHAIR; PIMPAKA TOWIRA)

LINO GRAND PRIZE : IMBURNAL BY SHERAD ANTHONY SANCHEZ

Water as the greatest metaphor on the lifeblood of the Filipino – this film earnestly shows the experience is both harrowing and poignant.

LINO GRAND JURY PRIZE : NEXT ATTRACTION BY RAYA MARTIN

It is a strongly structured film and Martin’s work is showing us a new path for cinematic language

BEST ACTOR : CARLO AQUINO FOR CARNIVORE

BEST ACTRESS : JODI STA. MARIA FOR SISA

BEST DIRECTOR : ATO BAUTISTA FOR CARNIVORE

UN MDGs PRIZE : LAY-AN, CANDLES BURNING ON STILL WATER BY ROMMEL TOLENTINO

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD : PETE LACABA

8-HOUR RP FILM IS BEST FEATURE IN VENICE FESTIVAL

ORIZZONTI SIDEBAR
8-hour RP film is best feature in Venice Festival

By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:51:00 09/08/2008

TORONTO—“Melancholia” by the Philippines’ Lav Diaz has won the Orizzonti prize for Best

Feature Film in the Venice Film Festival.

The 65th Venice film fest, which ran from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6, has an Orizzonti or New

Horizons section that has for the past four years focused on the latest trends in cinema

suspended between fiction and documentary.

“Melancholia,” which had the honor of closing the Orizzonti sidebar of the Venice film

fest, runs almost eight hours. The Orizzonti decided to screen the film with two breaks.

Noted as the Filipino auteur of epic-length films, Diaz has consistently done films that

are over five hours in running time.

The Philippines was also represented in the Orizzonti by Francis Xavier E. Pasion’s “Jay,”

which officially opened the Orizzonti on Aug. 29.

In the age of MTV, Diaz’s marathon films are considered an oddity. He is one of the very

few directors in the world who make films that run as long as, or longer than, most

people’s work days.

Diaz’s “Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino,” shot in the United States, clocks in at a

staggering 10 hours plus.

“Death in the Land of Encantos,” which also closed Orizzonti last year, is nine hours

long. Perhaps not meaning to allude to the length of his entry, Diaz exclaimed, “Long live

Philippine cinema!” in his acceptance speech at the awards night last year when “Encantos”

won a Special Mention prize.

Diaz previously told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the Venice film festival would

screen his entry with two breaks. “The programmers requested for two breaks,” he said.

“OK lang. Ayoko sana pero mapilit sila (I was unwilling at first but they were very

persuasive). My films are really meant to be seen in one sitting para may tamang (so

there’s just the right amount of) immersion. There were no breaks during the screening of

‘Encantos’ last year. People who really follow my work do not like breaks. But I do

understand the concerns of the programmers. They want the audience to be comfortable. Who

can argue with comfort?”

Sadness, madness

“Melancholia,” according to Diaz, asks the following questions: “Why is there so much

sadness and too much madness in this world? Is happiness just a concept? Is living just a

process to measure man’s pain?”

Diaz recalled what was memorable about the marathon screening of “Encantos” last year:

“Besides the sight of people bringing food and other ‘tools’ to prepare for the experience

or battle, one really interesting incident was when a young man, in his early 20s, came to

me after the showing of ‘Encantos.’ Almost in tears, he told me that he is a Filipino who

has never been to the islands, that he became really a Filipino after watching the film,

and that he wanted to go ‘home.’”

The prolific filmmaker also said: “The advantage of having my films closing the Orizzonti

is that I have more room or time to edit the film. I have this nasty habit of shooting and

shooting until I realize that the deadline is right [there] in front of my door. The

disadvantage, of course, is that when it’s closing time, that means more than half of the

festival attendees have left by then.”

Exposure

The Cotabato native wanted to bring seven people from the cast and crew to the Venice film

fest held on the island of Lido but was allowed to bring only three from his cast and crew

after his meeting with the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

He shared the triumph in Venice with Angeli Bayani (actress), Perry Dizon (actor) and

Kristine Kintana (production supervisor).

Diaz had hoped to bring Roeder (actor), Dante Perez (actor/production designer), Jay

Ramirez (technical supervisor) and Emman dela Cruz (actor/documentarian).

“I tried to bring all these people for the exposure and the workshop,” he explained.

“It’s not really healthy that only the director and producer go to the festivals. We need

to expose our people para lumawak ang kamalayan, para mas may tamang cultural interaction

man lang (to widen their consciousness, to experience cultural interaction), or simply, to

[enhance] their film education. Festivals are great venues for this.”

Opening up to Pinoy films

Diaz added: “Having two Filipino films at this year’s Venice film fest is a great sign,”

referring to the Venice event’s inclusion of “Melancholia” and “Jay” in its “Orizzonti”

sidebar.

“Nagbubukas na talaga sila (They are opening up to Filipino films).”
The director, whose full name is Lavrente Indico Diaz, described how digital technology

has energized Philippine cinema.

“The technology liberated cinema. The deluge of new work, especially from very young and

talented filmmakers like Francis Pasion, is a direct result of this. Liberation is the

vision of all revolutions. Finally, art is not feudal, as shown by the digital

revolution,” he said.

