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Exclusive: London-based Sc Films International has picked up Brillante Mendoza’s latest film project, Chameleon, for worldwide sales ahead of the Cannes market.

Currently in post-production, the Philippines-Japan crime drama focuses on a Filipino transgender dancer named Marie (played by Mariko Ledesma) who joins the Japanese Yakuza underworld. Set in early 2000s Sapporo, Japan, Marie becomes entangled with the dangerous Yakuza world after an immigration raid pushes her into the orbit of the deadly Yakuza. Desperate, she takes a job at the Chameleon club and quickly becomes a favorite of the Yakuza boss, named Shimamura. Marie must find a way to escape even though the promise of freedom may be fleeting.

First footage from the film will be available during Cannes, with the film receiving support from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Production took place over two years in Japan.

Chameleon stars veteran Japanese actor Eiji Okuda as Yakuza boss Shimamura, alongside Tsuyoshi Ihara, Rina Takeda (Attack on Titan) and Shogen (Gensan Punch).

Besides Ledesma, Filipino actors in Chameleon include Ruby Ruiz, Gigi Hernandez and Vince Rillon.

Mendoza won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009 for his feature film Kinatay.

Troy Espiritu, who also served as a writer on Mendoza’s 2016 Cannes entry Ma’ Rosa, penned the screenplay for Chameleon alongside Mendoza.

Chameleon is produced by the same group of producers who previously collaborated on boxing biopic Gensan Punch, which won the Kim Jiseok Award at the 2021 Busan International Film Festival. Producers include Takahiro Yamashita from Japan’s Yaman Films, Krisma Maclang Fajardo of The Philippines’ Center Stage Productions, UK-based Fumie Suzuki Lancaster of Sc Films International and Bobo.

The film is also executive produced by Yoshi and Hironobu Arai , with music composed by Yoshihiro Hanno (Mountains May Depart).

“We’re thrilled to reunite with director Brillante Mendoza and his outstanding team,” said Lancaster, who serves as one of the film’s producers. “This powerful comeback film is deeply rooted in Mendoza’s unique vision, shedding light on the untold stories of Filipinos who came to Japan in the early 2000s with hopes and dreams of a better life. Following our successful collaboration on Gensan Punch, an HBO Original that won acclaim at the Busan International Film Festival, we are proud to continue supporting Brillante’s bold storytelling on the global stage.”...

“Moro,” a tale of fractious fraternal relations that debuted last year in the Jiseok section of the Busan International Film Festival, has begun airing on Netflix in Southeast Asia, including director Brillante Mendoza’s native Philippines.

In other territories, the film’s rights are being represented by Manila-based finance, production and sales firm Fire and Ice.

With a screenplay by Honeylyn Joy Alipio, and production by Mendoza’s Center Stage Productions, “Moro” tells a story about a widowed mother (played by Laurice Guillen) who tries to reconcile two brothers who are feuding over a piece of disputed land in Mindanao. The older brother is diligent and responsible, the younger one has squandered his savings on gambling. After the semblance of agreement is reached, government intervention throws the region into turbulence and reveals that even those closest to us may become the most destructive enemies.

In addition to the veteran Guillen,...

by Epoy Deyto

Brillante Mendoza, Best Director laureate from the Cannes Film Festival, dropped his latest film, “Pula,” quietly on Netflix earlier this month. The film marks one of the two reunion projects between Mendoza and actor Coco Martin years after their last collaboration in “Kinatay” (2009). This small-town crime thriller seems to bridge more than just the two figures.

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The film navigates a fictionalized version of the small town of Pola depicted as a devout catholic fishing community where citizens live far from the town center and from each other. The title of the film is a wordplay of several layers. The first layer is the word “pula” being the literal translation of the color “red” associated with the red tide plaguing the town’s fishing industry at the brink of a typhoon. From this setup, we are introduced...

Donald Trump‘s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), has recently unveiled a new song that has been met with scathing criticism – even from many of her own social media followers.

Last year, Lara showcased her musical aspirations with a widely mocked cover of Tom Petty‘s iconic hit, “I Won’t Back Down.” Her latest track, titled “Anything is Possible,” now faces similar derision from internet critics.

The song itself is intended as an inspirational ballad and features lyrics such as “Don’t think, just jump / You can’t give up / Know that anything is possible.”

Numerous X users among Lara’s have not held back in their scrutiny. “‘Anything’ isn’t possible,” quipped one user. “Even auto-tune couldn’t salvage your karaoke-like voice. Just leave us alone and walk away. You have the means to travel anywhere on a private plane with your wealth.

Both the most famous, for being the first Filipino film to net Best Director Award in Cannes, among a number of other awards from festivals all over the world, and the most notorious, considering how a number of critics slammed it, “Kinatay” is definitely a landmark for local cinema, as much as for Mendoza, whose international legend essentially begun here.

