The Cinemanila Int`l Film Festival is the Philippines` contribution to world cinema, offering a venue for independent films, and giving Filipinos, a film-loving people, the chance to view fine films outside of the "mainstream".
Cinemanila, the festival traces its roots to the desire of continuing the legacy of Lino Brocka. In 1974, the great filmmaker created “Cinemanila,” an independent production outfit. With immortal classics like Mortal and Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang, Brocka was able to associate Cinemanila to films that are uniquely Filipino yet able to play to international markets. In turn, Cinemanila the film festival was envisioned to be a nurturing environment for the future of the Filipino film industry. By exposing them to international-caliber films, Cinemanila aimed to rouse the yearning among young and upcoming filmmakers to be more globally competitive and to be optimistic that they too can create world-class films worthy of exhibition abroad.
Festival Director Alan Franey and programmers Tony Rayns and Shelly Kraicer today announced that the 27th annual Vancouver International Film Festival will feature a total of 47 features, 5 mid-length films and 23 shorts in the Festival's cornerstone Dragons & Tigers: The Cinemas of East Asia program. Again presented this year thanks to the generous support of Brad Birarda, the Dragons & Tigers program is one of the pre-eminent showcases of East Asian films in the world. The series will feature ...
The film Directed by Brillante Mendoza, Serbis is the first Filipino film to compete in the Official Selection since Bayan Ko by Lino Brocka in 1984. Serbis takes place in an old movie house in Angeles City, in the Philippines, which shows 1970s skin flicks. As the members of the Pineda family, who own the theater, go about their daily activities, we slowly discover their personalities and the difficulties they are grappling with. Tormented by inner demons, they willfully ignore the prostitu...
Festival Closing Night Gala
Saturday, October 14---The 44th edition of the New York Film Festival is drawing to a close, but not without one more weekend of film excitement and diversity. Saturday sees repeat screenings of two of the Festival's most anticipated and debated films, Sofia Coppola's post-modern take on the French Revolution, MARIE ANTOINETTE, and Emmanuel Bordieu's homo-erotic POISON FRIENDS.
Another film having its final screening on Saturday is the Turkish drama CLIMATES by d...
The Global Film Initiative, a non-traditional film distributor specializing in independent films from the developing world, today announced the membership of its Film Board, internationally-recognized filmmakers, producers and visionaries who support the mission of The Initiative. The sixteen charter members of the Film Board span four continents, and share a passion for independent film from the developing world. Through these industry leaders, The Global Film Initiative reaches out to communi...
On Saturday the 29th the competition arena of Nantes’ 3 Continents was haunted by the cinematic ghosts of Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye Dragon Inn (Bu San) and by the torturing spectres of a dramatic political past in Pakistani Sabiha Sumar’s Silent Waters (Kamosh Pani). Tsai’s sixth feature, winner of the Fipresci award in Venice, pays homage to cinema and to the magic experience of viewing films in movie theatres. Taking an old theatre bound to permanently shut its doors as his actual prot...
The 25th edition of Nantes’ Festival des 3 Continents kicked off on the captivating tunes of rai, Algerian traditional music. Singer Abderrahman Djalti, also the star of one of the documentaries on show, Jamel Fezzaz’s La mélodie de l’espoir (Melody of Hope), unwrapped the opening ceremony singing a song usually performed during circumcision ceremonies.The quarter of a century anniversary of Nantes’ 3 Continents was introduced as an unexpected achievement for a festival that started sma...
According to Screen International Toronto's Piers Handling will be stepping aside from programming duties while remaining CE. He is reported to be taking applications for co-director job probably looking at the Cannes duo winning strategy.In a recent interview he gave to Filmfestivals he was speaking of his programing directions.What kind of films screen at Toronto?I think Toronto has always been opened to every variety of film. Of course, popcorn movies don't always belong in a festival, but th...
SUTHERLAND TROPHY SHORTLIST ANNOUNCEDA shortlist of three titles in competition for the British Film Institute (bfi) Sutherland Trophy was announced today (4 November), selected by a jury representing the film and entertainment worlds.The shortlist, chosen from twelve nominated titles, comprises No Rest for the Brave, a dreamlike coming-of-age odyssey from French director Alain Guiraudie; Osama, the first feature from post-Taliban Afghanistan directed by Siddiq Barmak; and Reconstruction, an exp...