RP FILM WINS IN VENICE FEST

RP film wins in Venice fest
By Ricky Lo
Monday, September 8, 2008

Lav Diaz’s Melancholia won the Best Film Award in the Orizzonti Section of the 65th Venice

International Film Festival which ended Saturday.

This piece of good news was relayed to The STAR by Funfare’s Toronto-based “international

correspondent” Ferdinand Lapuz who is a member of the Philippine delegation to the

filmfest in his capacity as producer of Jay, the other Filipino film which competed in the

same section.

According to a report from Venice, the decision of the Orizzonti Jury (composed of

Chantal, president; Nicole Brenez, Barbara Cupisti, Jose Luis Guerin, and Veiko Ounpuu)

was unanimous.

The three runners-up are:
• Below Sea Level by Gianfranco Rosi (Italy/USA), Doc Prize;

• Un Lac by Philippe Grandrieux (France), Special Mention; and

• Wo Men (We) by Huang Wenhai (China/Switzerland), also Special Mention.

No Filipino film competed for the Golden Lion, the top prize in the Main Section which was

won by The Wrestler (USA), directed by Darren Aronofsky; and Russia’s Paper Soldier,

directed by Aleksey German Jr., placing second (Silver Lion).

Chosen as closing film of the filmfest, Melancholia, which runs for almost eight hours and

shot in various places in the Philippines, tries to explore the question of why there’s

“so much sadness and so much madness” in this world, in the end finding no answer at all.

It stars Angeli Bayani, Perry Dizon, Roeder Camanag, Raul Arellano, Dante Perez, Malaya

and Soliman Cruz.

It’s the second time for Diaz to have won an award at the VIFF. Last year, he won a

Special Mention award for his nine-hour film Kagadanan Sa Banwaan Ning Mga Engkanto (Death

in the Land of Enkantos) which depicts the death and desolation of the Bicol region after

a killer typhoon.

“The Venice International Film Festival shouldn’t be confused with the Venice Film

Festival (take note: No ‘international’), also in Italy, and another Venice Film Festival

in the US,” said lawyer-producer Joji Alonso who is well-versed about international film

festivals because some of her films, including Kubrador (directed by Jeffrey Jeturian),

have won awards abroad.

The Venice International Film Festival was initially known as D Mostra Internazionale d’

Arte Cinematografica di Venezia.

Meanwhile, the Baron Geisler-starrer Jay, directed by Francis Xavier Pasion, was initially

intended for the Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Debut Film but it qualified for the

Orizzonti, which is a bigger section.

Born in 1958 in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao, an island in Mindanao, Diaz is recognized as

“the ideological father of the New Philippine Film Movement,” noted for making films that

run for hours, also including Batang West Side (2002), Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang

Pilipino (2005) and Heremias subtitled Ikalawang Alkat: Ang Alamat ng Prinsesang Bayawak

(2006).

VENEZIA!

ANITA LINDA GOES TO HER 1ST INTERNATIONAL FILMFEST

http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=107&a=29716
Anita Linda goes to her first international film fest
LOS ANGELES - Anita Linda is “very nervous and at the same time, very happy to be with us to present ‘Adela’ in Toronto,” director Adolfo Alix Jr. recently told us via e-mail about his and the actress’ attendance in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). “It’s her first trip to an international film festival, so we hope she enjoys it. We also plan to take her to other film fests where ‘Adela’ will be screened this year.”
Fil-Canadians and cineastes can check out Alix’’s film starring Anita playing a woman whose solitary observance of her 80th birthday leads to a reflection on family, society and relationships, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 8 p.m. at AMC 9; Sunday, Sept. 7, 9:15 p.m. at AMC 2, and Saturday, Sept. 13, 3 p.m. at AMC 1.

The three As—Anita (who’s 83 in real life), Adolfo and producer Arleen Cuevas, who will be in Toronto from Sept. 4 to 9—will grace the first two screenings of “Adela,” which is part of the Contemporary World Cinema program. “Our sales agent, Ryan Kampe and Sylvain Tron of Visit Films, will also be there,” Adolfo volunteered.

Rewarding experience

“I’m very excited to see how people would respond to ‘Adela,’” the 29-year-old writer-director enthused. “It’s a special film for me because working on it was a very rewarding experience for everybody. Having Anita Linda as our lead actress was truly a pleasure. It’s our tribute film to her. When Noel Ferrer, Arleen and I decided to do this movie, we felt that Tita Alice (Anita) deserved a film that would show her at her best. She has been part of the industry for a long time. She worked with the country’s best directors—Lamberto Avellana, Gerry de Leon, Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. As a young director, It was a learning experience to work with a legend like her.”

“Adela” also stars Iza Calzado (who was shooting Yam Laranas’ “The Echo” in Toronto during the TIFF last year), Perla Bautista, Ricky Davao, Angeli Bayani, Joem Bascon, Jason Abalos, Kenneth Ocampo and Arnold Reyes. The film is the seventh feature from the prolific filmmaker since his debut feature, “Donsol,” which was screened in various film festivals and was the Philippines’ official entry in the 2007 Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film category. Since 2006, Adolfo also directed “Kadin,” “Tambolista,” “Nars,” “Batanes” and “Daybreak.”