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The film is essentially split into two parts. The first revolves around the marriage of Peping, a 20-year-old criminology student, with a classmate of his, 19-year-old Cecile, following the birth of their son, while highlighting their everyday life. Peping, however, is in dire need of money, which is why he agrees to the proposition of his schoolmate, Abyong, to work as a part-time errand boy for a local syndicate that collects protection fees from various businesses in Manila. One night,...

Don’t come to “Alpha, The Right to Kill,” the latest rough-hewn slab of social realism from Filipino auteur Brillante Ma Mendoza, in search of revelations, either in form or content. A rumbling, street-pounding drug-war thriller, it’s far from the first film to paint cops and dealers on this beat as equally bent; a Mendoza joint that drags viewers brusquely through the ragged poverty and institutional corruption of modern Manila is hardly an unfamiliar proposition either. “Alpha” doesn’t profess to be anything new, however: There’s a bone-weary resignation to its worldview that underlines its simple moral point all the more effectively.

That said, this story of a Swat officer and a punkish informant’s fateful outside-the-law collaboration is Mendoza’s most propulsive and engrossing variation on his favored themes in some time. It’s also his most straight-up genre exercise to date — somewhat reminiscent of José Padilha...

Phillippine filmmaker Brillante Mendoza is primarily known to film festival goers and devoted arthouse cinephiles, with the director’s pictures — such as “Kinatay,” “Captive,” and the upcoming “Ma’ Rosa“— generally making small, limited runs in the United States. But the filmmaker is nonetheless a compelling voice, and like many of his colleagues in Europe and stateside, he’s found a new outlet on the small screen.

Continue reading Brillante Mendoza Goes Hitchcock With ‘Brillante Mendoza Presents’ at The Playlist.

After nearly two weeks of viewing some of the best that cinema will have to offer this year, the 69th Cannes Film Festival has concluded. With Ken Loach‘s I, Daniel Blake taking the top jury prize of Palme d’Or (full list of winners here), we’ve set out to wrap up our experience with our 10 favorite films from the festival, which extends to the Un Certain Regard and Directors’ Fortnight side bars.

It should be noted that The Nice Guys, which screened out of competition, was among our favorites of the festival (review here), but, considering it’s now in wide release, we’ve elected to give room to other titles. Check out our top 13 films below, followed by the rest of the reviews and all of our features. One can also return in the coming months as we learn of distribution news for all of the mentioned films.

Not a huge amount happens in Ma’ Rosa, the relentless new film from Filipino director Brillante Mendoza, which premieres this week in competition at Cannes. In present-day Manila, a woman and her husband are arrested for dealing methamphetamines and taken to the police station for interrogation before rounding up their three children who, in turn, must collect the sufficient sum of money to bail them out. It’s a bit of a slog, not least in the first half, but it’s also the kind of film that seeps into the viewer in the minutes and hours and days afterwards. Returning to the style and locale that brought him international acclaim with Kinatay in 2009, Mendoza shoots it like a pseudo-documentary, employing erratic, grainy handheld camerawork and relatively few cuts. Critics often say he’s an uncompromising director. It’s easy to see why.

Jaclyn Jose plays Rosa, the titular matriarch...

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza’s social realist drama takes us to the dark heart of police corruption in Manila, but never really gets inside the victims’ heads

The Filipino director Brillante Mendoza is one of Cannes’ established auteur film-makers, and his new movie here, entitled Ma’Rosa, returns us to the themes of his violent shocker Kinatay from 2009 — the cynicism and corruption of the police and the city authorities, the casual violence and the desperation of the ruled-over who must make what accommodation they can with those in power. It is a tough social realist slice of life at ground level in Manila, unfolding in what feels like real time: violent, though perhaps less so than in that notorious earlier movie and with a droll habit of transcribing the banal conversations of police officers as they deal what they consider to be their paperwork. I wonder if Mendoza hasn’t...

The five award-winning directors will each make a short film inspired by a piece of art from their region.

National Gallery Singapore has announced an unprecedented collaboration with five award-winning Southeast Asian filmmakers – Apichatpong Weerasethakul [pictured] (Thailand), Brilliante Mendoza (Philippines), Eric Khoo (Singapore), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia) and Joko Anwar (Indonesia).

The five directors will create Art Through Our Eyes, an omnibus for which the directors each pick a masterpiece from the region to inspire their short films.

Initiated by Khoo with the Gallery, the project of dramatized interpretations aims to connect with audiences worldwide to deepen their appreciation for Southeast Asian art.

The directors are all festival favorites. Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Palme d’Or in 2010 in Cannes while his Tropical Malady won a jury prize in 2004.

Mendoza won the Best Director at Cannes in 2009 for Kinatay; Khoo’s My Magic was in Cannes competition in 2008 and his Be With Me opened...

