Pinoy director Brillante Mendoza honored at Czech Republic's biggest film festival

Award-winning director Brillante Mendoza was honored recently at the Czech Republic’s biggest film festival, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. Four of Mendoza's films were recently screened at the Czech Republic's largest film festival, the Prague International Film Festival or FebioFest, the DFA said. "Lola," "Tirador," "Captive," and "Thy Womb" had a marathon showing on March 20 at the Cinestar Andel cinema in Prague. Along with Jun Lana’s "Bwakaw," it was noted that Brillante's films were "record-breakers" in that particular festival. "The selection of the five films exhibited in FebioFest is record-breaking as it marks the most number of Filipino films exhibited in the 20-year stint of the Prague film fest," Philippine Ambassador to the Czech Republic Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia said. The DFA noted that Mendoza was set to receive a tribute from FebioFest for his works. The others set to be honored with him were Polish actor-director Jerzy Stuhr, British producer Jeremy Thomas, Finnish director Aku Louhimies, Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini, British director Richard Lester, Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, and Czech actress Zdena Studenková. 'Just here to make films' GMA News Online recently published an interview with Mendoza, where he discussed some insights about independent filmmaking, as well as the value of being a team player. The Cannes-winning director noted that even if his latest release, “Thy Womb,” was not able to find its niche in the country despite its numerous accolades (such as bagging top honors  2012 Venice International Film Festival), it was okay with him. “I’m just here to make films. I’ve never tried to compete in the mainstream because I’m not mainstream. Even if it was a mainstream festival, I was just happy to be there, I wasn’t there to compete with anyone. I knew from the very start that I was going to fail,” he said. “'Thy Womb' didn’t call for (in-your-face) treatment…it’s more poetic, more subtle; it’s about going with the flow, like waves on the water we were shooting on. Sometimes, there are big waves, and we represented those too, but otherwise, it was the film we wanted to make,” he also said. Oneness with crew Mendoza also emphasized the importance of a director's being one with his/her crew. "I know when to stop. I listen to my people, I listen to my actors. As a filmmaker, as a director, you should know how to be a team player while also serving as team leader. Never get into that mindset that you’re always right just because you’re the director and no one else has any good ideas," he said. "It’s all about collaboration, and that’s why I respect so much the artists around me. In fact, they work hard because they know I listen to their suggestions, so they can’t help but be as passionate as I am," Mendoza continued. "Camera Juan" Mendoza is also involved in GMA News TV's "Camera Juan," an election film project that relied on the video contributions of Filipinos to produce a movie about the Philippines through the eyes of its citizens. Mendoza provided visual direction to "weave the story into one powerful motion picture." “As filmmakers, we need to immerse in the issues to fully understand them," he said. - Gian C. Geronimo, VVP, GMA News