The 10
finalists for the 2008 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival
(full-length feature category) were chosen recently by the Cultural
Center of the Philippines. These are: 100 by Chris Martinez, 1434456
by Emmanuel Dela Cruz, Ang Concerto by Paul Alexander Morales,
Antiparang Basag by Edith Asuncion, Baby Angelo by Joel Ruiz and Abi
Aquino, Brutus by Tara illenberger, My Fake American Accent by
Onnah Valera, Huling Pasada by Paul Sta. Ana, Jay by Francis
Xavier E. Pasion and Ranchero by Michael Christian Cardoz.
100 is about a stern, uptight and exacting woman with a terminal illness who tries to accomplish a list of 100 things to do before she dies. Her tasks vary from the simple to the complicated, from the practical to the mundane, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. In the process, she accepts the truth that even if death is something personal, dying never is.
1434456 is the story of Ranjeet Singh, also fondly called "Jimmy Paybsiks,"a 49-year old Punjabi widower. He faces the challenge of finding a more permanent sense of home and country for his children who find themselves growing up more and more assimilated in the Filipino way of life. Set in contemporary Manila, 1434456 examines the colorful stories and inevitable struggles of a migrant sector rarely given a second look or even a thoughtful pause in our society—that of our Indian neighbors.
Ang Concerto is about how, in the last part of World War II, a special piano concert is held in the forests of Davao. In these boondocks, a displaced Filipino family becomes acquainted with a group of Japanese officers, similarly camped nearby. Based on true stories from the director's family, Ang Concerto celebrates a family whose reverence for life, expressed through their love of music and friendship, can survive even war, and shows how beauty and compassion can grow even in the harshest situations.
Antiparang Basag tells of one woman's encounter with four octogenarians, who have escaped from a nursing home, and the few hours she spends helping them pursue their quest to fulfill their simple wishes in life. The funny and heartwarming situations carry her to see the different hues of life and death and the value of every moment.
Baby Angelo centers on an investigation that ensues when an aborted fetus is found in the dumpster of a run-down apartment complex. The lives of the tenants—a reclusive old man with curious ramblings, a landlord with overzealous thirst for justice and a young couple whose past threatens to unravel their marriage—are suddenly exposed in the hunt for the perpetrator of the baby's death.
Brutus tells the tale of two Mangyan children, hired by illegal loggers to smuggle wood from the mountains of Mindoro, as they embark on a dangerous journey to deliver the goods to the lowlands. In the process, they discover a world run by the greed of men, a world governed by ideologies that bring about the armed conflict that plagues the Mindoro highlands, the home of their own people.
My Fake American Accent is a slice-of-life workplace comedy following the lives of technical-support call-center agents in the span of six months. Speaking in a fake American accent is a prerequisite for the job. This ensemble comedy is an inside look into the maddening, sleep-deprived, caffeine-fuelled lives of those who ply their trade in the call-center industry.
Huling Pasada follows the creative process of Ruby, a prolific writer, abandoned wife and protective mother. She writes about Mario, a taxi driver and father figure to a street child. As she tries to resolve Mario's story, she seeks refuge in her own creative output and the line between reality and fiction is blurred. Mario's past becomes entangled with her own inevitable future.
Jay is the name of the two protagonists in the film, one is living, the other dead. The living Jay is producing a documentary of the dead Jay, a gay teacher who was brutally killed. As Jay recreates and examines the life of his subject, his own life is affected when he unravels his subject's hidden life and secret love.
Ranchero is the story of convicts who serve a special role inside the jail: they prepare the meals everyday. But in a jail where some inmates see no reason to continue living, what is the role of food? Is the food's role to extend life or to prolong the pain of those who don't want to live?
The full-length feature film category finalists were selected from a total of 194 entries submitted for the 2008 Cinemalaya. As finalists, they will receive an initial seed investment of P500,000 from Econolink Investments Inc. The final winning entry will be given an additional grant of P200,000 plus the Cinemalaya Balanghai trophy during the awarding ceremony on July 20 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. All the films will be screened during the 2008 Cinemalaya Film Festival on July 11 to July 20 at the CCP.
Now on its fourth year, Cinemalaya is presented by the Cinemalaya Foundation, Cultural Center of the Philippines, University of the Philippines Film Institute and Econolink Investments Inc. Cinemalaya is an all-digital film competition aimed at discovering new Filipino filmmakers.
For more information, please call the CCP Film Division at tel. no. 832-1125 local 1705.