Benito Bautista’s “Harana” won the Audience Award for Documentary at the Center for Asian American Media Film Festival in San Francisco, according to
Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez of Voyage Studio, which edited the documentary.
Benito Bautista’s documentary “Harana” got a rave review from San Francisco Chronicle’s G. Allen Johnson. “Harana,” which recounts the search for traditional serenaders in the Philippines, will premiere in San Francisco on March 16, as part of the Center for Asian American Media Film Festival.
Filipino-American Benito Bautista’s documentary “Harana” will compete at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California, which starts Jan. 24 and ends on Feb. 13. “Harana” is featured in the Cinesonic section, which highlights “iconic musicians who have changed the sonic landscape and pushed cinema in new directions.” Bautista is one of the honorees in last December’s Inquirer Indie Bravo! Tribute.
It’s curiously “serendipitous,” Benito Bautista said, that his indie film “Boundary” will open at the Shangri-La mall on December 5, at the start of the Christmas season.
Farmer Celestino Aniel, one of the singers featured in Benito Bautista’s documentary “Harana,” passed away on Sunday after a lingering illness.
Benito Bautista’s “Boundary” will compete at the Guam International Film Festival, set Sept. 27-30. Last year, “Boundary” won the Netpac prize at Cinemalaya and special mention at Cinemanila. The indie drama stars Ronnie Lazaro as a taxi driver who crosses paths with a mysterious passenger played by Raymond Bagatsing. Its website says [...]
When filmmaker Benito Bautista asked a fellow Fil-Am if the latter knew what harana was, the answer stumped him. “The kid thought it was a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco,” Bautista recalled. This “disconnect” between the present generation and traditional Filipino art forms becomes wider with each passing day, he added. Bautista, who won the [...]
Serenaders discovered during the filming of Benito Bautista’s docu, “Harana,” made their international concert debut at the Hollywood Bowl on July 8. The Harana Kings were invited by Apl.de.ap to perform in the concert, which celebrates global Filipino music. Other performers included Ogie Alcasid, Dessa, Kayamanan ng Lahi, Martin Nievera, Sandwich, Nicole Scherzinger and the Rondalla Club of Los Angeles. “Harana” premieres locally at the Cinemalaya fest this month.
It has been a heady ride so far, much like commuting in a taxicab on the chaotic streets of Manila. Still, winning the Netpac [Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema] prize for his film “Boundary” at this year’s Cinemalaya was “heartwarming and momentarily surreal,” says Benito Bautista. Cinching the prize was the farthest thing [...]