While he’s got prizes from Cannes on his shelf for “Kinatay” and “Taklub,” the films of Brillante Mendoza tend to find an audience only with the most devoted of arthouse cinephiles. Even when he flirted with a wider audience, directing Isabelle Huppert in “Captive” a few years back, the director’s films are delivered in his […]

The post Watch: First International Trailer For Brillante Mendoza’s Cannes Bound Drug Drama ‘Ma’ Rosa’ appeared first on The Playlist.

Coming back to Cannes Film Festival after last year’s Taklub in the Un Certain Regard section, Filipino director Brillante Mendoza will return to the main competition line-up with Ma’ Rosa. His first time back in the section since he picked up Best Director in 2009 for Kinatay, the first trailer has arrived today for the intense-looking drama.

According to the official synopsis, the plot follows “Rosa, mother of four, owns a small convenient store in the slums of Manila. To make ends meet, Rosa and her husband, Nestor, sell narcotics on the side, until the police comes to arrest them. Their children have to trade the little they have left to pay off the police.”

Check out the trailer below for the film starring Jaclyn Rose, Julio Diaz, Felix Roco, Andi Eigenmann, Kristofer King, Mercedes Cabral, Jomari Angeles, and Maria Isabel Lopez.

Cannes 2016 begins on May 11th.

Ahead of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Screen looks back at the hits and misses of 2009 according to our jury of critics.

Screen’s jury of international critics has long been a strong diviner as to what will win the top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival – and 2009 was no different.

Topping the grid was Jacques Audiard’s crime drama A Prophet, starring then newcomer Tahar Rahim, which scored an impressive 3.4 out of 4 and went on to win to the festival’s Grand Prix.

The winner of the coveted Palme d’Or was Michael Haneke’s chilling pre-war drama The White Ribbon, which came a close joint second on the grid with 3.3 alongside Jane Campion’s period romance Bright Star.

While the Palme d’Or alluded Audiard in 2009, the French filmmaker returned in 2015 with Dheepan and picked up the festival’s top prize.

The 2009 line-up also featured a divisively generous portion of violence courtesy of [link...

Filipino director’s Palme d’Or contender revolves around a convenience store owner who sells narcotics on the side.

Paris-based Films Distribution has reunited with Filipino director Brillante Mendoza to handle international sales of his new film Ma’ Rosa ahead of its premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22).

Set against the backdrop of the slums of Manila, the film revolves around convenience store owner Rosa, who sells narcotics on the side. When Rosa and her husband are arrested, their four children are forced to trade their meagre possessions to raise money to pay-off the police.

It sees Mendoza reunite with Jaclyn Jose, having previously worked with the veteran actress on Service (Serbis), which played in Competition at Cannes in 2008.

“I went to see a first-cut in Manila a few months ago, and knew right away that this was probably his best work ever,” said Films Distribution co-chief Nicolas Brigaud-Robert.

“In a sense...

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza’s latest revolves around a convenience store owner who sells narcotics on the side.

Paris-based Films Distribution has re-united with Filipino director Brillante Mendoza to handle international sales of his new film Ma’Rosa ahead of its premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Set against the backdrop of the slums of Manila, the film revolves around convenience store owner Rosa, who sells narcotics on the side.

When Rosa and her husband are arrested, their four children are forced to trade their meagre possessions to raise money to pay-off the police.

“I went to see a first-cut in Manila a few months ago, and knew right away that this was probably his best work ever,” said Films Distribution co-chief Nicolas Brigaud-Robert.

“In a sense, I was not surprised that Cannes shared my enthusiasm for the movie. It has the distinctive style and voice that is always present in Mendoza’s movies, but beyond...

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza’s latest revolves around a convenience store owner who sells narcotics on the side.

Paris-based Films Distribution has re-united with Filipino director Brillante Mendoza to handle international sales of his new film Ma’Rosa ahead of its premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Set against the backdrop of the slums of Manila, the film revolves around convenience store owner Rosa, who sells narcotics on the side.

When Rosa and her husband are arrested, their four children are forced to trade their meagre possessions to raise money to pay-off the police.

“I went to see a first-cut in Manila a few months ago, and knew right away that this was probably his best work ever,” said Films Distribution co-chief Nicolas Brigaud-Robert.

“In a sense, I was not surprised that Cannes shared my enthusiasm for the movie. It has the distinctive style and voice that is always present in Mendoza’s movies, but beyond...

The Japan Foundation and the Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) announced the main cast for the omnibus film.

Launched in 2014 the Asian Three – Fold Mirror project aims to deepen interactions between neighboring countries within Asia, as well as enriching cultural understanding and providing chance for people to consider their identity and way of life as individuals in Asia.

