A Jesuit priest may not seem like the most obvious leader of a criminal investigation but that is exactly where Raya Martin turns with his Filipino thriller Smaller And Smaller Circles. About to have its world premiere in Busan, Screen Anarchy is proud to present the first trailer for what promises to be a taut, unusual crime story. A boy’s body is found in a waste disposal site in Manila. The case intrigues Father Gus, a Jesuit specializing in forensic medicine. Collaborating with Father Jerome and helped by his disciple and journalist Joanna, Father Gus goes through Manila’s narrow streets to investigate the case. They find more bodies of boys whose faces and internal organs are entirely damaged and this grotesque case comes under the...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/9/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Exclusive: Upcoming Filipino genre picture tackles global immigration debate.
Taipei-based film and TV powerhouse MandarinVision has boarded Malaysian-born, Philippines-based director Bradley Liew’s upcoming horror picture Motel Acacia, set against a brothel with a sinister mission to bump off migrant workers.
Producer Bianca Balbuena of Manila-based Epicmedia Productions revealed the deal at the Sam Spiegel Film Lab pitching event on the fringes of Jerusalem Film Festival on Friday.
Balbuena said it was the fruit of a meeting with MandarinVision’s head of film Yeh Jufeng at Taipei Film Festival earlier this month. “She wants to support Bradley Liew because she thinks he’s one of the new talents of southeast Asian cinema and the reason I am here right now is because I believe the same thing,” said Balbuena.
In Liew’s words, “Motel Acacia is about a young half-Philippine, half-American man who is brought over to the West by his tyrannical Caucasian father and groomed...
Taipei-based film and TV powerhouse MandarinVision has boarded Malaysian-born, Philippines-based director Bradley Liew’s upcoming horror picture Motel Acacia, set against a brothel with a sinister mission to bump off migrant workers.
Producer Bianca Balbuena of Manila-based Epicmedia Productions revealed the deal at the Sam Spiegel Film Lab pitching event on the fringes of Jerusalem Film Festival on Friday.
Balbuena said it was the fruit of a meeting with MandarinVision’s head of film Yeh Jufeng at Taipei Film Festival earlier this month. “She wants to support Bradley Liew because she thinks he’s one of the new talents of southeast Asian cinema and the reason I am here right now is because I believe the same thing,” said Balbuena.
In Liew’s words, “Motel Acacia is about a young half-Philippine, half-American man who is brought over to the West by his tyrannical Caucasian father and groomed...
- 7/16/2017
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: How To Disappear Completely and Now Showing included in deal.
UK-based streaming platform FilmDoo has acquired global VoD rights to the back catalogue of Filipino filmmaker Raya Martin.
The non-exclusive deal was negotiated with producer Arleen Cuevas of Manila-based Cinematografica Films. FilmDoo is also in talks with Cuevas about acquiring the back catalogue of Adolfo Alix Jr., another leading indie filmmaker from the Philippines.
Martin titles acquired by FilmDoo include How To Disappear Completely (2013), Next Attraction (2008), Now Showing [pictured] (2008), Autohystoria (2007), A Short Film About The Indio Nacional (2005) and documentary The Island At The End Of The World (2005).
Now Showing premiered in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in 2008 and How To Disappear Completely premiered at Locarno.
FilmDoo has also acquired VoD rights to Martin’s Buenas Noches Espana (2011) for Southeast Asia and for the Philippines only to Independencia (2009), which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2013.
Martin said: “I’m excited to partner with FilmDoo to showcase Filipino...
UK-based streaming platform FilmDoo has acquired global VoD rights to the back catalogue of Filipino filmmaker Raya Martin.
The non-exclusive deal was negotiated with producer Arleen Cuevas of Manila-based Cinematografica Films. FilmDoo is also in talks with Cuevas about acquiring the back catalogue of Adolfo Alix Jr., another leading indie filmmaker from the Philippines.
Martin titles acquired by FilmDoo include How To Disappear Completely (2013), Next Attraction (2008), Now Showing [pictured] (2008), Autohystoria (2007), A Short Film About The Indio Nacional (2005) and documentary The Island At The End Of The World (2005).
Now Showing premiered in Cannes Director’s Fortnight in 2008 and How To Disappear Completely premiered at Locarno.
FilmDoo has also acquired VoD rights to Martin’s Buenas Noches Espana (2011) for Southeast Asia and for the Philippines only to Independencia (2009), which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2013.
Martin said: “I’m excited to partner with FilmDoo to showcase Filipino...
- 5/24/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
There are few filmmakers more influential to their nation’s cinema than Lav Diaz. Arguably the world’s most well known Filipino auteur, he has become the bed rock for what is the third Golden Age of Philippine Cinema and a master filmmaker whose impact is felt across the globe. A master of what is known to most as “slow cinema,” Diaz is best known for epic, quietly profound pictures that near double digit hours in their length, and has been a festival darling throughout the world.
And his latest may be one of his most interesting works yet.
Entitled The Woman Who Left, Diaz returns with a story that’s a touch less political than one would imagine coming from the auteur. Instead, Diaz introduces the viewer to Horacia Somorostro, a former teacher who has just seen her release from prison after spending 30 years locked up for a crime...
And his latest may be one of his most interesting works yet.
Entitled The Woman Who Left, Diaz returns with a story that’s a touch less political than one would imagine coming from the auteur. Instead, Diaz introduces the viewer to Horacia Somorostro, a former teacher who has just seen her release from prison after spending 30 years locked up for a crime...
