For the 11th edition of Cinemanila International Film
Festival, six entries will compete in Digital Lokal.
These are: Anacbanua, touted to be the first Pangasinense film about a
poet's return to his hometown in Pangasinan; 69 ½, about a filmmaker
who accepts an offer to make a pornographic film; Ang Beerhouse, a
love story about a man who falls for a girl working in The Red Light Beerhouse;
Biyaheng Lupa, a road trip movie; Dolores, which tackles the
plight of a girl who is sexually abused by her family members; and Iliw,
a love story set during World War II.
This year's jury is composed of Sonja Heinen (Chair), Un-Seong Yoo, and Sherad Anthony Sanchez. Ms. Heinen has worked at the Berlin International Film Festival since 2003, Yoo has worked as a programmer of the Jeonju International Film Festival while Sherad is a Filipino filmmaker behind the award-winning films The Woven Stories of the Other and Imburnal.
This year's edition, which carries the theme "Moving Forward with Moving
Images," offers 100 films for moviegoers until October 25. The
films will be screened at Market! Market! and the U-view screening room
of Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street.
The awarding ceremony of Cinemanila will take place at the NBC Tent on October
23.
69 1/2
Directed by Ted Manotoc
Cast: Katherine Luna, Nico Manalo, Jao Mapa
Desperate for money, an aspiring filmmaker and his best friend accept the offer
of a green-minded businessman to make a pornographic film. Unwilling to
compromise on his artistic integrity, the filmmaker attempts to make an
"artistic pornographic musical"—with hilarious consequences.
October 19, Monday Cinema 6 4:30PM
Anacbanua
Directed by Christopher Gozum
Cast: Lowell Kip Conales, Che Ramos, Tristan Aguirre
A middle-class and Western-educated poet (Umaanlong) returns to Pangasinan, the
land of his birth and his ancestors where he was uprooted for a very long time.
He is sick with a lingering physical, mental and spiritual illness. He meets
the Musia (Muse) who takes care of him during the illness. The Musia performs a
series of rituals that identifies the cause of the Umaanlong's disease and
appeases the ancestral and nature spirits inhabiting sacred spaces in
Pangasinan's physical landscape. The rituals are tests that a novice undergoes
when he is called and destined to serve his people. Through his soul travel,
the uprooted poet reclaims his primal and ancestral connection to the water
(danum), to the land (uma), and to the people (katooan), key figures that mark
Pangasinan's landcape, history and identity.
October 17, Saturday Cinema
6 9:00PM
October 22, Thursday Cinema 6 5:00PM
Ang Beerhouse
Directed by Jon Red
Cast: Ryan Eigenmann, Jerffrey Quizon, Gwen Garci
Noynoy runs a barbecue stand.
October 18, Sunday Cinema 6 8:40PM
October 20, Tuesday Cinema 6 5:30PM
Biyaheng Lupa
Directed by Armando "Bing" Lao
Cast: Jaclyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Coco Martin, Eugene Domingo, Susan Africa
A bus takes off from urban Manila to the rustic southeastern side of the
country, carrying a motley group of passengers from all walks of life, each one
with a personal story and telling it in his/her own voice. During the
long journey, as the passengers mentally sort out their past and their future,
things happen in the present, by choice or by providence, that make the journey
memorable: the bus blows a tire, a song elicits tears, a butterfly causes a
commotion, a photograph gets lost, a head is stoned, some hearts are broken,
some are mended. The bus ride poetizes the life journey and poses questions on
issues of life and death and where exactly the line is drawn between free will
and destiny.
October 19, Monday Cinema 6 8:00PM
October 23, Friday Cinema 6 4:30PM
Dolores
Directed by Lito Casaje
Cast: Dido dela Paz, Mailes Kanapi, Amante Pulido, Conrad de Guzman, Keith
Cabañez, RJ Maximo, Joseph Garcia, Redentor Esguerra, and Lara Buenaventura as
Dolores.
The film is a parable on life's seemingly relentless contradictions; a gripping
tale of twisted love, lust, oppression, betrayal and self-redemption. A young
girl is sexually abused by her grandfather, father, and uncle soon after her
mother leaves for greener job opportunities abroad. After realizing the
consequences of the abuse, she now decides to reinforce her genuine love to her
brother by totally offering her body and soul to him. What will be the fate of
Dolores?
October 17, Saturday Cinema 6 7:00PM
October 21, Wednesday Cinema 6 4:00PM
Iliw
Directed by Bona Fajardo
Cast: Kaye Abad, Hiroyuki Takashima
1941. World War II. The Japanese military forces reach the shores of Northern
Philippines. Captain Fujiro Takahashi, one of the commanding officers at the
Central Cordillera, meets Fidela. She is the only daughter of Baguio's
postmaster who was incarcerated for being suspected as a guerilla supporter. As
ordered by their father, Fidela and her brother Santiago head home to their
native town Vigan because it is safer and more peaceful there. Fidela and
Takahashi unexpectedly meet again in Vigan and become friends. Love blooms
afterwards and they live together against the judgmental eyes of the entire
community.
October 18, Sunday Cinema 6 6:30PM
October 24, Saturday Cinema 6 4:00PM
Tickets are priced at PHP120 while students may purchase them for PHP 100.
Senior citizens can also avail of a 20% discount.
Premiere screenings cost PHP200. The master class for scriptwritring to
be conducted by Paul Schrader costs PHP250.
CLICK HERE to view the complete screening schedule of
Cinemanila 2009.