Coming soon: Philippine films on four continents

Ian Galliguez (left) and Axl Aeiou Samson in “Nono”: Busan-bound.

More Filipino films have been invited to international festivals all over Asia and in North America, Europe and Africa.

Lav Diaz’s new six-hour epic “Siglo ng Pagluluwal (Century of Birthing)” is set to have its world premiere at the 68th Venice International Film Festival to be held in Italy from August 31 to September 10.

It is a surprise entry. “It’s included in the Orizzonti-Special Presentation, Out of Competition,” Diaz told Inquirer on Wednesday.

Along with nine other local independent films, Rommel “Milo” Tolentino’s feature debut, “Nono,” is going to Busan in South Korea in October. An entry in the Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) competition of this year’s Cinemalaya, “Nono” is about a boy with a cleft palette, who dreams of joining a declamation contest.

The film is included in the Busan festival’s Windows on Asia section, along with two other Filipino indies, Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Isda (Fable of the Fish)” and Laurice Guillen’s “Maskara.”

“This is my fourth time to get invited to Busan in the past four years,” Tolentino said. The first three were short films. “Nono” is his first full feature in Asia’s top cinema event.

In 2009, “Nono” received a screenplay grant from Busan’s Asian Cinema Fund. The filmmaker pointed out, “‘Nono’ is coming home to the place of its first breath of life.”

Benito Bautista’s “Boundary,” winner in the Netpac section of Cinemalaya 2011, is being considered for festivals in North Africa, Italy, Germany, United States and India. The film is about a cab driver during the holidays.

Three for Toronto

At press time, three Filipino films have been announced as entries in Toronto this year. Before flying to Busan, Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Isda” will have its international premiere in the Visions

Adolf Alix’s “Isda,” to Toronto and Busan

section of the 36th Toronto International Film Festival, to be held in Canada from Sept. 8 to 18.

Lav Diaz’s “Siglo ng Pagluluwal (Century of Birthing)” has also been selected in Visions—described as a “boundary-pushing” section by the fest site.

Raya Martin’s short film, “Ars Colonia,” is included in the Wavelengths program, which “celebrates innovation and experimentation.”

Alix’s entry was called a “breathtaking [and] assured tragi-comedy,” while Diaz’s film was hailed as “an epic meditation on the role of the artist” and Martin’s short was dubbed a “hand-colored effigy evoking old, silent war iconography” by the festival.

US firm buys ‘Isda’

“Isda” has also been picked by New York-based Visit Films for worldwide sales. According to its site, Visit “specializes in director-driven works that premiere at the world’s top tier festivals.”

Visit also got Ivan Sen’s “Toomelah” (from Cannes), Jean Jacques Jauffret’s “Heatwave” (Cannes), Evan Glodell’s “Bell Flower” (Sundance) and Malcolm Ingram’s “Bear Nation” (Wars   aw). Also included in Visit’s roster is Filipino-American Ramona Diaz’s “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey”—a documentary on Arnel Pineda, Pinoy frontman of American rock band Journey.

Erick Salud’s “Ligo na U, Lapit na Me,” an entry in the New Breed section of this year’s Cinemalaya, has been invited to the Vancouver Filipino Indie Festival, running from August 19 to 28, according to producer Noel Ferrer.

“Ligo na U,” which will have a theatrical release in the Philippines starting Sept. 28, focuses on the ups and downs of young romance between a clumsy college boy and a confused campus girl.

“Walking the Waking Journey”: Lama Telzin Cheogyal (third from right, second row) brings his wards back to their villages in the Himalayas via perilous mountain trails. Pinoy indie filmmaker Ferdinand Balanag directed this documentary.

Ferdinand Balanag’s documentary, “Walking the Waking Journey,” has been invited to two festivals in the United States. The docu, which follows a Tibetan monk’s journey to guide schoolchildren back to their villages in the Himalayas, is in the official lineup of the Silent River Film Festival in Irvine, California and the Kansas International Film Festival.

Joel Lamangan’s “Deadline” will be shown in the Montreal World Film Festival, to be held from August 18 to 28. “Deadline” is also in competition in the Brussels International Festival of Independent Films from November 1 to 6.

Auraeus Solito’s “Busong” is also in Brussels’ international competition, said festival director Robert Malengreau.

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