Director Brillante Mendoza returns from Locarno film fest

Once more, internationally renowned Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza made waves at the recently concluded 62nd Locarno International Film Festival (LIFF) in Switzerland. The European filmfest, which ran from August 5 to 15, invited Mendoza to sit as one of the members of the Jury for the Filmmakers of the Present Competition. Fresh from winning the best director plum for Kinatay at the Cannes International Film Festival, which incidentally also held its 62nd annual film festival this year, Mendoza was back at Locarno IFF with great honor and pride. "Tuwang-tuwa nga sila nang manalo ako sa Cannes. Kasi ang Locarno naman talaga ang kinonsider kong nagbigay ng break sa akin when they accepted Masahista for competition, in 2005," Mendoza told PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in an email message on Sunday, August 16. He added, "The other jury members Matas Bise (Chile), Denis Cote (Canada), Ghassan Salhab (Lebanon), and Angela Schnelec (Germany) are all award-winning filmmakers in their own country, who have also won awards in Cannes and in Locarno." Serbis at Locarno Aside from the task of choosing this year's winners at Locarno IFF, each of the judges, according to Mendoza, was given the opportunity to screen any of his or her films in the 11-day festival. The screening was not intended for competition though, and Direk Brillante chose to screen his film Serbis (2008), last year's Philippine entry to the Cannes Film Festival Main Competition category. Why not Kinatay (Journey Into Darkness), which gave him the best director award at the Cannes last May 2009? "I chose Serbis because it was supposed to be my second feature after Masahista, which I presented in the said festival, in 2005," Mendoza explained. Mendoza's directorial debut, Masahista (The Masseur), won the Best Picture (Video category) award at the 2005 Locarno International Filmfest. It served as Mendoza's take-off point – his "passport" to international fame – as film director. The initial recognition led to a string of other international awards for Mendoza's successive feature films: Kaleldo (2006), Manoro (2006), Foster Child (2007), Tirador (2007), Serbis (2008), and Kinatay (2009). All won an award or two from different international film festivals. "My plan at that time was to do a trilogy of underground sex prostitution in the Philippines," Mendoza said. "But a lot of unexpected developments happened along the way, kaya hindi [muna] natuloy ang paggawa ko ng Serbis, at that time." Mendoza's attendance in Locarno was also received with much enthusiasm by fellow Filipinos. Ma. Theresa Lazaro, Philippine ambassador to Switzerland, in a statement issued through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, "The choice of Mendoza as a member of the jury in one of Locarno's Film Festival categories is a recognition of the Filipino's artistry, creativity, and technical mastery." How was Serbis received by the majority of foreign viewers at the Locarno International Filmfest this year? "Maganda ang pagtanggap nila, kasi fresh pa sa mga tao dito ang [news ng] pagkapanalo ko sa Cannes!" Brillante happily noted. Not to mention that back home, Serbis, is a frontrunner in the Gawad Urian awards (by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the local film critics' group) next month, with 10 nominations in different categories including best picture, direction, screenplay, and lead performance for actresses Gina Pareño and Jaclyn Jose. The winners As Jury member, Mendoza also informed PEP of the result of the deliberation, sent through an earlier email message: "We just finished with our deliberation here at the 62nd Locarno International Filmfest," he noted. "Piombo Fuso (Cast Lead) by Stefano Savona of Italy won the Jury Prize. It's a documentary about the Gaza Massacre, by the Israelis in Palestine. "The Anchorage by C.W. Winter and Anders Edstrom of USA got the Golden Leopard. This is a story about an old woman who lives alone in the forest and tries to co-exist with nature. Both films got thirty thousand CHF [Swiss francs]." Mendoza is scheduled to be back Monday, August 17, to wrap up work on his new indie film about senior citizens. Meanwhile, the Filipino director is also preparing for a series of retrospectives of his films in two festivals - one in South America and another in Europe. "Brazil is giving me one, in September. The festival organizer of Lisbon, in Portugal, also finalized another retrospective for me, in January 2010. I'll update you with other stuff when I get back. See you, Ciao!" Mendoza ended. - William R. Reyes, PEP.ph