VILMA Santos (center) in “Ekstra”
Lino Brocka’s digitally restored classic “Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag” will be shown at the 16th Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy from April 25 to May 3. Also in the lineup is Australian Andrew Leavold’s docu “The Search for Weng-Weng”—which features the pint-size Pinoy James Bond. Six other Filipino films are in Udine (Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s “Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita,” Jun Robles Lana’s “Mga Kuwentong Barbero,” Chito Roño’s “Badil” and “Shoot-to-Kill: Boy Golden,” Jerrold Tarog’s “Sana Dati” and Siege Ledesma’s “Shift”).
Apart from the 40th Seattle International Film Festival (May 15-June 8) and the 15th Rainbow Film Festival in London (May 25-June 1), Filipino filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Ekstra” will be shown at the 24th Festival del Cinema Africano, d’Asia e America Latina to be held in Milan, Italy (May 6-12). A winner in last year’s Cinemalaya, the indie drama features Vilma Santos in the title role. Bayani San Diego Jr.