Two Sinag Maynila films join int’l fests

Oliver Aquino in “Tale of the Lost Boys”

Two feature film finalists in this year’s Sinag Maynila will have screenings in international festivals.

Joselito Altarejos Jr.’s “Tale of the Lost Boys” is part of the lineup of the Outfest Fusion in Los Angeles in the United States, from March 9 to 13. Meanwhile, Ralston Jover’s “Bomba” is included in the Windows of the World feature film competition of the 28th Festival Cinema Africano, Asia e America Latina, from March 18 to 25 in Milan, Italy.

“It’s a great way to start the new year,” Altarejos said of the LA outing. “It actually physicalizes my personal recovery—

having been under therapy and medication for two years to manage my bipolar condition. It’s just amazing!”

Altarejos is determined to “make new friends and mend past relationships” during the two fests.

He related that his film “crosses gender, and hurdles, cultural and language barriers in its journey toward finding a certain sense of identity for its characters”—a Filipino mechanic and a closeted Taiwanese. “The issue of identity is a basic human quest.”

Allen Dizon in “Bomba”

Jover considers the screenings in Manila and Milan “consecutive blessings” for “Bomba.”

“A few days after Sinag Maynila, ‘Bomba’ will compete and have a weeklong theatrical run in Italy,” Jover explained.

“Bomba,” which centers on a deaf laborer who’s pushed over the edge, will be competing with films from Africa, Asia and Latin America in Milan.

Apart from “Bomba” and “Tale of the Lost Boys,” the other entries in the feature film section of Sinag Maynila are Yam Laranas’ “Abomination,” Richard Somes’ “El Peste” and Miguel Victor Pastor’s “Melodrama/Random/Melbourne!”

The Sinag Maynila film fest will be held from March 7 to 15 in select SM Cinemas.—BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.