Brillante Ma Mendoza
Award-winning Filipino filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza headed the competition jury of the second Malaysia International Film Festival held recently in Kuala Lumpur.
Mendoza won best director in last year’s edition of the festival’s Malaysia Golden Global Awards for “Ma’ Rosa.”
The festival’s chair Joanne Goh told Variety that Mendoza’s “gritty, powerful, socially conscious films are proof that cinema can play a vital role in illuminating and eliminating the social ills that plague modern societies.”
“Ma’ Rosa,” which is currently being shown in select SM Cinemas under the Cine Lokal banner, follows the story of a small-time drug peddler who’s arrested and harassed by crooked cops.
Last Thursday, Mendoza led the jury in a forum titled “The Future of Personal Filmmaking.”
He told the Inquirer: “Every film is a product of hard work, and every filmmaker has a unique way of translating his or her vision onscreen. That’s why I consider it a privilege to judge another artist’s work.”
With the theme “Humanity,” the annual event aims to “celebrate renowned filmmakers and film experts…and champion new creative talent.” BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.