4 Pinoy films to compete in Berlin filmfest

Four Filipino films will be entered in the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) which will be held from February 9 to 19.

 

The Filipino films will be fielded in four competitions, according to a news release of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

 

"Around 22 films from all over the world are competing this year. The last time that the Philippines fielded an equally large number of films in Berlinale was in 2008," the DFA said.

 

Brillante Mendoza, 2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Director, will have his film “Captive” compete in the main competition.

 

"Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank," the movie directorial debut of Marlon Rivera starring Eugene Domingo, will compete in the Forum Section.

 

Rommel Tolentino's "Nono" will be the entry in the Generation Kplus Section, while "Pusong Wazak!" by multi-awarded composer, writer and filmmaker Khavn de la Cruz will compete in the Short Film Section.

 

The DFA said Mendoza's "Captive" hopes to regain Berlinale audiences' attention to the excellence of filmmaking in the Philippines.

 

"For almost the past three decades, the Philippines has not had a film entry in the Main Competition section. The first and only time it did was in 1983 with the film 'Himala' by award-winning director Ishmael Bernal. However, this year, ‘Captive’ is among the first batch of five films selected as official entries in the Main Competition," the DFA said.

 

"Captive" is a fiction film that retraces a real-life kidnapping drama by militants. It stars French actress Isabelle Huppert and Filipino actors Ronnie Lazaro, Raymond Bagatsing, and Angel Aquino.

 

Mendoza won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009 for his film “Kinatay.” He remains the first and only Filipino to bag the prestigious award.

 

According to the DFA, Mendoza and his production cast and crew will be in Berlin to promote the film.

 

"Ang Babae sa Septic Tank" is an independent film on the making of a Filipino indie film. 

 

It won the Best Director, Best Actress (Domingo) and Best Film awards at the 7th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in Manila in 2011.  

 

"Nono," directed by Rommel Tolentino, tackles the story of a child with a speech disability who desires to join the oratorical contest during his school's Linggo ng Wika celebration.

 

It bagged the Special Jury Prize in the 2009 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in Manila.

 

"Tolentino is the first Filipino filmmaker who won the very prestigious Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France in 2009," the DFA said.

 

A total of 27 films from 22 countries will compete in the Berlinale’s short film category for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear Jury Prize, the DAAD Short Film Award and a short film nomination for the European Film Prize.

 

"Pusong Wazak!", competing in the short film category, tells the love story between a gangster and a prostitute.

 

"Khavn de la Cruz deconstructs this often recounted tale of love ...." the DFA quoted the Berlinale Short Film press release as saying.

 

De la Cruz was part of the International Short Film Jury of the Berlinale in 2008. 

 

The DFA said another Filipino will take part in the Berlinale. Edward Cabagnot, Festival Programmer of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and Media Arts Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, will sit as a member of the International Jury for the competition. –RJMD/KG, GMA News