- 5/15/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Lav Diaz's An Investigation on the Night That Won't Forget (2012) is showing February 8 - March 10, 2017 in the retrospective It's About Time: The Cinema of Lav Diaz.The night in question in Lav Diaz’s An Investigation on the Night That Won’t Forget is September 1, 2009. The night that two film critics, Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc, were murdered in their home in Quezon City, Philippines. An Investigation on the Night That Won’t Forget opens with a title card: “Part 1. Cradle of Memory.” The next image is a black and white shot of Erwin Romulo, Alexis’ close friend and editor. The doorway of his office frames him on either side as he sits in a chair facing the camera, a desk to his left, a bookshelf behind him. For the next 55 minutes the camera will not move and...
- 2/9/2017
- MUBI
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Lav Diaz's Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution (2011) is playing January 12 - February 10, 2017. Lav Diaz’s Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution is a unique example of how texts inform each other. In the film, elements of the past inform and comprise those of the present, while exposition ultimately informs images of the present. As a viewer, one can reasonably make a case that this was Diaz’s intention given the film’s story and structure: While its premise is relatively simple—a mysterious woman appears in various places in a 20th century city—Diaz tells it primarily with wordless storytelling, mostly images and extended takes. While the viewer gathers that the woman is the titular ‘visitor from the revolution,’ implying that she is from the late 1890s (the Philippine Revolution), it is only late...
- 1/15/2017
- MUBI
The distributor has acquired Us rights from Films Distribution to Brillante Mendoza’s Philippines Oscar submission.
Ma’ Rosa received its world premiered in Cannes where it earned Jaclyn Jose the best actress award.
The film takes place against the backdrop of police corruption as parents of a poor family in Manila sells drugs on the side to make ends meet.
First Run Features is planning a spring 2017 release.
Julio Diaz, Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, Mercedes Cabral, Jomari Angeles, Maria Isabel Lopez, Inna Tuason and Baron Geisler round out the key cast.
Marc Mauceri of First Run Features brokered the deal with Nicolas Brigaud-Robert of Films Distribution.
Ma’ Rosa received its world premiered in Cannes where it earned Jaclyn Jose the best actress award.
The film takes place against the backdrop of police corruption as parents of a poor family in Manila sells drugs on the side to make ends meet.
First Run Features is planning a spring 2017 release.
Julio Diaz, Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, Mercedes Cabral, Jomari Angeles, Maria Isabel Lopez, Inna Tuason and Baron Geisler round out the key cast.
Marc Mauceri of First Run Features brokered the deal with Nicolas Brigaud-Robert of Films Distribution.
- 11/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Mubi is proud to present the first-ever online retrospective of renowned Filipino auteur Lav Diaz. To give audiences the proper time to spend immersed in Diaz’s cinema, Mubi will debut one film each month during the retrospective.Illustration by Leah BravoFilmmaker Lavrente Indico Diaz, named after Soviet statesman Lavrentiy Beria (1899-1953), was born on December 30th 1958 in the municipality of Datu Paglas, province of Maguindanao, Mindanao Island, Southern Philippines. The son of a fervently Catholic woman from the Visayas (Central Philippines) and a Socialist intellectual from Ilocos (Northern Philippines) who, firmly believing that education is the key to improve Man's condition, devoted their lives to schooling peasants in the poorest, remotest Maguindanao villages, Diaz has always had an utilitarian conception of culture and, by extension, of all forms of artistic expression. To Diaz, art should not be an end to itself, a purely formalist exercise, but—to paraphrase a...
- 10/8/2016
- MUBI
We present the list of winners of the CineFilipino Film Festival 2016.
The CineFilipino Film Festival runs from March 16th until the 22th in Manila (Philippines). The festival aims to support and develop new cinematic, audience-friendly works of artistic merit by up-and-coming and established filmmakers to help define the human experience through a Filipino perspective. The festival features a competition for feature-length movies, shorts section (mobile, online content, and short features), documentary, and TV series in digital format.
Best Picture
Ned’s Project by Lemuel Lorca
2nd Best Picture
Sakaling Hindi Makarating by Ice Idanan
3rd Best Picture
Star Na si Van Damme Stallone by Randolph Longjas
Best Dictor
Ice Idanan for the film Sakaling Hindi Makarating
Best Actress
Angeli Bayani for the film Ned’s Project by Lemuel Lorca
Candy Pangilinan for the film Star Na si Van Damme Stallone by Randolph Longjas
Best Actor
Pepe Herrera for the film...
The CineFilipino Film Festival runs from March 16th until the 22th in Manila (Philippines). The festival aims to support and develop new cinematic, audience-friendly works of artistic merit by up-and-coming and established filmmakers to help define the human experience through a Filipino perspective. The festival features a competition for feature-length movies, shorts section (mobile, online content, and short features), documentary, and TV series in digital format.
Best Picture
Ned’s Project by Lemuel Lorca
2nd Best Picture
Sakaling Hindi Makarating by Ice Idanan
3rd Best Picture
Star Na si Van Damme Stallone by Randolph Longjas
Best Dictor
Ice Idanan for the film Sakaling Hindi Makarating
Best Actress
Angeli Bayani for the film Ned’s Project by Lemuel Lorca
Candy Pangilinan for the film Star Na si Van Damme Stallone by Randolph Longjas
Best Actor
Pepe Herrera for the film...
