Signos honored as Best Foreign Film in Texas

Isang Pinoy independent movie ang kauna-unahang recipient ng Best Foreign Film sa katatapos na First Annual Lone Star International Film Festival. Nagtapos ang 1st Lone Star International Film Award last Sunday, November 11, sa Fort Worth, Texas. A five-day event that started last November 7, ang LSIFF ay isang event na nais i-promote ang mga gawa ng emerging international filmmakers. Pinangaralan ng US-based organization ang Signos (The Sign) bilang Best Foreign Film in the main competition where around thirty movies competed. The other winners include The Elephant King of the USA as Best Narrative Feature, Good Riddance as Best Texas Film, The Fighting Cholitas from Bolivia as Best Documentary Short, Dear Sweet Emma as Best Animation, Darius Goes West from the USA as Best Narrative Short, and Companions to None from Mexico as Best Humanitarian Film. Binigyan din ng Breakthrough Performance si Jason Ritter for the movie The Education of Charlie Banks from the USA. Nagbigay ang film festival ng several honorary awards sa mga Hollywood actors na sina Martin Sheen (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Harry Dean Stanton (Living Legend Award). Ang iba pang honorees na kinilala sa awards ceremony ay sina US producer Carolyn Pfeiffer (Pioneer Award), Hollywood director Robert Rodriguez (Maverick Award), short film director Bryan Poyser (Up And Coming Award), and documentary director Jeff Tremaine (Innovator Award). Special award recipients Martin Sheen and Robert Rodriguez were part of the board of judges headed by another Hollywood actor Bill Paxton. Nandoon sa Texas ang producer ng Signos na sina Venus Lubrin and Dante Mungcal to receive the award last November 11. Noong Sabado, November 9, ipinalabas ang Signos ng 9:30 ng gabi sa AMC Palace theater 9 with a Q&A portion with the audience afterwards. Signos is written, directed and co-produced by Aloy Adlawan. Bida sa horror-drama film na ito sina Luis Alandy, Nancy Castiglione, Ricky Davao, Irma Adlawan, Chx Alcala, DM Sevilla, and Lauren Novero. Direk Aloy is a head writer from ABS-CBN who recently moved to GMA-7 (Boys Nxt Door). This is his second directorial project after the 2006 Cinemalaya movie Room Boy. Si Aloy din ang nagsulat ng dalawang GMA Films na Ouija at ang upcoming na Dagaw. Hindi naging part ng competition ang Signos sa third Cinemalaya Film Festival last July ngunit ginanap sa nasabing festival ang world premiere nito bago ipinalabas commercially last August. SYNOPSIS. Louie (Luis Alandy), a young architect, receives a text message from the province that his father, Ulding (Ricky Davao), had a heart attack. Louie leaves behind his wife Sandra (Nancy Castiglione) in Manila but finds out that the message was nothing but a prank. Louie then senses something eerie about his hometown. He finds out there have been several killings in the barrio, all done in the same manner. Apparently, the victim first hears some rumbling noise; that is, before they are found dead all covered with mud. Louie learns that his childhood sweetheart, Elma (Chx Alcala), is one of the victims. He visits her wake and is forced to confront an unresolved issue with Elma's husband, Nestor (Lauren Novero), who was once Louie's best friend. Meanwhile, Sandra find out that she is pregnant and when she informs her husband that he would be a dad soon, their cell phones malfunction, making it part of the mysterious occurences in Signos. As the day draws to an end, Louie is also forced to resolve his long-standing conflict with his father who is now married to their servant, Cora (Irma Adlawan), a simple mystic. Ulding has refused all of Louie's invitations to stay with him in Manila because of his new family. When the killings move closer to home and threatens Louie's family, he discovers for himself how he had been estranged from his roots and now must face his past with the horror of what is to happen. - Philippine Entertainment Portal