Independent
film festival Sinag Maynila was born
from the vision of Solar Entertainment
Corporation, CEO Wilson Tieng and renowned festival
director Brillante Mendoza’s wish to
have a festival that not only inspires but educates and enlightens Filipino
movie audiences. Made up of five homegrown filmmakers handpicked and closely
collaborated with by Tieng and Mendoza, the festival produced feature films
that presented social issues currently faced in Filipino culture. After a
successful run last March, the films have gone on to garner attention both in
the country and abroad thanks to their compelling narrative.
Winner of the Best Picture Award at Sinag Maynila, “Imbisibol” by Lawrence Fajardo was invited for a screening at the Stockholm International Film Festival in Sweden last November 11. It also premiered at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto, Canada as it vied to win in the Contemporary World Cinema Programme last September. A screening was also held at the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival and Focus on Asia Fukuoka International Film Festival in Japan. The film trains the spotlight on four undocumented Filipinos in Japan and their plight to escape deportation. The cast is led by JM De Guzman, Ces Quesada, Bernardo Bernardo, Allen Dizon and Ricky Davao. Imbisibol will have screenings in Iloilo: Dec 1-6 Davao: Dec 15-20 and Baguio: Dec 22, 23, 26, 27, 29, 30.
Another Sinag Maynila film “Balut Country” by Paul Sta. Ana is invited for a screening at the All Lights IndiaInternational Film Festival
in India this November. It also premiered at the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival last
October which was also attended by the film’s main actor Rocco Nacino. He stars
as an heir to a duck farm left to him by his late father in “Balut Country”.
The movie follows his difficult decision between selling the property for his
own financial peace or keeping the land and sparing the farm’s loyal caretakers
from displacement.
“Bambanti” by Zig M. Dulay recently won best film at
festival international du film de Brussels. It has also been invited to compete in a series of film festivals
this November— Ourense International Film
Festival in Spain, the Asian Panorama film competition of International Children’s Film Festival in
India where actor Micko Laurente won The Golden Elephant Trophy for Best Actor,
Festival Des 3 Continents at Nantes,
France, and in the Ajyal Youth Film
Festival in Doha Film Institute, Qatar. The film bagged the Best Film award
in the recent Festival International du
Film de Bruxelles. Bambanti looks at the prejudgment of the rich towards the
poor as mother and son embark to uncover the truth behind a missing watch. Stars Alessandra de Rossi, Micko Laurente, Julio Diaz, Shamaine
Buencamino, and Lui Manansala.
Invited at
the recent Minsk International Film
Festival in Belarus was “Swap” by
Remton Zuasola. This film is the only
Asian film to be invited for screening at the Zabaltegi section of the 63rd San Sebastian International Film
Festival in Spain last September 18-26. Swap is also poised for another
international screening in Japan for the upcoming Tokyo Filmex. Shot continuously with no cuts, the movie narrates
the tale of a young father who is torn between solving a crime and committing
another crime in order to save the life of his kidnapped son. Dionne Monsanto,
Matt Daclan and Mon Confiado star in this action-drama.
The 2nd Sinag
Maynila Film Festival will run in May 2016. For more updates, look for Sinag
Maynila on Facebook (SinagMaynila), Twitter (@sinagmaynila), and Instagram
(@sinagmaynila).
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