- 3/20/2016
- by Sebastian Nadilo
- AsianMoviePulse
We present the list of winners of the 5th Singkuwento International Film Festival that took place from February 19th until the 27th, in the city of Manila (Philippines).
Born in 2012 this festival´s objective is to unite both Filipino and foreign filmmakers in one place. It is an avenue for Filipinos both in the Philippines and abroad to share their voices, sentiments and thoughts via the films they created. It also give a channel for non-Filipinos to share their impressions of the Philippines and its people.
Local Category
Best Documentary
Naglalahong Pamana (Fading Heritage) by Lucy Lavirotte, Berna Sastrillo, David Levi and Jerrica Manongdo
Best Cultural Film
A Family Reunion by Sherbien Dacalanio
Most Gender Sensitive Film
Cups Ka Ba? by Juan Carlo Tarobal
Honorable Mentions
The truth as told in lies by Ira Giorgetti
Man in the Cinema House by Bernard Jay Mercado
Golden Philippine Eagle Festival Director’s...
Born in 2012 this festival´s objective is to unite both Filipino and foreign filmmakers in one place. It is an avenue for Filipinos both in the Philippines and abroad to share their voices, sentiments and thoughts via the films they created. It also give a channel for non-Filipinos to share their impressions of the Philippines and its people.
Local Category
Best Documentary
Naglalahong Pamana (Fading Heritage) by Lucy Lavirotte, Berna Sastrillo, David Levi and Jerrica Manongdo
Best Cultural Film
A Family Reunion by Sherbien Dacalanio
Most Gender Sensitive Film
Cups Ka Ba? by Juan Carlo Tarobal
Honorable Mentions
The truth as told in lies by Ira Giorgetti
Man in the Cinema House by Bernard Jay Mercado
Golden Philippine Eagle Festival Director’s...
- 2/28/2016
- by Sebastian Nadilo
- AsianMoviePulse
Starting with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines in the mid-16th century, the country was under the colonial rule of four different foreign powers for nearly 400 years. Independence gave way to two decades of vicious dictatorship and a democracy severely compromised by corruption and extensive external influence. As a nation that encompasses a staggering number of ethnicities and languages, the Philippines’ centuries-long experience of oppression has engendered an enduring identity crisis. It’s this crisis that has brought forth the films of Lav Diaz. They are dedicated to an excavation of his country’s turbulent past in search of its identity; the simultaneously chimeric and vital nature of this endeavor constitutes the emancipatory dialectic that drives his cinema. Having addressed Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship from a variety of angles in several earlier features, Diaz turns his attention to the Philippine Revolution of 1896-97 with A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery,...
- 2/22/2016
- by Giovanni Marchini Camia
- The Film Stage
We are excited to be now showing the most recent Golden Leopard Winner at the Locarno Film Festival, Lav Diaz's From What Is Before.Writing from Locarno last summer, Adam Cook describes the film as "an extraordinary way to begin a film festival":"Beginning free of dialogue, the early parts of the film are defined by the landscapes of its Filipino countryside setting. Traversing these landscapes are figures that will become characters over the next few hours, as detail by detail is slowly divulged as the film gracefully, surprisingly unfolds."Lav Diaz was kind enough to answer a few questions we sent him.Mubi: What film for you is unforgettable?Lav Diaz: There are many. But early on, two films emancipated me, the way I look at cinema, extending to the way I look at life. These are Manila, In the Claws of Neon, by Lino Brocka,...
- 4/23/2015
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Co-directed by Mark Peranson and Raya Martin, La última película is several things at once: a documentary pretending to be fiction (and vice versa), a reflexively cinephillic ode to materiality, a deconstruction and/or exploration of disparate forms, a meditation on the (false) apocalypse of the world and cinema, and an (experimental) comedy. Its one-line synopsis is as follows: "a famous American filmmaker travels to the Yucatán to scout locations for his last movie. The Mayan Apocalypse intercedes." Inspired by Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie and its subsequent documentary cousin The American Dreamer (both 1971), La última película taps into a sort of artistic freedom of spirit, an all-too-rare ecstasy of moviemaking-as-adventuring. It is a manifesto by implication for the liberation of film from convention, and as thought and life. Starring American independent filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (The Color Wheel, Impolex) and Gabino Rodríguez (Greatest Hits, Together) as the filmmaker protagonist's Mexican guide,...
- 12/9/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
The New York Film Festival began last Friday. It has long been the Notebook's hometown festival, but this year an unusual amount of films in the 2013 lineup our team has seen and written on at festivals throughout the year. We'll hopefully bring you some fresh coverage during and after the festival, but for now you'll find an index, below, of our reviews of, dialogues on, and interviews about films included in the 51st Nyff. The list will be updated new coverage as we publish it.
The Posters of the 51st New York Film Festival
by Adrian Curry
Abuse of Weakness (Catherine Breillat)
by Daniel Kasman
Interview with Catherine Breillat
by Darren Hughes
At Berkeley (Frederick Wiseman)
by Daniel Kasman
Interview with Frederick Wiseman
by Daniel Kasman
Bastards (Claire Denis)
by Daniel Kasman
Interview with Claire Denis
by Daniel Kasman
Gloria (Sebastián Lelio)
by Adam Cook
The Immigrant (James Gray)
Dialogue...
