Kanakan Balintagos proud to be on ‘greats’ list

NATHAN Lopez (left) and Kanakan Balintagos reunited at this year’s Cinemalaya. photo by Bayani San Diego Jr.

Kanakan Balintagos said he is proud that his 2005 directorial debut, “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” made it to the list drafted by the British Film Institute (BFI), “10 Great Gay Films from East and Southeast Asia.”

“It is such an honor to be on the same list as some of the filmmakers I admire,” he said.

Also on the list are Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine,” Wong Kar-wai’s “Happy Together,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Tropical Malady,” Zhang Yuan’s “East Palace, West Palace,” Kit Hung’s “Soundless Wind Chime,” Tsai Ming-liang’s “I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone,” Toshio Matsumoto’s “Funeral Parade of Roses,” Nagisa Oshima’s “Gohatto” and Satoshi Kon’s “Tokyo Godfathers.”

Kanakan said it was “ironic” that the good news came a day after he scolded his team in the Cinema One Originals entry, “Esprit de Corps.”

“I told them: We are not here to make chika (gossip). We are here to create art. Ten years from now, we will be forgotten, but not good cinema.”

Fittingly, it’s been almost a decade since “Maximo” premiered at the Cinemalaya fest.

The BFI website praised lead actor Nathan Lopez, who “gives a wonderfully guileless performance as Maximo,” and the indie movie, which “deservedly won the Teddy award … at the Berlin Film Festival.” Bayani San Diego Jr.

RONNIE Quizon in “Rekorder”

PH film wins in South Korea

Filipino filmmaker Mikhail Red won the Excellent Asia-Pacific Young Director Award for “Rekorder” at the Gwangju International Film Festival in South Korea, held Aug. 28 to Sept. 1.

An entry in last year’s Cinemalaya, “Rekorder” was shown in the festival’s Humanity Vision section and was commended for “unique visuals.”

“Rekorder” stars Ronnie Quizon as a movie pirate who witnesses a crime. Bayani San Diego Jr.