Lou Veloso – Masahiko Tsugawa – Masatoshi Nagase Sharifah Amani – Masaya Kayo – Chumvan Sodhachivy

The three Asian directors selected, Brillante Mendoza (Philippines), Isao Yukisa (Japan) and Sotho Kulikar (Cambodia) have selected their main cast to appear in their chapters. The acclaimed Filipino actor Lou Veloso will be starting in Mendoza’s episode. Two famous Japanese actors, Masahiko Tsugawa & Masatoshi Nagase along with the Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani will be starring in Yukisada’s chapter. Finally Japanese actor Masayo Kato and Cambodian actress Chumvan Sodhachivy will be appearing in the episode by Kulikar. The protagonist...

The 55th Cartagena International Film Festival will take place from March 2nd until March 7th in Cartagena (Colombia). This event is one of the most important film festival in the region and is the only Colombian festival accredited by the Fiafp. Three asian films will be screen in the Gems Category along with a Special Tribute to the Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendonza.

The Assassin (Nie yin niang) by Hou Hsiao-Hsien – Taiwan, China | 2015 – 105 min.

In 9th-century China, Nie Yinniang is a young woman who was abducted in childhood from a decorated general and raised by a nun who trained her in the martial arts. After 13 years of exile, she is returned to the land of her birth as an exceptional assassin, with orders to kill her betrothed husband-to-be. She must confront her parents, her memories, and her long-repressed feelings in a choice to sacrifice the man she loves or break...

Competition section features six world premieres including titles from Koji Fukada and Yoshihiro Nakamura.

The 28th Tokyo International Film Festival (October 22-31) has unveiled its line-up with six world premieres in the Competition section, including Turkish director Mustafa Kara’s Cold Of Kalandar, Hao Jie’s My Original Dream and Thai film-maker Kongdej Jaturanrasmee’s Snap.

Also world-premiering in Competition are three Japanese titles: Kohei Oguri’s Foujita, Yoshihiro Nakamura’s The Inerasable and Koji Fukada’s Sayonara – the most local films in the main section since 2004.

The other selections are either Asian or international premieres. The topics of war or refugeeism are a common thread among some films, echoing current day headlines. “We were not conscious about choosing those types, it just happened that way and we noticed afterwards,” said Competition programming director Yoshi Yatabe.

“As much as possible we’d like to cover a wide range of geographical areas and genres,” he said of...

Competition section features six world premieres including titles from Koji Fukada and Yoshihiro Nakamura.

The 28th Tokyo International Film Festival (October 22-31) has unveiled its line-up with six world premieres in the Competition section, including Turkish director Mustafa Kara’s Cold Of Kalandar, Hao Jie’s My Original Dream and Thai film-maker Kongdej Jaturanrasmee’s Snap.

Also world-premiering in Competition are three Japanese titles: Kohei Oguri’s Foujita, Yoshihiro Nakamura’s The Inerasable and Koji Fukada’s Sayonara – the most local films in the main section since 2004.

The other selections are either Asian or international premieres. The topics of war or refugeeism are a common thread among some films, echoing current day headlines. “We were not conscious about choosing those types, it just happened that way and we noticed afterwards,” said Competition programming director Yoshi Yatabe.

“As much as possible we’d like to cover a wide range of geographical areas and genres,” he said of...

Non-competitive sidebar features 19 films; Brillante Mendoza tribute on festival slate.

The Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 14-22) non-competitive strand Kinoscope will feature 19 films, 12 of which come from first or second-time feature directors.

The eclectic selection includes festival favourites such as Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Andrew Haig’s 45 Years, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster, Martti Helde’s In The Crosswind, Ciro Guerra’s Embrace Of The Serpent, and Jerusalem Film Festival winner Tikkun.

Also featured are documentaries Killing Time by Lydie Wisshaupt-Claudel, Chad Gracia’s The Russian Woodpecker, and Benedikt Erlingsson’s archive footage collage The Greatest Shows On Earth: A Century Of Vaudeville, Circuses And Carnivals.

Genre fare is represented by Green Room, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, and Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse.

The strand’s programmers, Protagonist Pictures’ CEO Mike Goodridge and Festivalscope’s Alessandro Raja and Mathilde Henrot, said: “In programming Kinoscope this year, we found ourselves unconsciously veering towards work from young...

The Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) and Japan Foundation have announced they will focus on the cinema of the Philippines for the second edition of the festival’s Crosscut Asia sidebar.

The line-up includes a special programme of the work of Brillante Mendoza who won best director at Cannes in 2009 for Kinatay. Mendoza’s Taklub is screening in Un Certain Regard this year.

“I am delighted to be a part of this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival where my film as well as other works from the Philippines will be shown,” said Mendoza.

“The Tokyo International Film Festival is a great occasion for everyone as it showcases not only movies from the Philippines but a variety of works from around the globe that are not available at everyday cinemas. I hope everyone will have a chance to appreciate these works.”

The first Crosscut Asia at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival focused on Thai cinema...