The Posters of the 51st New York Film Festival
by Adrian Curry
Abuse of Weakness (Catherine Breillat)
by Daniel Kasman
Interview with Catherine Breillat
by Darren Hughes
At Berkeley (Frederick Wiseman)
by Daniel Kasman
Interview with Frederick Wiseman
by Daniel Kasman
Bastards (Claire Denis)
by Daniel Kasman
Interview with Claire Denis
by Daniel Kasman
Gloria (Sebastián Lelio)
by Adam Cook
The Immigrant (James Gray)
Dialogue...
- 10/5/2013
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Part Time Inmates: Generic Baddies Work Manila’s Streets
At this point in the history of cinema crime dramas have become a commodity for mere financial motivations and occasionally to throw in a big Hollywood star into the mix. Furthermore, the cops v. thief’s scenario has been so overdone it is hard to believe there could be any new twists, or a spin on the generic corrupt higher-ups, or a anything that would revitalize the genre. Erik Matti’s On the Job doesn’t achieve any of those feats; in fact, it actually makes use of several go-to clichés that cement it as a very Hollywoodesque tale that could easily be remade with a Mark Wahlberg or a Bruce Willis, which would make it even more run-of-the-mill.
Set in the Philippines, the film follows a par of criminals who are among few that are given a job with preferential treatment.
At this point in the history of cinema crime dramas have become a commodity for mere financial motivations and occasionally to throw in a big Hollywood star into the mix. Furthermore, the cops v. thief’s scenario has been so overdone it is hard to believe there could be any new twists, or a spin on the generic corrupt higher-ups, or a anything that would revitalize the genre. Erik Matti’s On the Job doesn’t achieve any of those feats; in fact, it actually makes use of several go-to clichés that cement it as a very Hollywoodesque tale that could easily be remade with a Mark Wahlberg or a Bruce Willis, which would make it even more run-of-the-mill.
Set in the Philippines, the film follows a par of criminals who are among few that are given a job with preferential treatment.
- 9/29/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- IONCINEMA.com
Various colorful images of Manila open Otso (Eight), Elwood Perez's first film since Lupe: A Seaman's Wife and Ssshhh... She Walks by Night ten years ago. Lex (Vince Tanada), a returning Filipino writer who is commissioned by a director to draft a script for an upcoming independent project, gives perspective to the seemingly unconnected displays of Manila's sights. Nothing has changed. The truths of the Manila that he grew up in are still the same truths that Manila grapples with. After a tour of the unchanging metropolis, Lex moves into his home for the next few months, a remarkable apartment building owned by Anita Linda, a local screen goddess. Otso suddenly switches to stark monochrome. Otso is perhaps Perez's most impenetrable film. Perez, however, has always...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 9/19/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Here I am at the Toronto International Film Festival for the first time, searching for where I fit in as both a spectator and a writer. In addition to being a third wheel of sorts representing this publication, as Daniel Kasman and Fernando C. Croce have revived their lovely “Correspondences” series that debuted at last year’s edition, I am also navigating the massive programming without the privilege of accreditation. I find myself in a not so unfamiliar position, purchasing tickets, budgeting my schedule instead of merely assembling it; after all, it was only just over a year ago that I was accredited at a festival for the first time. So, as I said, I’m searching, for an angle (and tickets!).
What follows is a reworking of the “Impressions” format I used at the Berlinale earlier this year, which allows me to share brief snapshots of initial reactions to the films,...
What follows is a reworking of the “Impressions” format I used at the Berlinale earlier this year, which allows me to share brief snapshots of initial reactions to the films,...
- 9/10/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
North, The End Of History (Lav Diaz, Philippines)
Un Certain Regard
With the 66th Festival de Cannes mostly risk free—no Boonmee or Tree of Life to flummox the Competition, Godard's stunning foray into 3D buried in a mediocre omnibus closing Critics' Week—one of the rare instances to throw the festival for a loop this year was Un Certain Regard's gall to finally program Filipino master Lav Diaz. He premiered his beautiful four-hour epic drama North, the End of History (Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan) at the end of the festival, daring a dedication and commitment to patience and time amidst an atmosphere of relentlessly tight scheduling and update-every-minute opinionating coverage. Those who entered Diaz's world swam somewhere else than the Riviera for those brief hours, and were rewarded with quite possibly the best film there.
It begins as Crime & Punishment, with a pawnbroker (and her daughter) killed by a...
Un Certain Regard
With the 66th Festival de Cannes mostly risk free—no Boonmee or Tree of Life to flummox the Competition, Godard's stunning foray into 3D buried in a mediocre omnibus closing Critics' Week—one of the rare instances to throw the festival for a loop this year was Un Certain Regard's gall to finally program Filipino master Lav Diaz. He premiered his beautiful four-hour epic drama North, the End of History (Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan) at the end of the festival, daring a dedication and commitment to patience and time amidst an atmosphere of relentlessly tight scheduling and update-every-minute opinionating coverage. Those who entered Diaz's world swam somewhere else than the Riviera for those brief hours, and were rewarded with quite possibly the best film there.
It begins as Crime & Punishment, with a pawnbroker (and her daughter) killed by a...
