‘Sablay’ moments at Tokyo film festival

LAWRENCE Fajardo (second from right) and Krisma Maclang-Fajardo (right) on the “longest” red carpet he has ever seen. Photo by Din Eugenio

TOKYO—“Sablay (Fail)!”

That was how indie filmmaker Lawrence Fajardo described his red-carpet experience here at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2015. He was referring to his missed opportunity to take a selfie.

“This was the longest red carpet I’ve seen so far. It ran several meters long with many designated stops for photo ops,” said Fajardo, who is here for his film “Imbisibol,” which is part of the Crosscut Asia section which presents a retrospective of Filipino films this year.

Shot in Japan, “Imbisibol” top-bills JM de Guzman, Allen Dizon, Ces Quesada and Bernardo Bernardo. The 28th TIFF opened on Oct. 22 and ends on Oct. 31.

“My team and I were busy taking photos. What’s funny was that when it was our turn to walk, my cell phone already ran out of memory space. I made frantic attempts to delete some files. I looked funny in some of the videos,” Fajardo recalled.

The red carpet was held at the 800-sq. m. multipurpose plaza called Roppongi Hills Arena.

Fajardo added: “It was good that Krisma got to take some photos, which I already posted on Facebook.” Krisma Maclang-Fajardo, his wife, is also the film’s producer.

Paul Sta. Ana, director of “Balut Country,” which is also an entry in this year’s Crosscut Asia, likewise had his “sablay” moment. “An usher was already leading me, Kidlat Tahimik and his son Kawayan de Guia from the basement to the red carpet when we ran into Hilary Swank,” recalled Sta. Ana.

PAUL Sta. Ana got excited upon seeing an Oscar winner. Photo by Din Eugenio

No camera

“He forgot to bring his cell phone and also didn’t have a camera,” Fajardo added.

“Kidlat didn’t know Hilary and Kawayan wasn’t sure either. I was the only one who was thrilled, but I was too shy to borrow Kawayan’s cell phone,” Sta. Ana told the Inquirer.

Tahimik’s “Balikbayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux III” is also part of the retro. The other Filipino films in the retro are Paul Soriano’s “Kid Kulafu,” Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala,” and Brillante Ma. Mendoza’s “Taklub,” “Foster Child,” “Lola,” “Serbis” and “Thy Womb.”

“People cheered the loudest for Kidlat because he was wearing his usual G-string. They told me I should have brought a basket of balut with me. You catch the attention of more people with gimmicks,” Sta. Ana pointed out.

He recounted that the atmosphere was festive. “I have been to other red-carpet events, but they weren’t as grand as this one,” he added. Sta. Ana first attended the TIFF in 2011 for Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Bisperas,” which he wrote.

He recalled: “The films were screened at a smaller venue then and the carpet was green!”

“Crosscut Asia” is presented by Japan Foundation Asia Center.

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