“Musmos”
“It showcases an unknown side of the Philippines’ diverse culture,” said filmmaker Iar Arondaing of his film “Musmos na Sumibol sa Gubat ng Digma,” which is scheduled to compete at the Festival Internacional de Cinema da Figueira da Foz-Film Art 2019 in Portugal this September.
The film, which debuted at the 2018 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, is a coming-of-age tale set against a backdrop of age-old clan wars. Amid the chaos, a girl named Eshai (Junyka Santarin) discovers herself as she is torn by both love and violence.
“I’m very happy to represent the Philippines through this film. This enables me to share my art and uplift the film industry in our country [by means of] films that make an impact,” Arondaing told the Inquirer.
He added that his goal was to make the film known to as many viewers as he could. “When we first started this project, I thought of sharing it with schools, microcinemas and joining local and international film festivals. This is our fourth film fest outside the country,” he reported.
“Musmos” will compete in the International category at the Figueira da Foz event, which runs from Sept. 5 to 15. It will also be screened at the Baikal International Film Festival in Russia, also in September.
“The award is just a bonus for me and the whole team,” Arondaing pointed out, “because being given the chance
to represent the Philippines is already a big win for us.” —MARINEL R. CRUZ