‘1st Sem’ tours the United States

Cast of “1st Sem” led by Alan Paule (right) and Lotlot de Leon (center)

Next stop for Dexter Hemedez and Allan Michael Ibañez’s “1st Sem” is the United States. The CineFilipino film will be shown in three festivals in California and New York in August and September.

The “dramedy,” which topbills Lotlot de Leon, Darwin Yu and Alan Paule, will be screened at the San Diego International Kids Film Festival, set in California from Aug. 25 to 27.

This year’s San Diego kiddie fest features over 150 films from at least 30 countries. The event seeks to emphasize “positive educational impact on children and the youth…and actively supports innovative films from around the globe.”

Then, it will be presented at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, to be held in Big Bear Lake, California, from Sept. 18 to 24.

Now on its 11th year, the Columbia Gorge fest aims “to showcase, promote and connect deserving filmmakers…

within the local, national and international community.”

Hemedez and Ibañez’s film will also have a screening at The Art Theater in Long Beach, California, on Sept. 14.

Lastly, the duo’s debut movie is part of the lineup of the 12th Buffalo Niagara International Film Festival in Niagara, New York, from Sept. 20 to 30.

The Niagara fest’s website describes “1st Sem” as “a coming-of-age story on failure and loss” and a “reexamination of a mother-and-son relationship.”

“It also offers an inside look at a middle-class Filipino family and its community,” the site related. “It shows how a single parent and extended family members sacrifice so much so that their children can succeed” in life.

According to its website, this fest “not only captures the essence of what filmmaking is all about, it also encapsulates the essence of the filmmakers themselves.”

Hemedez related that although they won’t be able to grace the San Diego fest, they will attend the Columbia Gorge and Niagara fests and the Long Beach screening with lead star De Leon.

Ibañez told the Inquirer: “We feel blessed for these screenings. We hope that Filipino communities in the US will continue supporting the movie. We are thankful to the festivals’ organizers for giving us this chance. We are excited to be there, to represent the film and participate in the different activities.”