Of his first participation in what has grown to become one of the world’s major festivals, the Makati native said, “We’re happy to have the international premiere of ‘Adela’ at the TIFF after opening the 2008 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. It’s my first time to have a movie screened in Toronto, although as a scriptwriter, two of my films were featured there before—Carlos Siguion-Reyna’s ‘Kahapon May Dalawang Bata’ in 1999 (which was one of the winners in the festival’s People’s Choice Awards) and Gil Portes’ ‘Mga Munting Tinig’ in 2002.”

Adolfo, a magna cum laude graduate with a degree in mass communications from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, shared that he’s also looking forward to watching films in the Canadian event.

On the late Lino Brocka’s “Bayan Ko: Kapit Sa Patalim” being featured in the TIFF’s “Dialogue: Talking With Pictures” program, Adolfo said: “I think every Filipino filmmaker looks up to Brocka. He paved the way for the rest of us. I admire the honesty of his films and how he cared for the welfare of everybody on the set, as well as those in the film industry. He fought for what he believed in.” Another Pinoy director highlighted in the TIFF is Dante Mendoza, whose “Serbis” is an official selection in the Vanguard program.

Tribute

Adolfo revealed his own cinematic tribute to Brocka: “Right now, we’re in production of ‘Manila,’ a twin bill I’m doing with Raya Martin, which is inspired by Ishmael Bernal’s ‘Manila by Night’ and Brocka’s ‘Jaguar.’ Both stories will be topbilled by Piolo Pascual. I’m doing the re-telling of ‘Jaguar.’ I saw some of Brocka’s films before I started working on the project, and I felt that his best works—including ‘Bayan Ko’—are truly timeless. The issues he tackled then are still relevant now. He made simple films, but their messages still ring loud and clear!”

(inquirer.net)

2 BREAKS FOR VENICE SCREENING OF EIGHT-HOUR FILM BY LAV DIAZ

Only in Hollywood

2 breaks for Venice screening of eight-hour film by Lav Diaz

By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:11:00 08/28/2008

LOS ANGELES — Living up to his reputation as the Filipino auteur of epic-length films, Lav Diaz told us via e-mail that his “Melancholia,” which closes the Orizzonti (Horizons) sidebar of the ongoing Venice Film Festival on Sept. 6, runs almost eight hours. The Orizzonti folks have decided to screen the film with two breaks.

“Melancholia” is scheduled to have its press screenings today and tomorrow while Francis Xavier E. Pasion’s “Jay” officially opens Orizzonti also today. Francis told us that he, “Jay” lead actor Baron Geisler and actor-cinematographer Carlo Mendoza will wear barong. “Jay” was shown to the media yesterday.

In this age of instant gratification, when our attention span is getting shorter, and where everything has to go faster, Lav’s marathon films are an oddity. He is one of the very few directors in the world who make films that run as long as, or longer than, most people’s workdays. These days, any film that runs longer than two hours is already considered long. So most people’s jaws drop when we tell them about Lav and his films which usually last eight or nine hours or even longer. His “Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino” clocks in at a staggering 10 hours plus.

“Five hours lang ang ‘Batang West Side,’” the long-haired filmmaker, who turns 50 in December, wrote about his New Jersey-shot movie in one of his e-mails. Note the “lang.”

Lav’s “Death in the Land of Encantos,” which also closed Orizzonti last year and won a Special Mention prize, is nine hours long. Perhaps not meaning to allude to the length of his entry, Lav exclaimed “Long live Philippine cinema!” in his acceptance speech at the awards night.

So we asked Lav if the Venice film fest (Mostra Internationale d’Arte Cinematografica, in Italian) will screen his entry with breaks this time around. “The programmers requested for two breaks,” he answered. “Okay lang. Ayoko sana pero mapilit sila. My films are really meant to be seen in one sitting para may tamang immersion. There were no breaks during the screening of ‘Encantos’ last year. People who really follow my work do not like breaks. But I do understand the concerns of the programmers. They want the audience to be comfortable. Who can argue with comfort, man?”

Questions raised

It probably does take eight hours to answer the following questions which are raised in “Melancholia,” according to its creator: “Why is there so much sadness and too much madness in this world? Is happiness just a concept? Is living just a process to measure man’s pain?”

When we asked what was memorable about the marathon screening last year, the prolific filmmaker replied, “Besides the sight of people bringing food and other ‘tools’ to prepare for the experience or battle, one really interesting incident was when a young man, in his early twenties, came to me after the showing of ‘Encantos.’ Almost in tears, he told me that he is a Filipino who has never been to the islands, that he became really a Filipino after watching the film, and that he wants to go ‘home.’”

As for the plus or minus side of having the closing entry, Lav said, “The advantage of having my films closing the Orizzonti is that I have more room or time to edit the film. I have this nasty habit of shooting and shooting until I would realize that the deadline is right in front of my door. The disadvantage, of course, is that when it’s closing time, that means more than half of the festival attendees have left by then.”

