International filmfest premieres two Cinemalaya best films

Two Cinemalaya 2011 films will have their international premieres this week in one of the largest film festivals in North America. Cinemalaya 2011 Best Film in the New Breed category "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank" and Best Film in the Directors Showcase category "Bisperas" will have their international premiere this week in the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). The film directed by Marlon Rivera will be shown at seven in the evening on Monday, October 3 and at 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4. Both screenings will be at the Vancity Theatre in the Vancouver International Film Centre. "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank" topped the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, winning Best Film, as well as Rivera winning for Best Direction in the New Breed Full Length Feature Category, lead star Eugene Domingo winning the Best Actress award, and writer Chris Martinez winning for Best Screenplay. Cited by jurors for being "a reflexive film that looks with a lot of bite at itself," the film also won the Audience Choice Award in the New Breed category. The film will also represent the Philippines in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards in February next year. "Films about filmmaking are usually a bust, but this lacerating satire is a real exception," writes Tony Rayns in the film's description on the VIFF site. Jeffery Jeturian's "Bisperas" also brought home a number of awards, with Raquel Villavicencio winning Best Performance by an Actress, Roberto Yñiguez winning Best Cinematography, Julia Clarete winning Best Performance of a Supporting Actress and Rodrigo Ricio winning Best Production Design. The film will have its international premiere October 5, Wednesday at the Pacific Cinematheque. Another screening will be held on October 6, Thursday at 3:45 p.m. "Jeturian and his writer Paul Sta. Ana have several targets in their sights: religious hypocrisy, the shallowness of contemporary family ties, Filipino political lethargy and the social inequalities which breed crime. Their aim is true," Rayns writes. Also featured in this year's VIFF are the international premieres of Eduardo Roy Jr.'s "Baby Factory," Charliebebs Gohetia's "The Natural Phenomenon of Madness," as well as the North American premiere of Vincent Sandoval's "Señorita." Gohetia's film, which screened in the Cinemalaya 2011 NETPAC category, is also included in the 55th BFI London Film Festival. Rayns describes the film as "radically unlike any other Filipino indie movie you have ever seen, and it's mesmerizingly grown-up." Founded in 1982, the VIFF 2011 will have more than 600 screenings of films from 75 countries. With the slogan "Same Planet. Different Worlds," its mission is to encourage understanding of the world's cultures through the art of cinema. The festival opened on September 29 with Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I live In" and will close on October 14 with Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne's "The Kid with a Bike." For more information, visit www.viff.org. — RSJ, GMA News