- 5/26/2013
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
Ron Morales’ nifty second feature Graceland centers on Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes), driver to corrupt senator Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias). The senator’s a pedophile with a penchant for underage hookers; Marlon — struggling to raise funds for an organ transplant for his ill wife — turns a blind eye. The two men’s daughters are friends, but when Marlon’s child is mistaken for the senator’s during a kidnapping, he has to lie his way into making sure the senator puts up the ransom funds. Running around Manila at the child-snatchers’ behest, Marlon and Morales take in a broad swath of pungent …...
- 4/26/2013
- by Vadim Rizov
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens is hosting a retrospective on Raya Martin, running October 19 - 27, 2012.
Above: Raya Martin. Photo by Buccino de Ocampo.
Raya Martin’s multiplicity as a key filmmaker in experimental cinema in the Philippines remains a complex subject to undertake. His radical and polarizing films earned him not only a reputation as a visionary of the film form, but also a mask of an aesthete, an art-for-art’s sake director detached from the social paradigm of Philippine cinema. These assertions led me to reassess Raya Martin’s career path to look into his films in terms of his varied style, his appropriations as a result of his post-colonial inquiries; and to position him within the ideological paradigm of Philippine cinema.
Raya Martin’s filmography can be divided into three modes based on style: documentary (Island at the End of the World [2004], Autohystoria [2007], Next Attraction...
Above: Raya Martin. Photo by Buccino de Ocampo.
Raya Martin’s multiplicity as a key filmmaker in experimental cinema in the Philippines remains a complex subject to undertake. His radical and polarizing films earned him not only a reputation as a visionary of the film form, but also a mask of an aesthete, an art-for-art’s sake director detached from the social paradigm of Philippine cinema. These assertions led me to reassess Raya Martin’s career path to look into his films in terms of his varied style, his appropriations as a result of his post-colonial inquiries; and to position him within the ideological paradigm of Philippine cinema.
Raya Martin’s filmography can be divided into three modes based on style: documentary (Island at the End of the World [2004], Autohystoria [2007], Next Attraction...
- 10/26/2012
- by Adrian Mendizabal
- MUBI
The fourth annual Migrating Forms media festival, which will run May 11-20 at the Anthology Film Archives in NYC, is a compelling mix of political films, pop culture explorations, ethnographic exposés and collections of new media art.
The fest begins and ends with political films directed and curated by Eric Baudelaire. His latest work, The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi and 27 Years without Images, opens the festival on May 11; while a pair of films – Masao Adachi & Kôji Wakamatsu’s Red Army/Pflp: Declaration of World War and The Dziga Vertov Group’s Ici et Ailleurs closes it on May 20.
Some of the special events sprinkled throughout the event include Ed Halter‘s survey of faux experimental films made for mainstream movies and TV shows that should prove to be an amazingly entertaining and enlightening discussion; a retrospective of the highly influential animation by Chuck Jones; the interactive...
The fest begins and ends with political films directed and curated by Eric Baudelaire. His latest work, The Anabasis of May and Fusako Shigenobu, Masao Adachi and 27 Years without Images, opens the festival on May 11; while a pair of films – Masao Adachi & Kôji Wakamatsu’s Red Army/Pflp: Declaration of World War and The Dziga Vertov Group’s Ici et Ailleurs closes it on May 20.
Some of the special events sprinkled throughout the event include Ed Halter‘s survey of faux experimental films made for mainstream movies and TV shows that should prove to be an amazingly entertaining and enlightening discussion; a retrospective of the highly influential animation by Chuck Jones; the interactive...
- 4/26/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Looking back at 2011 on what films moved and impressed us it becomes more and more clear—to me at least—that watching old films is a crucial part of making new films meaningful. Thus, our end of year poll, now an annual tradition, which calls upon our writers to pick both a new and an old film: they were challenged to choose a new film they saw in 2011—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they also saw in 2011 to create a unique double feature. Many contributors chose their favorites of 2011, some picked out-of-the-way gems, others made some pretty strange connections—and some frankly just want to create a kerfuffle. All the contributors were asked to write a paragraph explaining their 2011 fantasy double feature. What's more, each writer was given the option to list more pairings, with or without explanation, as further imaginative...
- 1/5/2012
- MUBI
Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story and other winners of the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival-Philippines (Mmff-p) Awards have been released. The 37th Annual Metro Manila Film Festival-Philippines “is the annual film festival held in Manila. The festival, which runs from the 25th of December to the first week of January, focuses on locally-produced films…During the course of the festival, no foreign movies are shown across the Philippines. Moreover, only films approved by the jurors of the Mmff will be shown. One of the festival highlights is the parade of floats during the opening of the festival. The floats, each one representing a movie entry for the festival, parade down Roxas Boulevard, while the stars for films ride on them.” This year’s awards ceremony was held at the “Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila in Pasay City”.
The full listing of the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival Awards winners is below.
The full listing of the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival Awards winners is below.
- 12/28/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Metro Manila Film Festival 2011 Box Office: Dolphy's Controversial Father Jejemon Flops on Christmas
Toplining popular Filipino players Ramon 'Bong' Revilla and Vic Sotto, Tony Reyes' Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote was the top box-office grosser on the first day of the 2010/2011 Metro Manila Film Festival, according to philstar.com. Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote took in P31m ($705k) on Dec. 25. It was followed by the Ai-Ai delas Alas comedy Ang Tanging Ina Mo (Last Na 'To!), which swept the Metro Manila Film Festival awards. Directed by Wenn V. Deramas, the third installment in the Ang Tanging Ina Mo series earned P20m ($455k). In third place was the Kris Aquino horror vehicle Dalaw with P12.5m ($284k), followed by another horror effort, Shake, Rattle & Roll Xii, with P11.8m ($268k), and the 3D animated feature RPG: Metanoia with P5.1m ($116k). At no. 6, Super Inday and the Golden Bibe, starring Marian Rivera and John Lapus, collected P4.7 million ($107k...