Film delegation

The Cotabato native wanted to bring seven from the cast and crew to the festival on the Lido but as we write this, he informed us of the latest development after his meeting with the Film Development Council of the Philippines: “May tiket na kami ng eroplano. Tatlo ang inaprubahang lilipad. Nakiusap ako na magdagdag pa ng isa. Heto ang lineup—ako, Angeli Bayani (actress), Perry Dizon (actor) at Kristine Kintana (production supervisor). Nag-sorry ako sa iba. We decided na i-divide na lang, sa ibang festivals naman ang iba.” The “Melancholia” delegation leaves Manila on Sept. 3 and will be in Venice until Sept. 7.

Lav had hoped to also bring Roeder (actor), Dante Perez (actor/production designer), Jay Ramirez (technical supervisor) and Emman dela Cruz (actor/documentarian). “I tried to bring all this people para exposure at workshop nila,” he explained. “It’s not really healthy na director at producer lang ang pumupunta sa festivals. We need to expose our people para lumawak ang kamalayan, para mas may tamang cultural interaction man lang, or simply, an extension of their film education. Festivals are great venues for this.”

“Having two Filipino films for this year’s Mostra is a great sign,” he said of the Venice event’s inclusion of “Melancholia” and “Jay” in its “Orizzonti” sidebar. “Nagbubukas na talaga sila.”

No television

He added, “I haven’t seen ‘Jay.’ I want to watch it. I learned it has a very intriguing subject — television documentary programming, how it is done. I’ve worked with television before. I hate TV. It’s a f***ing poison to the soul. Wala akong telebisyon mula pa noong 1992. My house in New York and here in Manila have no television.”

The director, whose full name is Lavrente Indico Diaz, said of his colleague, “I’ve seen Francis once or twice before pero di ko siya nakakausap. We visited the Italian embassy and had a meeting with critic/programmer Paolo Bertolin and Italian consul Emanuela Dasini a week after the news (of our films being selected to the Orizzonti) was announced. Doon ko lang siya nakausap.”

When we asked him how digital technology has energized Philippine cinema, he replied that it “liberated cinema. The deluge of new work, especially from very young and talented filmmakers like Francis Pasion, is a direct result of this. Liberation is the vision of all revolutions. Finally, art is not feudal, as shown by the digital revolution.”

Since their trip to Italy’s famed travel spot is short, Lav said that he and his group will “try to watch and watch films. But then our stay is really short. Five days lang kung pati biyahe. What can you do in three days? Maybe visit the spot where Thomas Mann wrote ‘Death in Venice.’ It’s right there at the Lido.”

Best joke

When he returns to Manila, Lav plans “to do the preproduction for my film on Gregoria de Jesus, the wife of the great Filipino, Andres Bonifacio. Or, shoot another film. Everything is organic.” We bet that whatever he decides to shoot next, it will run longer than two hours.

We prodded Lav to volunteer the best joke that he has heard about his propensity to make long films. He answered, “Somebody said, ‘Everything is long with Lav.’”

Long live Philippine cinema and its current crop of auteurs, indeed!

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.

2 RP FILMS TO OPEN, CLOSE VENICE FILM FEST

LOS ANGELES—Two Filipino films will open and close the Orizzonti (Horizons) sidebar section of the Venice Film Festival, one of the most prestigious international film festivals and known as the world’s oldest.

Lav Diaz’s “Melancholia” and Francis Xavier E. Pasion’s “Jay” have been invited as official selections in the Venice event, which runs from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6.

Pasion’s participation also marks the first time that a debut work by a filmmaker from the Philippines screens at the festival on the Lido.

“Jay” will screen as the first feature in competition on Friday, Aug. 29, while “Melancholia” will close the competition on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Diaz, who is closing the Orizzonti two years in a row, is known for his audacious, marathon films such as “Batang Westside” and “Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino.” He got the distinction last year with his entry in the sidebar’s documentary section, “Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga Engkanto” (“Death in the Land of Encantos”).”

This time, Diaz is in competition in the narrative category. The Venice screening marks “Melancholia’s” world premiere.

Diaz won the Orizzonti’s Special Mention prize last year for “Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga Engkanto,” which runs for nine hours.

Madness in this world

“Long live Philippine cinema!” Diaz proclaimed in his acceptance speech at the awards night in 2007. “In spite of all the madness in this world, it’s still a nice place to live in. We still have cinema ... we have the Venice Film Festival. I would like to thank all the people who worked so hard for this film for nine months.”

Pasion’s debut feature, “Jay,” recently won the Best Full-Length Feature Film in the 4th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. Baron Geisler, who plays a gay television reporter in the film, took the Best Actor plum.

Paolo Bertolin, who is in the selection committee of the Venice Film Festival, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer via e-mail, “We in the selecting committee were all enthusiastic with the two Filipino entries we selected. Just to give you a measure of this, we invited ‘Jay’ as soon as all the members had seen the film, way before the announcement of the Cinemalaya awards.

“‘Jay’ is also one of only two films that were invited to the Horizon sidebar despite not being a world premiere (the other being a Russian film that premiered in another festival in June).”

Bertolin explained why the committee liked the two Filipino films: “‘Melancholia’ proves once again the enrapturing and mesmerizing power of Lav Diaz’s cinema, a spell that captures you from the very first frames and carries you throughout the film’s fluvial length (this new feature clocks in at almost eight hours), by enveloping the viewer in political dramas of great emotional and lyrical resonance. We admired ‘Jay’ for its skillful construction of the script and mise-en-scène, its ability to question the nature of images in an often hilarious yet always thought-provoking manner. The film is a very convincing and promising debut for newcomer Francis Pasion.”

