‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ actress Maribel Verdu graces ‘Pelicula 2015’

Remember the landmark, now-classic Mexican film “Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too)” and its lead actors Gael Garcia-Bernal, Diego Luna and Maribel Verdu?

The coming-of-age, road movie in 2001 by Alfonso Cuaron propelled the careers of the three actors to international acclaim. Garcia-Bernal and Luna became instant heartthrobs and landed roles in major Hollywood and some art-house European movies.

Verdu went on to do more mind-bending blockbusters like director Guillermo del Torro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Pablo Berger’s black-and-white fantasy “Blancanieves” and most recent, Gracia Querejeta’s comedy-drama “Felices 140.”

The good news is, Verdu is coming to the Philippines this month to grace the annual “Pelicula: Manila Spanish Film Festival”, the local Spanish cultural arm announced recently.

Instituto Cervantes de Manila said Verdu will present two of her recent films (“Blancanieves” and “Felices 140”) on October 9, the second day of the festival. “Pelicula” happens from October 8 to 18 at Greenbelt 3 cinemas.

Verdu’s presence is part of the annual tradition to bring in foreign actresses and filmmakers in the festival.

Verdu will have an open forum after the screenings, which start at 4 pm for “Blancanieves” and 7 pm for “Felices 140.”

Verdu was born in Madrid on October 2, 1970. She has worked with some of the best directors in Spanish cinema, such as José Luis Garci in “Canción de cuna; Bigas Luna in “Huevos de Oro”; Fernando Trueba in the Academy Award-winning film “Belle Époque” (1992); Carlos Saura in “Goya en Burdeos”; Gonzalo Suárez in “Oviedo Express” and a lot more.

She has also worked with Francis Ford Coppola in “Tetro” (2009).

Nominated seven times for the Goya Awards, she finally received the Best Actress award for her role in “Siete mesas de billar francés” (2007) on her fifth nomination.

Spanish journalist

Meanwhile on October 12 at 9:30 pm, Spanish journalist Ramón Vilaró will present his film, “De aliados a masacrados” (2014), a documentary about how the Filipino-Spanish population of Manila was decimated during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the Second World War.

On October 13, the Czech filmmaker Lenka Kny will present her comedy “Milagro en Praga” (2013), and will have an open forum after the screening. The romantic comedy film is about two families, a Mexican family and a Czech family, who cross paths in Prague over the Christmas holidays. The screening is co-presented by the Embassy of Mexico and the Embassy of the Czech Republic.

The line-up of films shows a list of genres ranging from romance and comedy (“Ocho apellidos vascos,” T”res bodas de más,” “Gente en sitios”) to documentary (“Paco de Lucía,” “La plaga”), suspense (“Relatos salvajes”) and drama (“Hermosa juventud,” “Artico”).

The festival will have a second leg in Intramuros from October 19 to 25.

There will be an exhibit titled “Spanish Cinema in 20 Posters,” which will be  displayed at the NCCA Building, alongside the film screenings.

The exhibit explores Spanish cinema by means of the posters of some of its most emblematic films, from the 1953 film “Bienvenido Míster Marshall” to the 2012 film “Blancanieves,” encouraging one to reflect on its history and to be inspired by the beauty of the advertising graphics, illuminating the visual style of the different cinematic periods. The second leg of Pelicula is made possible by Intramuros Administration and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

With the help of of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, a selection of films shown in the Manila leg of the festival will travel to the cities of Baguio, Ilo-ilo, Zamboanga and Davao.

Audience Choice Award

One should not miss the “Audience Choice” Award that happens in every edition of PELÍCULA. During the 18-day festival, the audience will be given stubs with which they can rate the movies they have seen. For every five movies, members of the audience qualify to join the raffle where they get a chance to win a round-trip ticket to Spain and other exciting prizes.

Presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain–Aecid, FDCP, Intramuros Administration, and Ayala Cinemas, Pelicula is made possible by Maersk, Rustan’s, NCCA, Emperador Distillers, Ayala Malls Cinemas & Greenbelt, Vibal Foundation, Qatar Airways, San Miguel Corporation, Buzz Productions, and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with Ayala Museum, the Embassy of Argentina, the Embassy of Mexico, the Embassy of the Czech Republic, the Embassy of Colombia, Bodegas Vivanco and Barcino.

For the schedule, line-up of films and further information on the Festival, please visit the official website of Instituto Cervantes (www.manila.cervantes.es) or log on to their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila

With a report from Totel V. de Jesus/INQUIRER.net