- 12/27/2010
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
Metro Manila Film Festival Awards: Comedy Rules Best Picture: Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) 2nd Best Picture: Rosario 3rd Best Picture: RPG Metanoia Best Director: Wenn V. Deramas, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Actress: Ai-Ai delas Alas, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Actor: Dolphy, Father Jejemon Best Supporting Actress: Eugene Domingo, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Supporting Actor: Dolphy, Rosario Best Screenplay: Mel del Rosario, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Cinematography: Carlo Mendoza, Rosario Best Editing: John Wong, Rosario Best Musical Score: Jesse Lasatem, Ang Tanging Ina Mo, (Last Na 'To!) Best Theme Song: "Kaya Ko", RPG Metanoia Best Production Design: Joel Luna and Miki Hahn, Rosario Best Sound Recording: Ambient Media, RPG Metanoia and Ditoy Aguila, Super Inday and the Golden Bibe Best Visual Effects: Rico Gutierrez and Co., Si Agimat at si Enteng Kabisote...
- 12/27/2010
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
Adolfo Alix, Jr.'s Chassis opens with Nora (Jodi Sta. Maria) ironing the school uniform of her daughter inside a modest house. The house, perhaps a few square meters wide, consists of very few belongings, some furniture, the ironing horse, cheap ornaments hanging on the wall, one of which Alix's camera becomes fixated on because it showcases the ideal house. Nora finishes her chore and thanks the owner for her kindness. No, this is not Nora's house. She lives elsewhere.
Alix's camera follows Nora as she crosses a wide cement gap that separates her neighbor's house with the parking lot of huge container trucks. Underneath the chassis of one of the parked trucks hangs a hammock where Nora's daughter is sleeping. Nora's husband sleeps on the cold cement. This is Nora's home, or at least until the truck drives off to one of its many destinations. She wakes her daughter,...
Alix's camera follows Nora as she crosses a wide cement gap that separates her neighbor's house with the parking lot of huge container trucks. Underneath the chassis of one of the parked trucks hangs a hammock where Nora's daughter is sleeping. Nora's husband sleeps on the cold cement. This is Nora's home, or at least until the truck drives off to one of its many destinations. She wakes her daughter,...
- 12/15/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Welcome back to our series of Tribeca Film Festival previews, where we highlight a film that will be screening over the next few weeks. This week we’re showing you the trailer for Brillante Mendoza’s film, Lola. This is one of Rudie’s most anticipated films, and we’ll be sure to cover it on the next bonus podcast episode, regarding the Tribeca Film Festival.
Lola will be screening all weekend (April 22, 23, 24) at the Village East Cinema 4 and the Clearview Chelsea Cinema 8. For a complete list of screening times and venues, head over to the official Tribeca page. You can also become a fan of the film over on Facebook, although I cannot confirm that the page is official. They also link to an official website, but I was getting an error every time I tried visiting it.
Are you planning on attending the Tribeca Film Festival? Which films are you most excited about?...
Lola will be screening all weekend (April 22, 23, 24) at the Village East Cinema 4 and the Clearview Chelsea Cinema 8. For a complete list of screening times and venues, head over to the official Tribeca page. You can also become a fan of the film over on Facebook, although I cannot confirm that the page is official. They also link to an official website, but I was getting an error every time I tried visiting it.
Are you planning on attending the Tribeca Film Festival? Which films are you most excited about?...
- 4/21/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Cannes's 6th Cinefondation Atelier has a lineup of directors which this year includes more known auteurs than previously. It has also joined with Mexico's Expresion den Corto for a summer residence program in Guanajuato, Mexico. Both programs include a dozen of the best young filmmakers in the world, offering them a platform designed to propel their careers with master's classes, workshops and meetings with public and private organizaitons to help obtain financing for their film projects.
The Cannes lineup of 15 films this year includes 4 films by first time directors one of whom is a woman and 2 Latino filmmakers.
Debuting directors:
Taiwan based former actress Show-Chun Lee from France, a protege of Claude Miller with Shanghai-Belleville
Karoly Ujj Meszaros from Hungary with Liza, the Fox-Fairy, a comedic serial killer nurse romp
Diego Quemada-Diez from Mexico with La Jaula de oro
Ruben Sierra Salles from Venezuela with Lucia
A third Latino filmmaker...
The Cannes lineup of 15 films this year includes 4 films by first time directors one of whom is a woman and 2 Latino filmmakers.
Debuting directors:
Taiwan based former actress Show-Chun Lee from France, a protege of Claude Miller with Shanghai-Belleville
Karoly Ujj Meszaros from Hungary with Liza, the Fox-Fairy, a comedic serial killer nurse romp
Diego Quemada-Diez from Mexico with La Jaula de oro
Ruben Sierra Salles from Venezuela with Lucia
A third Latino filmmaker...