Named as members of the international jury of the Orizzonti, where “Melancholia” and “Jay” will compete with other entries from around the world, are Chantal Akerman (president), Nicole Brenez, Barbara Cupisti, José Luis Guerin and Veiko Õunpuu.

Last year, Diaz and the cast of “Kagadanan sa banwaan ning mga Engkanto,” including Roeder, Perry Dizon, Amalia Virtucio and production supervisor Laurel Penaranda walked on the festival’s red carpet prior to their entry’s official screening.

‘It’s really cool’

“Wow, man,” Diaz reacted to the news of another film of his making it again to the Venice Film Festival. “I don’t know what to say,” he told the Inquirer via e-mail. “It’s really cool, especially for Philippine cinema. A lot of people really worked hard on this film. Five got sick in Sagada. The heavy rains of Laguna destroyed my camera.

“We’ll try to get some travel grants from the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the NCCA to be able to go,” Diaz added.

“Melancholia” stars Angeli Bayani, Perry Dizon, Roeder Camanag, Raul Arellano, Dante Perez, Malaya and Soliman Cruz.

Diaz, a true Filipino film auteur, has direction, cinematography, screenplay and editing credits in the film which is a production of Sine Olivia Pilipinas. He shares music credits with The Brockas.

Diaz said he was grateful to his crew, which includes Kristine Kintana, Nina Dandan, Dante Perez, George Vibar, Sultan Diaz, Willy Fernandez, Joel Ferrer and Jay Ramirez.

Diaz wrote that his movie asked the following questions: “Why is there so much sadness and too much madness in this world? Is happiness just a concept? Is living just a process to measure man’s pain?”

Synopsis

He provided the following synopsis: “Alberta, Julian and Rina struggle hard to find answers to those questions. To be able to fight pain, they assume different personas as a coping exercise. Julian still listens to the voice/songs of his dead wife; Alberta is still looking for the body of her husband; Rina eventually gives up.

“Deep in the forest of a desolate island, Renato and his comrades fight fiercely the military machine that has pursued them relentlessly. They are trapped. In his notebook, Renato writes: ‘I now realized the lyrical madness to this struggle. It is all about sadness. It is about my sadness. It is about the sorrow of my people. I cannot romanticize the futility of it all. Even the majestic beauty of this island could not provide an answer to this hell. There is no cure to this sadness.’”

“Burn After Reading,” written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, who wrote and directed “No Country for Old Men,” which won the 2007 Oscar award for Best Picture, opens the main part of the Venice festival. The members of the jury in the main competition are Wim Wenders (president), Juriy Arabov, Valeria Golino, Douglas Gordon, John Landis, Lucrecia Martel and Johnnie To.

swirls & vintage theme

The 10 Best Filipino Independent Films for 2008

Visit YFMP multiply: http://youngfilmmakers.multiply.com/

The 10 Best Filipino Independent Films for 2008

The Young Filmmakers of the Philippines (YFMP), a group of young filmmakers from different colleges and universities names the 10 best Filipino independent films for 2007. Our criteria for selecting the best films are the quality of the screenplay and the subject matter. We look for something new. The script should be somewhat unconventional and unpredictable. The film depicts Filipino historical and/or cultural values and exemplified artistry, creativity, technical excellence, innovativeness and thematic values.

Also acknowledged were Filipino independent Filmmakers through hard work and dedication filmmakers have proven that this country, which was once a filmic cul-de-sac, when given the right opportunity, now produces some of the world's finest films, responsive to the genuine needs and aspirations of its people.

YFMP announced the 10 Best Filipino Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
by Donna Villanueva

In Alphabetical Order:

1.  Ala Swerte Ala Muerte 2007

Cast: Ana Capri, Maris Dimayuga, Perry Escaño and Menggie Cobbarubias

Director: Briccio Santos

Screenwriter: Jorge Arago, Briccio Santos

Cinematographer: Steve Sagun, Briccio Santos

Editor: Anil Rao

Festival: 9^th Cinemanila Fim Festival Finalist,

Winner Best Actress  Ana Capri & Maris Dimayuga

Synopsis :

Jessica is a young widowwith a four-year-old son, Manolito, who lives with her in a crowded boarding house. They share a room with Linda, who dreams of being released from bondage to poverty by getting paid in dollars as an overseas contract worker in Europe , but who is desperately looking for work in the city in the meantime. This situation conveniently provides Jessica with an amah, to free her for work and not have to be shackled to the chores created by an only child's growing up pains. When the boy disappears one day whilst under Linda's care, the world starts to collapse for both Jessicand Linda. The mother's longing for a son who has disappeared from view, carrying only his late father's name. Such is the fate the mother and child has to endure.

