'Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank' is PHL entry to Oscars

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank will represent the Philippines in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards. Cinemalaya winner "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank" is the Philippines' entry for the Best Foreign Film category in the 84th Academy Awards in February 2012. A committee of Film Academy of the Philippines members picked the Eugene Domingo starrer from among 10 films that were included in a shortlist, said Film Academy director general Leo Martinez. Martinez said that the producers of the film, including the movie's director Marlon Rivera, were already informed of the nomination. The producers will then take care of submitting the necessary requirements to the Academy Awards by October 3, 2011. "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank" was named Cinemalaya Best Film, while its lead star Eugene Domingo won Best Actress and director Marlon Rivera won Best Director. The movie also won Best Screenplay and the Audience Choice Award. 'Odds are enormous' Martinez said he hopes the Academy Awards committee picks the film for the category, but he admitted that the "odds are enormous." He explained that if the film does get picked, the producers will then have to make the film available to 1,000 members of the Academy Awards body, from which 400 members will be chosen to vote for the winning films. "To (make the film available to 1,000 people), it usually costs anywhere between $1 million to $5 million. That's a tall order," Martinez said. "Kailangan siguro ng tulong from the government, pero kahit government baka hindi maka-afford," he added. Should the movie be picked as an official nominee, he advised the producers to find a foreign distributor who can help finance the promotion of the movie. "Kung mapipili sila, I think that's the way to go. But for now, I just hope that they make it," he said. The Academy Awards, the biggest award-giving body in the film industry, will choose five foreign films that will officially become the nominees for the Foreign Film category. The official nominees will be announced in January next year, while the awards night will be held on February 26, 2012. No Filipino film has been officially nominated in the Oscars so far. — RSJ, GMA News