- 4/15/2010
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
Carlo Caparas‘ Ang Panday, a special effects-laden fantasy-adventure starring actor-politician Bong Revilla, remains the biggest box-office hit at the 35th Metro Manila Film Festival up to Jan. 2, according to a Manila Bulletin report. Ang Panday has earned P80.8 million (Us$1.75m) since Dec. 25. The runners-up are the vampire comedy Ang Darling Kong Aswang, starring Vic Sotto and Cristine Reyes as a sort of female Robert Pattinson, with P76m (Us$1.65m), and Laurice Guillen’s romantic melodrama I Love You Goodbye, starring Derek Ramsay, Gabby Concepcion, and Angelica Panganiban, with P69.8m (Us$1.51m). Of the festival’s seven films, the one box-office disaster has been boxer Manny Pacquiao’s fantasy flick Wapakman, which has grossed a paltry P2 million (Us$43,000). Throughout the two-week Metro Manila Film Festival, [...]...
- 1/4/2010
- by Irene Young
- Alt Film Guide
[The Toronto International Film Festival’s south-east Asia programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon has been giving us a guided tour of his selections for the big festival and today he checks in with some thoughts on Independencia.]
Hi all, after my brief explanation on the director’s cut of Nymph, the next one I’d like to introduce is Raya Martin’s Independencia, a critical darling when it screened in Cannes earlier this year. Apart from being selected for Tiff, the film has also recently been invited to the New York Film Festival. It’s a title that will surely be popular among festivals and cineastes.
Fans of Guy Maddin will find lots to like here, from the clever use of early silent film techniques and hand-painted backdrops to the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and lush score. But this ain’t My Winnipeg (or My Manila); the genius of this film comes from the rich evocation of Filipino traditional folklore and melodrama, using visual tricks as well as a hilarious American propaganda piece to make its point. It’s also a rare glimpse of the colony back in...
Hi all, after my brief explanation on the director’s cut of Nymph, the next one I’d like to introduce is Raya Martin’s Independencia, a critical darling when it screened in Cannes earlier this year. Apart from being selected for Tiff, the film has also recently been invited to the New York Film Festival. It’s a title that will surely be popular among festivals and cineastes.
Fans of Guy Maddin will find lots to like here, from the clever use of early silent film techniques and hand-painted backdrops to the gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and lush score. But this ain’t My Winnipeg (or My Manila); the genius of this film comes from the rich evocation of Filipino traditional folklore and melodrama, using visual tricks as well as a hilarious American propaganda piece to make its point. It’s also a rare glimpse of the colony back in...
- 8/25/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
The official selection of movies to be shown at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival has finally been unveiled. In the festival that will be kicked off on May 13 and wrapped on May 24, a total of 52 films will be featured from four categories, In Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, and Special Screenings.
Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces", Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" and Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" are listed among the 20 In Competition movies. They will be up against Jane Campion's "Bright Star", Ken Loach's "Looking for Eric", Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon", Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" and Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" among others.
Terry Gilliam-directed drama fantasy starring Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", has been included in the Out of Competition line-up. In the meantime, Sam Raimi's horror "Drag Me to Hell" enters the Midnight Screenings list.
Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces", Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" and Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" are listed among the 20 In Competition movies. They will be up against Jane Campion's "Bright Star", Ken Loach's "Looking for Eric", Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon", Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" and Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" among others.
Terry Gilliam-directed drama fantasy starring Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", has been included in the Out of Competition line-up. In the meantime, Sam Raimi's horror "Drag Me to Hell" enters the Midnight Screenings list.
- 4/24/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
So the line-up for this year's Cannes Film Festival was just released today and I damn near fainted from the awesome. This year's competition has got to be the biggest, baddest one in many years, with so many famous auteurs throwing down with their latest films. Who will get the coveted Palme d'Or?
A sampling of just the biggest names who will be in competition: Pedro Almodovar (Broken Embraces), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Park Chan-wook (Thirst), Jane Campion (Bright Star), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon), Gaspar Noe (Enter the Void), Ken Loach (Looking for Eric), Johnnie To (Vengeance), Lars von Trier (Antichrist), Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock).
Not only that, but out of competition, we have Pixar's Up as the opening film, Bong Joon-ho's Mother, Hikorazu Kore-eda's Air Doll, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, and a new documentary by Michel Gondry...
A sampling of just the biggest names who will be in competition: Pedro Almodovar (Broken Embraces), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Park Chan-wook (Thirst), Jane Campion (Bright Star), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon), Gaspar Noe (Enter the Void), Ken Loach (Looking for Eric), Johnnie To (Vengeance), Lars von Trier (Antichrist), Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock).
Not only that, but out of competition, we have Pixar's Up as the opening film, Bong Joon-ho's Mother, Hikorazu Kore-eda's Air Doll, Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, and a new documentary by Michel Gondry...
- 4/23/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
For the most part, the majority of the films Variety speculated would be included at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival made the final list. The only ones that didn't were Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant and Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro out of the group I listed from their early report. However, to make up for it they have added Alejandro Amenabar's Agora starring Rachel Weisz, which is big news if you ask me. Listed below is the early list thanks to Variety. The Cannes' Directors' Fortnight and Critics' Week will be fully announced Friday in Paris. Opener
Up U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Closer
Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky France, Jan Kounen In Competition
Bright Star Australia-u.K.-France, Jane Campion
Spring Fever China-France, Lou Ye
Antichrist Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier
Enter the Void France, Gaspar Noe
Face France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang
Les Herbes folles France-Italy, Alain Resnais
In the Beginning France,...
