Scene from “Lahi, Hayop”
Lav Diaz’s award-winning short film “Lahi, Hayop” is currently competing at the ongoing 11th Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival in Greece.
Under the International Competition section, the 157-minute “Lahi, Hayop” will battle against nine other full-length features done by directors who are “experimenting in new forms of storytelling,” according to the festival’s official website www.tainiothiki.gr.
The festival, which will run until Oct. 26, is purely online and for free.
“Although Diaz’s films are based on sociopolitical conditions and the extreme social stratification of his homeland, they ultimately transcend them—and the result is a deeply ecumenical cinema, which speaks to the mind and heart, and has justly ranked him as one of the greatest creators of our time,” the website stated.
‘Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos’
Fresh from its recent success in the United States, Joanna Vasquez Arong’s “Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos” will be having its European premiere in the Netherlands at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2020 in November.
Arong’s 15-minute docu, on how Supertyphoon “Yolanda” ravaged Samar and Leyte in 2013, won the award for best documentary short at the 2020 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas early this month.
From Nov. 18 to Dec. 6, “Ang Pagpakalma sa Unos” will be participating under the Competition for Short Documentary category. The docu, along with six others, will be screened in cinemas throughout the Netherlands.
The entire IDFA program, including screening times, will be available online starting Nov. 9, according to the festival’s website www.idfa.nl.
UFC Reel Life
Meanwhile, with the aim to “shine a light on the prodigious talent of local filmmakers in creating meaningful stories that Filipinos can relate to,” owners of the UFC brand of banana ketchup will be hosting a short film competition in November.
The first-ever UFC Reel Life: Nagsasama-samang Sarap Short Film Competition commemorates the brand’s 50th year in the business.
Deadline for submission of entries is on Nov. 30.
“Through the years, generations of Filipinos have shown their resilience and strength in the face of tremendous challenges. With this short film competition, we hope to provide a platform for stories that highlight the positivity and hope,” Jean Reyes, NutriAsia senior category manager, said in a statement.
The festival is open to filmmakers in the Philippines. Entries must have a maximum length of five minutes.
Thirty finalists will be announced on Dec. 3, and winners will be awarded on Dec. 14. All entries must be emailed to ufcreellife@gmail.com and must include name, film title, contact number, names of cast and crew, and a photo of the director. INQ