Allen Dizon in “Bomba”
Three Filipino movies will be shown at the 16th Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh from Jan. 12 to 20.
Ralston Jover’s “Bomba” and Joseph Israel Laban’s “Baconaua” are part of the Asian Film Competition, while Sonny Calvento’s “Nabubulok” is included in the Cinema of the World section.
Calvento remarked: “I’m honored that, after Busan, ‘Nabubulok’ has been invited to Dhaka.” He feels “sincerely happy that international film fests in Asia consider our film something worth sharing to their audiences.”
“I hope that this inspires aspiring filmmakers to create and put their work out there,” Calvento asserted.
Laban said: “I’m grateful to be part of Dhaka. It’s my third film to be screened there and the fourth international film fest for ‘Baconaua,” after Busan, Tallinn and Chennai.”
“I am thankful to the programmers who found our film worthy of competing in the main tilt,” Jover noted.
“Bomba” lead actor Allen Dizon will attend the Dhaka fest for the second time. He first participated in the event in 2016 for Joel Lamangan’s “Sekyu.” “Bomba” is the third Dizon film in Dhaka; the second was Vic Acedillo Jr.’s “Lando at Bugoy” in 2017.
According to the fest’s website, the event seeks “to create a better understanding of world cinema in an atmosphere of appreciation of film culture.” The fest’s motto is: “Better film, better audience, better society.” —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.