Up U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Closer
Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky France, Jan Kounen In Competition
Bright Star Australia-u.K.-France, Jane Campion
Spring Fever China-France, Lou Ye
Antichrist Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier
Enter the Void France, Gaspar Noe
Face France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang
Les Herbes folles France-Italy, Alain Resnais
In the Beginning France,...
- 4/23/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Wow, the speculation this year was pretty heavy on some great genre fare we've been tracking and while we're missing some stunners like Mr. Nobody and a couple others I've been clocking but won't mention, we do get the following:
Antichrist from Lars Von Trier
Enter the Void from Gapar Noe (we've been waiting on a trailer for a long time)
Vengeance from Johnnie To
Thirst from Chan-Wook Park
Inglorious Basterds from Qt
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus from Terry Gilliam
As well as so many others. One of these years Qe will be headed to Cannes for reviews, but not this year folks, (unless we can find a French correspondent or someone donates a few large, hah!)
Full list after the break. via Variety
Opener
"Up," U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Closer
"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," France, Jan Kounen
In Competition
"Bright Star," Australia-u.K.-France, Jane Campion
"Spring Fever,...
Antichrist from Lars Von Trier
Enter the Void from Gapar Noe (we've been waiting on a trailer for a long time)
Vengeance from Johnnie To
Thirst from Chan-Wook Park
Inglorious Basterds from Qt
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus from Terry Gilliam
As well as so many others. One of these years Qe will be headed to Cannes for reviews, but not this year folks, (unless we can find a French correspondent or someone donates a few large, hah!)
Full list after the break. via Variety
Opener
"Up," U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Closer
"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," France, Jan Kounen
In Competition
"Bright Star," Australia-u.K.-France, Jane Campion
"Spring Fever,...
- 4/23/2009
- QuietEarth.us
Okay, can I just tell you now, that I wish I can go :sad
But work schedule prevents me from going to Cannes (May is ratings period for TV and thou shall not leave your post!). So, I'll just regale myself with fantasizing I was there, or, by counting the days before I can see the films in/out competition!
And this year? It's great! Quentin Tarantino ("Inglourious Basterds") will face off with Ang Lee ("Taking Woodstock") while fighting Pedro Almodovar ("Broken Embraces") and kicking Jane Campion ("Bright Star") to the curb.
It's going to be fierce!
But before all the competition hoopla, Disney/Pixar will entertain everyone by opening the event with "Up" (the first ever animated film to kick off the festival!).
Oh, and out of competition? The last film made by Heath Ledger, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" by Terry Gilliam.
Here's the complete line up, oh,...
But work schedule prevents me from going to Cannes (May is ratings period for TV and thou shall not leave your post!). So, I'll just regale myself with fantasizing I was there, or, by counting the days before I can see the films in/out competition!
And this year? It's great! Quentin Tarantino ("Inglourious Basterds") will face off with Ang Lee ("Taking Woodstock") while fighting Pedro Almodovar ("Broken Embraces") and kicking Jane Campion ("Bright Star") to the curb.
It's going to be fierce!
But before all the competition hoopla, Disney/Pixar will entertain everyone by opening the event with "Up" (the first ever animated film to kick off the festival!).
Oh, and out of competition? The last film made by Heath Ledger, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" by Terry Gilliam.
Here's the complete line up, oh,...
- 4/23/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
- Opening "Up," U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Closing "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," France, Jan Kounen In Competition "Bright Star," Australia-u.K.-France, Jane Campion "Spring Fever," China-France, Lou Ye "Antichrist," Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier "Enter the Void," France, Gaspar Noe "Face," France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang "Les Herbes folles," France-Italy, Alain Resnais "In the Beginning," France, Xavier Giannoli "A Prophet," France, Jacques Audiard "The White Ribbon," Germany-Austria-France, Michael Haneke "Vengeance," Hong Kong-France-u.S., Johnnie To "The Time That Remains," Israel-France-Belgium-Italy, Elia Suleiman "Vincere," Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio "Kinatay," Philippines, Brillante Mendoza "Thirst," South Korea-u.S., Park Chan-wook "Broken Embraces," Spain, Pedro Almodovar "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," Spain, Isabel Coixet "Fish Tank," U.K.-Netherlands, Andrea Arnold "Looking for Eric," U.K.-France-Belgium-Italy, Ken Loach "Inglourious Basterds," U.S., Quentin Tarantino "Taking Woodstock," U.S., Ang Lee Out Of Competition "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," Canada-France, Terry Gilliam "The Army of Crime,
- 4/23/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
- Traditionally, the spots in the Out of Competition, Midnight and Special Screenings are reserved to Hollywood Studios looking to promote a soon-to-be-released summer title, socially relevant documentary film or some genre film from South Korea. I'm surprised that neither Angels & Demons, nor Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins took up a spot. Out of the trio of titles in the Out of Comp section, the film journalists will be flocking to see Heath Ledger's last perf, but I'll be more interested in how Terry Gilliam changes horses mid-stream with The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Alejandro Amenabar's Agora is one more heavyweight production grabbing a slot, and thus makes this Cannes edition a great one for Spanish film. A well liked filmmaker in France, Robert Guediguian (Marius et Jeannette) hasn't visited with Cannes often, so The Army of Crime which was tapped for a possible spot in the Competition, will
- 4/23/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
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