Actor Alfred Vargas was once a “closet” indie producer. Not a lot of people know that he was among the producers of Auraeus Solito’s latest Cinemalaya winner, “Busong,” which premiered at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes last year and continues to win awards in film festivals abroad.
With the recent launch of the CineFilipino Film Festival, the question begs to be answered: Is there room for yet another local digital fest—that is, aside from Cinemalaya, Cinema One, Sineng Pambansa and Cinemanila? Tony Gloria, CineFilipino consultant, remains optimistic. In an e-mail interview, he told the Inquirer: “There should be more festivals.” [...]
Stage, TV and movie thespian Madeleine Nicolas will be the first to shrug off the title, “busiest actress in Cinemalaya.”
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 [...]
Known as the “City of Stars,” Quezon City now hopes to become an indie haven, too. The Quezon City Film Development Commission (QCFDC) recently launched QCinema: 2012 Quezon City Film Festival.
When the latest edition of the Cinemalaya alternative film festival and competition opens later this month, movie buffs may be surprised to see so many stars topbilling or playing important roles in a number of its official entries.
Independent filmmaker Richard Somes said that to cross over to mainstream cinema he simply changed his mind-set. “When you go mainstream, you accept the compromises that you will make with your bosses. My advise is to learn to deal with it. If you can’t, don’t do it,” Somes told the Inquirer.
Filipino filmmaker Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Liberacion” won best global narrative film at the International Film Festival Manhattan in New York City last week. The indie drama stars Jacky Woo, Mercedes Cabral, Hideo Muraoka and Suzuki Sadatsugu. Set after World War II, it tells of a Japanese soldier who hides in Philippine jungles for 20 years.
The Cinemanila International Film Festival, now on its lucky 13th year, capped a hectic week of screenings with a laid-back awards ceremony on Thursday night at the Bonifacio High Street Activity Center in Taguig. Filipino filmmakers Lav Diaz and Mes de Guzman led the honor roll, along with other independent cinema luminaries from all over [...]
Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Isda” competes at the the 33rd Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France, November 22 to 29, against films from nine other countries. Lino Brocka’s “Angela Markado” won the grand prize in 1984.
Richard Gutierrez wants to act in an indie film. “I’ve been doing the same type of movies all these years,” he said. “I want to make something different.”
Two independent films from the Philippines are competing in festivals in Canada and Poland. Alvin Yapan’s “Gayuma: Pilgrim Lovers” is vying for top honors in the Free Spirit competition of the Warsaw International Film Festival next month (October 7 to 16). Eduardo Roy Jr.’s “Bahay Bata” is in the Dragons and Tigers section of the [...]