Official Selection for 2015 line-up completed with extra titles for Competition, Un Certain Regard, Special Screening and Midnight Screening strands.Click here for the full line-up

The 68th Cannes Film Festival has completed its Official Selection. Headlining the additions are two more Competition titles, taking the number of films in the running for the Palme d’Or up to 19.

The first is Chronic by Mexican director Michel Franco, starring Tim Roth and Bitsie Tulloch (Grimm). The film marks Franco’s English-language debut and centres on a depressed nurse practitioner who assists terminally ill patients and tries to reconnect with the family he abandoned. Wild Bunch handles sales

Franco and Roth decided to work together after meeting at Cannes in 2012, where the film-maker’s previous feature After Lucia won Un Certain Regard and Roth served on the jury.

The Mexican filmmaker was also in the running for Cannes’ Golden Camera in 2009 with his debut feature, Daniel and Ana.

The...

The Embroiderer

Director: Brillante Mendoza // Writer: Zig Dulay

Brillante Mendoza, one of the most notable directors working in the Philippines, has had constant output since his controversial win as Best Director for Kinatay at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival (he’d received previous murmurs of international renown for titles like 2008’s Service and 2005 debut The Masseur. He’s been quiet since the underwhelming experimental horror film Sapi in 2013, while other titles, like 2012’s Thy Womb, are often delayed considerably before reaching the Us. While 2014 was absent a new Mendoza title, earlier in the year it was revealed that his latest project, The Embroiderer, had received funding (along with a documentary he was simultaneously working on). While the film concerns an 83-year-old woman whose embroidery business is on the verge of bankruptcy, we wonder if Mendoza’s regular muse Mercedes Cabral will play a part somewhere in the mix.

Cast: Not available.

Directors include Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho.Scroll down for full list

Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including films from directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.

Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.

The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.

Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.

The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.

Korean directors...

Directors include Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho.

Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up including directors Brillante Mendoza, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Yeon Sang-ho and July Jung.

Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’or, Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forbidden Land) will present Sri Lankan project Hair Of The Dog That Bit You.

The drama is about a female tourist guide’s loss of memory and identity, and her struggle to come to terms with what is left of her life and an unknown future.

Cannes 2009 Best Director winner Brillante Mendoza (Kinatay) has Philippines-France-Germany co-production Fowl in the Apm line-up.

The story follows Ramon, a Filipino contract worker working at Singapore Post. When his wife Jenny suddenly dies, he has to travel back to the Philippines with her as if she were one of the many parcels he is so used to handling.

Korean directors include July Jung, the [link=nm...

To call Brillante Mendoza a prolific filmmaker would be something of an understatement. In the past eight years the Filipino director has directed eleven films, all successes on the festival circuit—he’s something of a Cannes favorite at this point—and as his latest film, “Sapi,” the director's first straight-up horror movie, premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival tonight, we’re debuting the film’s first poster. Described as a “media satire,” Mendoza’s new film marks his first foray into the horror genre as it follows two competing television news teams as they chase a variety of leads, gradually zeroing in on an impending and possibly apocalyptic storm, and a middle-aged teacher who may or may not be possessed by a demon. Sounds good to us. While many weren’t exactly thrilled with Mendoza’s “Kinatay” in Cannes of 2009—there were plenty of walkouts that year—the jury that year,...

Womb Doom: Mendoza Gives Us Another Poverty Stricken Filipino Narrative

Quickly assuming the stature of one of the most important directors from the Philippines, Brillante Mendoza churns out another macabre narrative of the hard knock lives from his native land with the effective Thy Womb. Working at break neck speed and putting out several shorts and a title or two a year, he’s earned a prolific reputation after a 2009 Cannes win for Best Director for the infamous Kinatay, and then followed that up with a starring role for the one and only Isabelle Huppert. But he switches gears a bit for this latest story, leaving behind a violence that dictates the narrative arc to tell a meditatively tragic tale, one which simmers gracefully to its abrupt finale.

An older, childless Muslim couple, Bangas-An (Bembol Roco) and Shalena (Naura Aunor) share a quiet, yet enjoyable life together in a small,...

The first few scenes of Rico Maria Ilarde's Pridyider immediately reveal a particular milieu that is far removed from the real and the mundane. Tina Benitez (Andi Eigenmann) is first seen aboard a flight back to the Philippines. She is sleeping, dreaming a horrid dream. She immediately wakes up, prompting her seatmate, an amiable old woman who is finally returning to the Philippines from a thirty-year absence, to talk to her, mouthing cryptic statements about looking back to where you came from. She takes a cab driven ominously by Ilarde-regular and frequently used character actor Raul Morit to her new home. A heated discussion on the display of depraved violence in Brillante Mendoza's Kinatay (2009) is heard from the radio. Tina, tired from her trip...