 

2. Confessional

Cast: Publio Briones III, David Barril, Greg Fernandez, Owee Salva, Donna Gimeno

Director: Jerold Tarog and Ruel Dahis Antipuesto

Screenwriter: Ramon Ukit

Cinematographer: Ruel Dahis Antipuesto

Editor: Pats Ranyo

Music Jerold Tarog with Arodasi

Winner: 2007 Cinema One Best Picture, Best Screenplay,Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actors, Star Cinema Special Award

Ryan Pastor knows this by heart. As a small time filmmaker, he knows howsound and images can be manipulated to say anything. And he's tired of the lies—the lies at work, in his relationships, the lies one must keep in society just to exist. On a whim, he decides to go to Cebu to document the Sinulog festival. There he stumbles upon a truth he didn't ask for and is reluctant to touch. One of his subjects, a former politician who may or may not be dying, decides to confess his sins—all the crimes he committed while in office—before Ryan’s Camera,that follows is a story of revelations and bitter truths, of buried secrets and sweet lies. CONFESSIONAL takes you to the heart of a criminal...or an honest man.

 

3. Death in the Land of Encantos

Cast: Roeder Camañag, Perry Dizon, Kalila Aguilos and Angeli Bayani

Director: Lav Diaz

      Screenwriter: Lav Diaz

      Cinematographer: Lav Diaz

      Editor: Lav Diaz

      Music: Lav Diaz

     Production Design: Lav Diaz & Dante Perez

Festival:

   2007 Venice Film Festival

   Winner Venice Horizons Award Special Mention

    2008 YCC Winner Best Achievement in Cinematography and Visual Design
   YCC Winner in Production Design      

 Synopsis:

A Filipino poet named Benjamin Agusan (Roeder Camanag) is the hapless native who returns to his hometown Padang to witness the aftermath of the super typhoon. For the past seven years, Benjamin had been living in an old town called Kaluga in Russia . With his grant and residency, he taught and conducted workshops in a university. The poet published two books of sadness and longing in the process. In Russia , Benjamin was able to shoot video collages, fell in love with a Slavic beauty, buried a son, and almost went mad. He came back to bury his dead-father, mother, sister and a lover. He came back to face Mount Mayon , the raging beauty and muse of his youth. He came home to confront the country that he so loved and hated, the Philippines . He came back to die in the land of his birth. He wanders around the obliterated village meeting old friends and lovers.

 

4. Endo

Cast: Ina Feleo, Jason Abalos, Alcris Galura & Ricky Davao

Director: Jade Castro

      Screenwriter: Michiko Yamamoto  & Raymond Lee

      Cinematographer: Wowie Hao

      Editor: J.D. Domingo

      Music: Owel Alvero

      Production Design:  Jhek Cogama

Festival:

Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival Finalist

Winner Best Actress & Special Jury Prize Feature Length

Golden Screen Awards, Philippines

Winner Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Young Critics Circle, Philippines

Winner Best Achievement in Film Editing, Best Achievement in Sound and Aural Orchestration & Best Performance by Male or Female, Adult or Child, Individual or Ensemble in Leading or Supporting Role

 

      

5. Foster Child

Cast: Cherry Pie Picache, Eugene Domingo, Dan Alvaro and Jiro Manio

Director: Brilliante Mendoza

      Screenwriter: Joel Jover & Ralston Jover

      Cinematographer: Odyssey Flores

      Editor: Charliebebs Gohetia 

      Music: Jerrold Tarog

      Production Design: Benjamin Padero

Festival:

 Winner 2008 Golden Screen Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role 

 Winner Las Palmas Film Festival SIGNIS Award

 Winner Young Critics Circle, Philippines Best Film and Best Screenplay

Synopsis:

          A drama centered on the state of foster care in the Philippines.

 

6. Haw-Ang

 Cast: Kalila Aguilos, Neil Ryan Sese, Racquel Reyes & Dacmay Tangliban

Director: Bong Ramos

      Screenwriter: Bong Ramos

      Cinematographer: Vincent Paul Pangan 

      Editor: Rona Lean Sales

Synopsis:

Set in the majestic rice terraces, Haw-Ang (English title: Before Harvest) is an indie film advocating children's right to quality education, empowerment of women, and welfare of our indigenous countrymen. It tells the story of Sister Adel, a light-hearted young nun who goes to a farming village in Ifugao to teach catechism and eventually build a schoolhouse. As she breaks the traditions of the tribe, she makes a big difference in the little lives of its people, especially that of Dacmay, a seven-year-old rowdy girl in search of her lost mother's love. At the same time, Sister Adel finally discovers her real mission in life. This is a poignant story of friendship and love that transcends age, culture, and belief. A tale that is at times comic and inevitably tragic, this is a film about being a woman, and more importantly, being human. It all begins at the time of preparing rice paddies for planting, in that season of hopes and dreams called "haw-ang."

 

7. Kadin

Cast: Monica Joy Camarillas, Rico Mark Cardona, Florencia Cardona

Director: Adolfo Alix Jr.

      Screenwriter: Adolfo Alix Jr. 

      Cinematographer: Rodolfo Aves Jr.

      Editor: Aleks Castañeda 

      Music: Jerrold Tarog

     Production Design: Herwin Alfaro

Festival:

2007 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival Finalist

Winner Best Cinematography & Best Original Music Score

Winner Golden Screen Awards, Philippines Best Sound

Synopsis:

Peping wakes up to find out that Gima, their goat, is missing. His family make a living out of the milk provided the goat. He hides the truth from his grandmother. His father is also arriving the next day so he needs to find Gima before its too late. Together with his younger sister, Lita, the two go on a seemingly impossible search for the goat in the landscape of the island of Sabtang , in Batanes. A series of frustrating episodes mark the day, tension and desperation growing as natural and human forces conspire to frustrate them at every turn. The odyssey teaches the boy about the true meaning of life- where kindness and cruelty can be found in close proximity.

