The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Sixty-five movies, including 10 new ones from the Philippines, will be shown in select cinemas in Metro Manila as part of the third World Premieres Film Festival (WPFF), which will run from June 29 to July 10.
Organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in cooperation with the Cinematheque Centre Manila, the WPFF aims to celebrate “the power and magic of film by showcasing the works of film directors from across the globe,” the FDCP said in a statement.
“Featuring a dazzling array of human narratives, cultural diversities, and social issues, the festival provides a unique opportunity for filmmakers to reach new audiences in the Philippines, and launch their international premieres in Asia’s rapidly growing film climate,” it added.
The participating films are classified into several sections, two of which shall have special juries that will bestow several prizes, as well as hold question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers after their premieres: Main Competition and Filipino New Cinema, both of which have six entries.
In the Main Competition are By Accident (Camille Fontaine, France); Daughters of the Three-Tailed Banner (Gutierrez Mangansakan II, Philippines); Love Above All Things (Cinema de la Pena, Spain); Redha (Tunku Mona Riza, Malaysia); Yen’s Life (Dinh Tuan Vu, Vietnam); and Young Love Lost (Xiang Guoquiang, China).
In the Filipino New Cinema are Sunshine Lichauco de Leon and Suzanne Richardonne’s Curiosity, Adventure and Love, a documentary about de Leon’s 104-year-old American grandmother Jessie Lichauco; Alvin Yapan’s Edsa, which tells three stories in which the historic and constantly congested thoroughfare is featured prominently; Mel Chionglo’s Iadya Mo Kami (Deliver Us), about a wayward priest who tries to find out who killed the richest man in town; Ronaldo Bertubin’s Ku’te, which focuses on a young man who tries to raise his sister—who has Down’s Syndrome—by himself; Raynier Brizuela’s Memory Channel, about a singer with retrograde amnesia and the retired psychiatrist who tries to help him; and Rahyan Carlos’s Ringgo: The Dog-Shooter, which centers on a teenager working as a “dog-shooter,” or one who assists in mating dogs for breeding purposes.
Two other sections will also have a jury, but will only hand out a best-film prize. One, Intercontinental, features 11 films: Venezuela’s 3 Bellezas (3 Beauties); Italy’s Dalisay (Filipino for “pure”) and S is for Stanley; Spain’s Damn, New York; Hungary’s Home Guards and Mom and Other Loonies in the Family; South Africa’s Mossie; Belgium’s Parasol; Argentina’s Paula; China’s Pleasure. Love.; and France’s The Storm Inside.
The other, Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Skies, boasts of eight titles from the region: Laos’s Above It All; the Philippines’s Beast, Laut, and Remittance; Indonesia’s I am Hope and Surat Cinta Untuk Cartini; Cambodia’s Price of Love; and Singapore’s 7 Letters.
Another section spotlights Vietnamese cinema, represented by 2030, Beautiful Women, The Children of the Village, Jackpot, On the Peaceful Peak, The Prophecy, Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass and Zodiac—12 Five Steps of Love.
In addition to the 10 Filipino films that will debut at the WPFF, the FDCP will screen seven restored Filipino features as part of its Filipino Classics section: Lav Diaz’s Batang West Side (West Side Kid); FDCP Chairman Briccio Santos’s Damortis; Quin Baterna and Leonardo Q. Belen’s Ginauhaw Ako, Ginagutom Ako (I’m Thirsty, I’m Hungry), considered the first full-length Hiligaynon film; National Artist for Film Gerardo de Leon’s Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), based on José Rizal’s first novel; National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal’s first movie Pagdating sa Dulo (Arriving at the End), which will open the festival; Kidlat Tahimik’s Turumba; and National Artist for Film Lino Brocka’s White Slavery, one of the first films of Cannes Film Festival best-actress winner Jaclyn Jose.
The remaining sections in the WPFF are Spotlight: China, which, as its name implies, showcases six contemporary films of various genres from that East Asian country; Silent French Short Films, which the FDCP has described as six “whimsical clips from France’s past”; Cine Verde, which features four environment-themed movies that aim to effect societal change; and Out of Competition, which offers films from Belgium, Italy and Thailand that have earned critical acclaim in other international film festivals.
All these films will be shown at the Cinematheque Centre Manila, as well as its partner venues SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, Greenbelt 3, the Shang Cineplex, and Uptown Cinemas. Tickets cost P100 per screening, unless indicated otherwise. ALVIN I. DACANAY
For more information, call (632) 256-9908, send an e-mail to info@wpff.ph, or visit www.wpff.ph or www.facebook.com/worldpremieresfilmfestival.