Brillante Mendoza has a killer work ethic: the Filipino director made nine films between 2005's "Masahista" and 2009's "Lola," the latter of which, along with Cannes in-competition entry "Kinatay" the same year, really launched him into the major leagues of international helmers. He's taken an uncharacteristic two-and-a-half year break, but returned this week at the Berlin Film Festival with "Captive," a gripping, Herzogian drama that should see him reach his widest audience yet, thanks to the presence of international star Isabelle Huppert. Not long after talking to Mme. Huppert (read that interview here), we were able to sit down with Mendoza to discuss the film, how Huppert took to his creative process, and where he's planning to go from here. One of the things I found most impressive about "Captive" is not so much what you include in the film but what you exclude. The fact that it is very controlled.

Recipient of one of the more controversial Cannes Best Director awards of recent memory (for "Kinatay," a film we found problematic, to say the least), Filipino director Brillante Mendoza returns to screens and to the festival circuit with "Captive," which marks, if not a departure from his previous style, then a welcome evolution of it. Based on real events, it is an account -- by turns thrilling, moving, and harrowing -- of the kidnapping ordeal of a group of holidaymakers from a resort in the Philippines; an ordeal which lasts over a year for some. It is as though, conducted by the lightning rod of a dramatic, dynamic narrative (something his previous films can be accused of lacking), Mendoza's style is finally harnessed, channeled and focused, delivering a jolt of electric authenticity that sends currents of immediacy coursing through the film’s veins. In this endeavor he is helped by yet another fine,...

Brilliante Mendoza's Captive is not quite the blunt, relentless kidnapping drama you may expect from the man who shocked audiences at Cannes 2009 with the feel-awful neo-noir Kinatay. This time, Mendoza casts the net considerably wider. Though the film rarely delivers the visceral thrust and propulsion found in the most thrilling reality-based films, it still delivers a gripping ride and leaves viewers with plenty to think about. The film chronicles the perils of a group of twenty tourists in The Philippines who are captured by the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf Group (Asg) and held for ransom. The film says that it's based on a true story, however it's really more of a mélange of true stories streamlined into one by Mendoza after extensive research...

After a brief foray into quieter terrain with his 2009 feature "Lola," Filipino director Brillante Mendoza returns to the provocative territory of his 2009 shocker "Kinatay" with "Captive," another grim kidnapping story, this one far weaker in terms of both shock and quality. A dramatization of the 2001 incident in which Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayyaf took numerous people hostage from an island resort, the movie follows them through nearly a year of hellacious wanderings through the Filipino jungle. At two hours, the best thing that can be said about "Captive" is that it makes you feel the sheer longevity that the hostages had to endure, but that's not enough to salvage this mercilessly redundant thriller. At first, Mendoza's typically intense shaky-cam style holds promise; the initial rounding up of hostages and the ensuing initiation by their captors maintains a basic level of intrigue. Fiercely devoted to their cause,...

It was about a year ago that speculation first cropped up that controversial helmer Brillante Mendoza -- who won a divisive Best Director award at Cannes for his audience-splitting "Kinatay" -- would return to the Croisette with his latest effort, "Captured." The film was apparently in post-production and headed to the finish line...and then word went quiet. Well, the movie is now in the can and headed to Berlin, and some fresh images have cropped up to give us a taste. Isabelle Huppert continues her journey through the foreign arthouse world (she also stars in Hong Sang-Soo's upcoming "In Another Country" -- first image here) by featuring here alongside Katherine Mulville, Marc Zanetta, Maria Isabel Lopez and Rustica Carpio in the based-on-a-true-story tale of Thérèse Bourgoin (Huppert), a French woman who worked for a humanitarian organization on Palawan Island in the Philippines only to be kidnapped by mistake...

The Berlin International Film Festival has just announced the first five films lined up for the Competition and five more for the Berlinale Special. The 62nd edition runs from February 9 through 19.

Update: The Berlinale's also announced that the members of the International Jury, presided over by Mike Leigh, will be Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa.

Competition

Captive

France/Philippines/Germany/Great Britain

By Brillante Mendoza (Serbis, Kinatay, Lola)

With Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville, Marc Zanetta

World premiere

From Ioncinema: "Based on a real-life event that occurred in 2001. It centers on Thérèse Bourgoin (Huppert), a French woman who works for a humanitarian organization on Palawan Island in the Philippines. While she is transporting equipment to Puerto Princesa, she is kidnapped by mistake with a colleague by Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf, who are fighting for Mindanao independence."

Dictado (Childish Games)

Spain

By Antonio Chavarrías (Susanna,...

Now that the fall “awards festival” circuit is finally at a close — but with Sundance looming in the distance — it’s easy to forget about Biff — the Berlin International Film Festival, that is. (See, I even have to give the name.) This might have something to do with their less-than-huge lineup; in terms of films playing in competition, last year’s biggest art house title was The Turin Horse, while the most mainstream was probably Margin Call. Nothing too slim, but not much compared to Cannes, Venice, or Tiff.

