THE new year is very young, and already we have been receiving one good news after another about independently produced local films that have been selected to participate and compete in international festivals.
The latest good news is Giancarlo Abrahan’s Paki (Please Care) being selected as one of only eight films to compete at the 10th edition of CinemAsia, to be held in the Amsterdam from March 7 to 12.
Under the artistic direction of Maggie Lee, who is a dear supporter of brave and brilliant Filipino films for many years now, this year’s festival competition section will focus on discovering relatively unknown but promising auteurs.
The lone Philippine entry will be up against Nattawut Poonpiriya’s Bad Genius from Thailand (which is looming to be the top favorite), Akio Fujimoto’s Passage of Life from Japan, Tam Wai Ching’s In Your Dreams from Hong Kong, Huang Hsin-yao’s The Great Buddha from Taiwan, Jang Joon-hwan’s 1987: When the Day Comes from South Korea, and two entries from Indonesia: Edwin’s Posesif and Kamila Andini’s The Seen and Unseen.
Three major awards are at stake in the festival:
Best Film, Best Director and Best Performer. We suggest that filmmaker Giancarlo Abrahan and producer Jono de Rivera bring along some of the film’s stars, especially Dexter Doria, who got to play her first-ever lead role on film after 40 years in showbiz, so she can experience an international film festival.
Paki won as Best Film at the 2017 CinemaOne Originals Film Festival and features an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Eula Valdes, Shamaine Buencamino, Ricky Davao, Paolo Paraiso, Miguel Valdes, Ina Feleo, Cielo Aquino, Sunshine Teodoro and Noel Trinidad.
Festival director Lorna Tee is, indeed, in very high spirits these days. “ I’m so incredibly proud of our 10th edition, as it celebrates CinemAsia’s ability to show the best films Asia has to offer, beyond the limitations of genre or theme. This edition is as diverse, powerful and eclectic as Asia itself; a true reflection of all the artistic qualities this wonderful continent has to offer,” she enthused.
ROTTERDAM ROARS
A MONTH before CinemAsia, the International Film Festival Rotterdam will be held at the center of film aficionados from all over the world from January 24 to February 4.
The Philippines is well represented with three feature films selected for competition: Shireen
Seno’s Nervous Translation in the Hivos Tiger section, Mikhail Red’s NeoManila in the Rotterderung Genre section, and Alberto Montreras’s Respeto in the Bright Future section.
We learned that the respective filmmakers and their producers are already in the process of securing their visas and booking their flights. Actors like Eula Valdes, Rocky Salumbides and Jess Mendoza are also flying to attend the festival.