Sunday, July 29, 2007 9 best Filipino films to be showcased by Cinemanila
* Asean Cinema Focus in filmfest
THE Ninth Cinemanila International Film Festival (CIFF) seeks to revive the Philippines as the hub of Southeast Asian cinema. With this, the nine best Filipino films from 1999 to 2007 will be shown as part of its non-competition films exhibition. The list includes nine best films each from the following categories: Filipino (35mm) and Filipino (digital).
“Magnifico” (Maryo J. De los Reyes, 2003, Best Feature Film at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival), “Batang West Side” (Lav Diaz, 2002, Best Asian Feature Film at the 2002 Singapore International Film Festival) and “Bayaning Third World” (Mike De Leon, 2000, Best Film at the 2001 Young Critics Circle Awards) are some of the movies to be shown in the 35mm Filipino film category.
Digital films, now a popular genre in Philippine cinema, has award-winning movies of its own. Included in the CIFF exhibition list are “Kubrador” (Jeffrey Jeturian, 2006, Winner of the Fipresci prize at the 2006 Moscow International Film Festival), “Ang Daan Patunong Kalimugtong” (Mes De Guzman, 2005, Best New Director Award at the 2006 San Sebastian International Film Festival) and the highly-acclaimed “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” (Aureus Solito, 2005, Best Feature Film at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival).
As part of its competition highlights, the CIFF will give an award to the Best Asean Film of the year. A cash prize of P250,000 will be presented to the winner of this award. The Best Asean Short Film will be similarly honored; the winner will receive a prize of P50,000. This is made possible by the joint efforts of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), and Cinemanila.
Seeking to promote the identity of Asean cinema, CIFF will also be launching the Seawave project this year. Some of the most prominent filmmakers of the region will each be contributing three to five-minute films revolving around the theme of "A Journey." The project will culminate in the production of a 90-minute feature from the contributions, to be previewed during the Festival.
For more information, you may refer to the official CIFF website at http://www.cinemanila.org.ph or contact the Cinemanila Secretariat through its email address: cinemanila@gmail.com. (Press release)