 

8. Pisay

Cast: Eugene Domingo, Arnold Reyes, Elijah Castillo & Carl John Barrameda

Director: Auraeus Solito 

      Screenwriter:  Auraeus Solito  & Henry Grageda

       Cinematographer: Charlie Peralta

      Editor: Mikael Pestaño  & Auraeus Solito 

     Music: Jobin Ballesteros  Irwin Cafugauan  Vincent de Jesus 

     Production Design: Endi Balbuena , Dante Nico Garcia , Martin Masadao ,

                                    Reggie Regalado

Festival:

Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival Finalist

Winner Best Feature Length & Best Director (Feature Length)

Golden Screen Awards, Philippines

Winner Best Director, Best Editing, Best Motion Picture, Best Musical Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role & Best Production Design

2008 Vesoul Asian Film Festival

Winner Audience Award & Grand Prize of the International Jury

Synopsis:

Amidst the chaos of Martial Law in this Third World country in the 1980s, six teenagers in the top high school for the sciences discover themselves as they go through the joys and pains of adolescence. They were the top two hundred students from all over the Philippines who passed the examination for the Philippine Science High School, which was created for the purpose of giving an education highly enriched in the Sciences to exceptionally gifted Filipino children. Selected from the best and brightest from all over the country, they endure college-level courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics from their sophomore year onwards. Those who can make it are hailed as the future science and technology leaders of the New Republic, those who don't are deemed unfortunate victims of natural selection. They all learn however that they are neither isolated from the real world, nor are they exempted from living real lives. They find the world outside, erupting into the People Power revolution in 1986 against the Marcos dictatorship, being replicated within the school as they struggle to graduate, contend with teachers, classmates, family, school officials, and a new classification to segregate students meeting the high standards of excellence from those who do not.

 

 

9. Tirador

Cast: Jacklyn Jose, Nathan Lopez, Jiro Manio, Coco Martin & Julio Diaz

Director: Brillante Mendoza

      Screenwriter:  Ralston Jover

      Cinematographer: Jeffrey Dela Cruz,  Gary Tria &  Julius Villanueva

      Editor: Charliebebs Gohetia 

      Music: Teresa Barrozo

      Production Deisgn: Harley Alcasid  Deans Habal

Festival:

2008 Berlin International Film Festival Winner Caligari Film Award

2007 Marrakech International Film Festival Winner Special Jury Award

2008 Singapore International Film Festival FIPRESCI/NETPAC & Silver Screen Award

Synopsis:

 

10. Tribu

Cast: Havy Bagatsing, Karl Eigger Balingit,Honey Concepcion & Mhalouh Crisologo

Director: Jim Libiran

      Screenwriter:  Jim Libiran

      Cinematographer: Albert Banzon

      Editor: Lawrence Ang 

      Music: Francis de Veyra 

      Production Deisgn: Armi Cacanindin

Festival:

Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival

Winner Best Actor & Best Film

Cinemanila International Film Festival

Winner Best Ensemble

Synopsis:

Every night, juvenile tribes prowl the streets of Tondo. An explosive hiphop, freestyle gangsta celebration of inner city Manila

Lav Diaz's DEATH IN THE LAND OF ENCANTOS

Start:	Jul 19, '08 10:00a
Location:	Tanghalang Huseng Batute, Cultural Center of the Philippines

Poetic Post-mortem

By Nil Baskar

In the global film festival circuit, the screenings of the works of the Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz have become somewhat of a cinematic festivity in themselves, a festivity of endurance, which brings into being a certain sense of solidarity between the
viewers participating in such a banquet of cinema.

Demanding as they are, the works of Lav Diaz usually present a challenge to the logic of film festivals for the most part a logic of consumption, where one often feels that the new cinema is being hastily processed and packed for further use. On such terms it becomes excessively difficult to see films such as Death in the Land of Encantos (Kagadanan sa banwaan
ning mga Engkanto, 2007) for what they really are: a solitary beacon for an ethical cinema — and increasingly easy to dismiss them with all kinds of pretexts. The Ljubljana Film Festival thus certainly deserves a cinephile salute for not shying away from showing a nine-hour long film. However, the Slovenian Cinematheque, where the screening took place, deserves extreme admonishment: not only was the quality of the
screening substandard (one would think that a
state-subsidized pillar of film culture could afford to maintain a decent digital projection system), but the heating in the hall was turned off too, surely to save at least some of the taxpayers' money.

Despite that, Death in the Land of Encantos proved to be a wholly enchanting experience, both a lesson in cinema's capacity to profoundly shape time and space, as well as a rediscovery of its fundamental gestures, of conceiving an associating images with true
artistic and political necessities. It confirmed that the work of Lav Diaz is not unique because of its epic length, but because of its original ideas and its confidence in telling a story with purely cinematic means — something that is becoming quite rare and even strange to observe in these times, when it seems that so much of contemporary cinema has elected a noncommittal and ironic detachment from everything and
anything. Diaz's cinema, in contrast, is radically non-ironic (at least in the post-modern sense of irony, that is), committed and attached — perhaps even too attached: all of its many people, things, moments, ideas are equally important, all of them constitute an image of a world. This attachment is not driven by any kind of grandeur, but is merely an attempt to narrate in a dialectical way.

