Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Brillante Mendoza's short film wins big in Cinemanila 2006
"MANORO", a digital movie about an Aeta girl who taught adult members of her mountain tribe so they could vote in what turned out to be the controversial 2004 presidential elections, won the Best Picture and Best Director awards in the Digital Lokal section of the 2006 Cinemanila International Film Festival in ceremonies held at the Malacañang Palace last November 11.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo handed the awards to Kapampangan filmmaker, Brillante Mendoza -- the movie director, representing his own production company CenterStage Productions and the movie co-producer, the Holy Angel University (HAU) Center for Kapampangan Studies.
HAU president Arlyn Villanueva and center director Robby Tantingco appeared in the film's credits as co-producers, along with that of fellow Kapampangan and HAU alumnus Ferdinand Lapuz, the film's executive producer.
According to Lapuz, the university offered help after the government ignored the producers' repeated requests for financial assistance.
The Cinemanila International Film Festival board of jurors that picked "Manoro" as grand prize winner among local entries, was composed of Christian Jeune, film department director of Cannes Film Festival, as jury head, with Viktor Silakong, director of the World Film Festival in Bangkok, and Michiko Yamamoto, writer of "Magnifico" and "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros", as members.
The festival is divided into the Digital Lokal section where "Manoro" won over all Philippine entries, and the international competition, where the Philippine entry "Kubrador" won the top prize over foreign entries from some 35 countries.
"Manoro" is also the Philippines' entry to the Torino (Turin, Italy) International Film Festival and the Festival of Three Continents in Nantes, France, to be held later this month.
Mendoza, a native of San Fernando, Pampanga, has directed two other movies: "Masahista", winner of the Golden Leopard trophy (grand prize) in the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland, and "Kaleldo", which had its world premiere in the Rome International Film Festival. Both films had Kapampangan dialogue and had been shot entirely in Pampanga.
Lapuz is the country's agent in various foreign film festivals, marketing local films and placing them in competitions. He finished business management at HAU and was the school's first Best Director awardee in its annual inter-college drama festival.
"Manoro" was shot for only five days under the most primitive circumstances at Sitio Target in Sapangbato. Its lead star, Jonalyn Ablong, had just graduated from the Sapangbato Elementary School (SES) when the movie producers discovered her. In fact, the movie's opening sequence is actual footage from her graduation program.
Meanwhile, the following is the Wednesday schedule of activities of Cinemanila 2006:
11:30 a.m. - Global Pinoy Cinema Congress
Independent filmmakers unite! Special guests are recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Awards for this year's edition for their contributions in Asian Cinema: Philip Cheah of the Singapore Film Festival, Aruna Vasudev of the Osian's Cinefan Film Festival and other international guests.
2 p.m. Closing film: Lav Diaz' Heremias (World Premiere) This much anticipated film by Lav Diaz is the third installment of his in-depth cinematic exploration on the Filipino psyche and experience. With a running time of nine hours, the film attempts to reshape the audience's view of cinema and perhaps even reinvent the medium itself, an exercise given early positive support from Fribourg Switzerland by awarding the film its Special Jury Prize, all based on an unfinished cut. Lav Diaz honors Cinemanila with the world premiere of his final cut of "Heremias". (Press release)