The first round of titles to play this coming February (via Twitch) do carry a few major titles, though. Among them are The Flowers of War (which we were quite ecstatic about), Guy Maddin‘s Keyhole, Extremely Loud…, Kevin Macdonald‘s Bob Marley documentary, and an expansion of Werner Herzog‘s Into the Abyss. A few other foreign titles carry potential,...

Don—The King is Back (Don 2) directed by Farhan Akhtar will have a special screening at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. The festival announced on Monday the first five films for Competition and films to be screened at Berlinale Special.

Don 2 is an Indo-German co-production and will release in theatres in India on December 23, 2011. Mathias Schwerbrock of Germany is associated with the film as a co-producer along with Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani and Gauri Khan.

The other films to be screened at Berlinale Special are: documentary Marley by Kevin Macdonald from Great Britain and the USA, the Spanish film La chispa de la vida by Álex de la Iglesia, Guy Maddin’s Keyhole from Canada, as well as Werner Herzog’s documentary series Death Row from the USA.

The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival will be held from February 9-19, 2012.

The first five titles in Competition:

Captive...

The 2012 Berlin International Film Festival has just announced the first block of titles and it's an interesting list dominated by major arthouse films from around the world with a few pleasant surprises - such as the latest from Alex de la Iglesia - thrown in for good measure. Here's the complete list:Captive, France/Philippines/Germany/Great Britain. By Brillante Mendoza (Serbis, Kinatay, Lola.) With Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville, Marc Zanetta. World premiere. Dictado (Childish Games,) Spain. By Antonio Chavarrías (Susanna, Volverás, Las vidas de Celia) With Juan Diego Botto, Barbara Lennie, Mágica Pérez. World premiere. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, USA By Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader) With Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow, Thomas Horn International premiere / Out of Competition....

Jake Gyllenhaal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anton Corbijn Get Berlin Festival Jury Duty The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival has set its first five competition films, and has selected the Stephen Daldry-directed Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close and the Zhang Yimou-directed The Flowers Of War to screen out of competition. The selected productions and co-productions are from Indonesia, Spain, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong/China, the Philippines, Great Britain, Germany, the U.S. and France. Here are the films so far: Captive, France/Philippines/Germany/Great Britain. By Brillante Mendoza (Serbis, Kinatay, Lola.) With Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville, Marc Zanetta. World premiere. Dictado (Childish Games), Spain. By Antonio Chavarrías (Susanna, Volverás, Las vidas de Celia) With Juan Diego Botto, Barbara Lennie, Mágica Pérez. World premiere. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, USA By Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader) With Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow,...

A frank discussion of the challenges Hong Kong and Filipino filmmakers face making and selling their wares in Asia’s increasingly competitive movie marketplace kicked off three days of industry forums Monday on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Organized by the Unijapan Entertainment Forum, the Presentation of East Asian Contents daylong forum featured talks from Roger Garcia, the new executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and Nestor Jardin, the festival director of Cinemalaya, a leading independent film festival in Manila each July.

While Garcia said Hong Kong’s film industry is on the upswing from a recent downturn — fueled by co-productions with China — Jardin said Filipino cinema suffers from stiff Hollywood competition but has hope of a revival of its own through cheap digital filmmaking technology and greater regional partnerships.

While many Hong Kong directors such as Pang Ho-cheung (Dream Home) have moved to Beijing,...

Coco Martin (left) is smiling because his career is going so nicely, thank you very much. He employs the savvy modern move of many a contemporary Hollywood star which is to say he alternates between mainstream projects for the fame/money and indie films for the cred. 'One for audiences, one for me' as it were (see also: Clooney, Moore and dozens of American A-listers). The irony for stars outside of the Bollywood and Hollywood mega-systems though is that the "art" or indie projects are really the only way you get fame/money in the international sphere, since that's the stuff that travels and wins international honors in other countries

Coco is the star of the Pinoy Oscar submission Noy which he also co-wrote and co-produced. If you recognize him at all, it's probably as the frequent muse of The Philippines most internationally recognized director Brillante Dante Mendoza for whom...

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza is going international. The acclaimed director of Serbis and Kinatay has announced plans for his next feature, one based on the real life kidnapping of foreigners in the Mindanao region. Title Captured, production is slated to begin next year with French actress Isabelle Huppert joining locals Coco Martin, Ronnie Lazaro, Jhong Hilario, Ketchup Eusebio, and Ping Medina.