Diaz conceived the film as a document in the aftermath of the apocalyptic disaster that hit the Bicol region in 2006, where he had previously shot most parts of Evolution of a Filipino Family (Ebolusyon ng isang pamilyang pilipino, 2004) and Heremias (2006). After typhoon Reming devastated the area — including the town of Padang, where the film takes place — a mudslide from the volcano Mayon followed, burying whole parts of the town together with its inhabitants.
However, little of the documentary footage — mostly interviews with some of the survivors — remains in the final film. In the face of destruction and atop of the ruins, a distinctly poetic voice is introduced to reflect on the disappearance and the pain. This is the
fictitious character of the "great Filipino poet
Benjamin Agusan", who returns after years of artistic exile to find his home gone, together with his family and his lover. What remains is a desolate, featureless ground-zero landscape, infused by the ghosts of the dead and dominated by the perfectly shaped volcano — a sublime appearance, both inspiring and menacing.
When Benjamin meets his old friends — poet Teodoro and sculptor/painter Catalina — this new landscape is slowly becoming repopulated. Memories, some comforting, others traumatic, are excavated, often without a clear demarcation between the past and the present. Take, for instance, the agonizing final shot
of Benjamin being tortured by a secret police agent: is this a recollection of a past event, already alluded to, or is this the actual present of the film, the final scene of Benjamin's life, perhaps his execution? What seems clear is Diaz telling us that the executions of the Filipino political activists cannot be relegated to any kind of history, least of all because they are (still) happening right now (to a
shocking extent, as we learn). While Nature's wrath is something we can ultimately deal with, the suppression of freedom, thought and art cannot but remain unresolved. This is the essence of Diaz's "non-reconciled cinema"; a refusal to surrender memories to a history, to detach any moment or body from its place in time or space.
Benjamin's wandering, rootless protagonist, haunted by memories and traumas, is, of course, a familiar figure in Diaz's oeuvre: in Batang West Side (2001) it is shared by both the detective and the murdered youth; it is the moving part of Evolution and a subject of intense examination in Heremias. Lost in their quixotic search for truth and redemption, these figures also belong to a distinct tradition of the silent and often mad philosopher, a kind of a premodern somnambulist, which goes about the land forgetting and remembering. The poet-philosopher of
Death, however, breaks this silent spell, speaking and thinking aloud, to whomever wants to listen. There is a sort of an ongoing conversation — a discurso, as we learn it is called, quite appropriately — between
Benjamin and his two friends, an often impassioned exchange on art, politics, culture, modern life and the world at large. Immediate and imperfect — as any conversation between good friends usually is (awkward, even naïve, rarely teleological in a narrative sense)
— it also suggests something about Diaz's cinema itself, about the way it seems to come together as an inspired and generous reflection on art and life. Such sincerity of film-making and film-thinking is what makes Death — despite its existential gravity — the most outwardly dialogical of all the films Diaz has made.

Clearly, Diaz has allowed much of himself to enter the film (in some of the interviews he can be heard off-screen, explaining the film he is shooting), but this intrusion of the camera and the director isn't simply about detaching cinema from spectacle. In truth, there is no fiction and reality here, but more of a weaving of determined and potential realities, of vérité and fausseté, always with a natural,
sometimes even prodigious ease. In one of the
interviews, for instance, we encounter an actor from the second part of Heremias, whose character in the film — a prophet — warns against a disaster. His prediction, coming from a film which paradoxically isn't finished yet, is uncanny to say the least, more so since in reality he has lost everything except his
life. Is this intrusion — from a film that is both past and future — a proof that cinema is somehow prophetic, or is it merely capable of detecting the future, already contained in the present? This
ambiguity, a question whether detecting doesn't also
mean rendering a certain (catastrophic) reality
visible and thus possible, haunts the film; and while
it cannot be answered, it can be at least re-imagined
as a symbolic gesture. As examples, one can think of
two of the most moving shots in the film — Catalina reading Benjamin's poem-testament for the camera, and her once more, painting and burning a portrait (presumably his). Both of these are rituals of remembrance and redemption, but also a spectacle, a staging of creation and destruction (much like Nature itself stages it, of course). A way of saying that there is no art without the spectacle of art.

Ultimately, one could hardly exhaust Death by only revisiting its symbolic concerns and suggestions. Much should be said about Diaz's mastery in visual composition and his use of black and white images, about the shades of grey which preserve the encountered world in a distinctly physical, voluminous way; also about his use of natural low-key light, which, ordered into digital textures, produces distinctly material aesthetics. One that bears traces
of both the scarcity of its means as well as the
urgency of its ideas — a digital liberation
theology, as Diaz calls it himself. More could also be said how a work like this renders so much of contemporary cinema obsolete, immature or hardly substantial. The hours of pure cinema it has to offer are hours that matter most: they are the time of cinema in becoming, being thought, reclaiming its space, time and subjects.

Nil Baskar© FIPRESCI 2007