Clearly Isabelle Huppert has a thing for Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza. It was not so long ago (May of 2009 to pinpoint the year) where Huppert and her Cannes jury peers awarded Mendoza with the Best Director award for Kinatay (the pressed hissed at that selection) and now, she'll venture off to the Philippines, sometime next year, to star in a picture that will most likely be a brutal drama if we go by the title and the director's previous work. According to this source, the pair of been keeping in touch for a while.  Captured would tell the story about a foreign missionary (Huppert) who is caught up in a hostage-taking of foreign nationals by Philippine group Abu Sayyaf (which would include Philippine actor Coco Martin). The project sort of reminds me of the character she played in another hostile land in Claire Denis' White Material. French producer Didier Costet...

One of the gems I screened at the Tribeca Film Festival this year was Brilliante Mendoza’s “Lola”. This is the latest film from the Filipino filmmaker who, for me, came out of nowhere. His breakout film, from 2008 was “Kinatay” (Butchered) was in competition in the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. Mendoza won Prix de la Mise en Scene (Best Director) for Kinatay during the festival. Moreover “Kinatay” was the first Filipino film accepted for competition for Cannes since 1984. Going into this film, I had huge expectations for the success of it. And my word, it does deliver.

“Lola” (Grandmother) is the story of a random act of violence and how it’s affected by the grandmother’s of those involved. The film starts with Lola Sepa who is traveling through the mean streets of Manlia with her grandson. They are on their way to make an appointment. When the picture starts,...

Not the knockout punch of his previous Kinatay or Serbis but an unvarnished look into the inner-workings of a world forced to brutality The third major work of Cannes auteur Brillante Mendoza, .Lola. had big shoes to fill. It had to match the simmering anger and seething underbelly pungency of .Serbis. and .Kinatay.. Although it may lack some of the raw energy of those films it brings a dialog about right and wrong to the screen that has never been said better. The film starts with the tragic death of Lola.s son by stabbing. As the report goes, her son was killed for his cell phone in the violent suburbs of Manila. The viewer knows there was probably...

The German sales co. known for providing the fest circuit and art-house plexes with subtitled stuff from around the globe will set fire to the Director's Fortnight section this year. If I'm counting right, the Match Factory supply the section with a trio of titles (five total in the fest) including the much discussed on this site Cam Archer's sophomore feature, and they nabbed a Main Comp spot for one of the most celebrated directors of the decade in Apichatpong Weerasethakul latest – a sort of “ghost” story. - The German sales co. known for providing the fest circuit and art-house plexes with subtitled stuff from around the globe will set fire to the Director's Fortnight section this year. If I'm counting right, The Match Factory supply the fest with a five titles including The Light Thief (see pic above), The City Below, the including the much discussed...

The German sales co. known for providing the fest circuit and art-house plexes with subtitled stuff from around the globe will set fire to the Director's Fortnight section this year. If I'm counting right, The Match Factory supply the fest with a five titles including The Light Thief (see pic above), The City Below, the including the much discussed on this site Cam Archer's sophomore feature, and they nabbed a Main Comp spot for one of the most celebrated directors of the decade in Apichatpong Weerasethakul latest – a sort of “ghost” story. Everything Will Be Fine (Alting Bliver Godt Igen) by Christoffer Boe - Completed Shit Year by Cam Archer - Completed The City Below (Unter Dir Die Stadt) by Christoph HOCHHÄUSLER - Completed The Light Thief by Aktan Arym Kubat - Completed Uncle Boonmee Who Nn Recall His Past Lives (Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul -...

In this lull before the whirlwind of the 63rd edition starts, the question that I've been pondering is this: why have these past Cannes discoveries never crossed the Channel for a UK release?

Here we are in Cannes, the day before the official opening: the Tuesday Lull. It's the calm before the storm, which, traditionally, is not all that calm. The red carpet is still being hammered into place and the Grand Palais prepared by grey-suited officials bustling about everywhere. Last year, my friend Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times told me he saw a Cannes local walk down the Croisette, survey the scene and loudly sigh: "Les conneries commencent …" ("The bullshit begins …"). For journalists covering the festival, this is a time for savouring all the possibilities of movie experience that must surely be available in the next 10 days, before you're suddenly plunged straight into it, and there never seems to be enough time,...

9th Annual Festival to Present 85 Feature-Length and 47 Short Film Selections from April 21 – May 2, 2010

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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual and Tribeca Film Boost Festival Reach

New York, NY [March 10, 2010] – The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival (Tff), presented by American Express®, the Founding Sponsor of the Festival, today announced the first 34 films to be presented among the 85 feature length and 47 short films at this year’s Festival. The 34 titles include 24 World Narrative and Documentary Competition films, as well as out-of-competition feature film selections in the Showcase and Special Events sections.

The 2010 Tff will take place from April 21 to May 2 in lower Manhattan. The 2010 film selection encompasses feature films from 38 different countries, including 45 World Premieres, 7 International Premieres, 14 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres and 12 New York Premieres, among which are 7 titles which are part of the fourth annual Tribeca/Espn Sports Film Festival. 96 directors will be presenting feature works at the Festival, with 38 of these filmmakers presenting...