Independencia’ wins two major awards in Bangkok

Only in Hollywood
‘Independencia’ wins two major awards in Bangkok
By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:06:00 10/03/2009

Filed Under: Cinema, Awards and Prizes
LOS ANGELES — News of Raya Martin’s “Independencia” winning the Grand Prize in the Southeast Asia Competition and the Netpac (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) at the just concluded seventh Bangkok International Film Festival provides a much-needed boost after the terrible devastation wrought by Ondoy.

Arleen Cuevas, who produced “Independencia,” accepted the awards during the closing ceremonies held last Wednesday at the Chatrium Suites Bangkok. Raya is attending the New York Film Festival, where his American Occupation-set drama will also be entered.

Interestingly, this first Filipino film to compete in the Un Certain Regard section in the Cannes Film Festival shows a violent storm that has a profound impact on a family played by Sid Lucero, Alessandra de Rossi and Mika Aguilos.

Arleen flew to Bangkok from Vladivostok, where “Independencia” competed in the seventh Pacific-Meridian International Film Festival. She posted in her Facebook page that the very first question she was asked during the Q&A with the audience after the film’s screening was, “Why is there is so much rain in the Philippines (as shown in the movie)?” This was before Ondoy struck, so Arleen’s post drew amused comments, including one from this columnist.

Another Philippine entry, Sherad Anthony Sanchez’s “Imburnal,” along with Malaysia’s “Call If You Need Me,” won the Special Mention Prize in the Southeast Asia Competition of the Thai film festival, which hopes to champion films from the region. The Special Jury Prize went to Thailand’s “Nymph.”

Rock icon

Berlin-based journalist and film critic, Vincenzo Bugno, Singaporean filmmaker, Royston Tan, and Thai indie rock icon and poet, Tul Waitoonkiat, made up the jury for the Southeast Asia Competition.

As we write this, Arleen is flying back to the Philippines. She promised to e-mail us about “Independencia’s” triumph once she’s home.

Brillante “Dante” Mendoza served as a juror in the main competition along with Chinese filmmaker, Li Yang, and Thai stage and movie director, Ekachai Uekrongtham. Dante and his two colleagues gave the top prize to an entry from Belgium, Peter Brosens and Jessica Hope Woodworth’s “Altiplano,” which was described by Screen Daily as “a hyper-stylized environmental drama set in a Peruvian village.”

The other winners in the main competition were China’s “The Search,” which clinched the Special Jury Prize and Canada’s “I Killed My Mother,” which bagged the Special Mention honors.

Incidentally, we’ve been able to watch some of the Cannes entries by filmmakers whom Dante edged out for the Best Director award. These include Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” and Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon,” which won the Palme d’Or. These are excellently crafted films, so we can’t wait to see “Kinatay,” the film that Dante won for and made him the first Filipino to win the Cannes’ coveted Best Director plum.

The filmmaker, who is reported to have a large following in Thailand, just got back to the Philippines. “Medyo pagod pa ako,” he wrote via e-mail. “Nag-alala ako while I was in Bangkok, kasi a lot of people were texting me, asking if we were OK.” We asked Dante to share his thoughts on being in the jury, and he obliged:

“It’s not easy judging other filmmakers’ work, because you can’t help judging them from your own point of view. Kasi mahirap maging director, lalo na kung ang pelikula ay galing sa Third World countries like ours. I’m saying this because the festival had good choices. But, I’m happy because most of my choices won, like ’The Search’ and ’I Killed My Mother.’

Long discussion

“We had a long discussion over the Grand Prize winner, ‘Altiplano,’ because of the use of religion in the film. Coming from a Catholic country, I pointed out some of its flaws, which my fellow jurors, Li Yang and Ekachai Uekrongtham, who are both Buddhists, didn’t quite understand—like the use of images, etc. But in the end, we agreed to give the prize to ‘Altiplano,’ which was also screened at the Critics Week in Cannes.

“I’m very happy but not surprised that Raya bagged the Grand Prize in the Southeast Asia Competition. In fact, biniro ko sina Adolf (Alix Jr.) na dapat makuha natin ang Grand Prize, Special Jury at Special Mention, pati Netpac. Nagkatotoo nga. There’s no doubt the Filipino independent cinema now has a very strong presence, not only in Asia, but in the whole world as well.

“Kapapanalo lang ni Pepe (Diokno) sa Venice, at eto na naman ang kay Raya. Pinoy indies are in focus at the Pusan and Thessaloniki International Film Festivals. I’m very sure that more Filipino independent productions will win in festivals. ’Serbis’ also won the Grand Prize in the Southeast Asia Competition last year. I was given a retrospective in Brazil early this month. Another retrospective will be given to my films in Lisbon, Portugal early next year. This year is indeed the golden year of Filipino independent films.”

We say, “Mabuhay!,” to Dante’s sentiments. We sure could use some good news at this time.

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, “The Nepales Report,” on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.

TimeOut New York review

Timeout New York
New York Film Festival 2009

Like Josef von Sternberg’s island adventure Anatahan (1953), Raya Martin’s weather-beaten melodrama is one hallucinatory emotional hothouse. During the 1898 American invasion of the Philippines, a mother (Tetchie Agbayani) and son (Sid Lucero) retreat to the woods. They eke out a meager existence until another woman (Alessandra de Rossi) arrives and pushes the family dynamic in a more feral direction. The 77-minute feature is divided into two parts, separated by a mock newsreel (at once satirical and horrific) that portrays a murder committed by an American soldier as if it were a Keystone Cops short. The comic and the tragic constantly intertwine: Martin uses the vernacular of early silent and sound films to explore how this particular bit of history is remembered and resonates through to the present. He saves his biggest flourish for the finale, when color intrudes on the elegant black-and-white aesthetic with an enlightening, blood-red vengeance. Sunday, Oct 4 at 3pm—Keith Uhlich
Read more: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/film/78907/independencia#ixzz0Sso8D3gj

Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal Capsule review of Independencia

Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal
Capsule reviews

Independencia
Raya Martin stylistically mimics the look and feel of a stagey old black and white movie, with flickering movement and painted backgrounds, yet it's a lush and gorgeous thing to look at and listen to. Compared to other Filipino films I've seen, it's so clean. The story is about a mother and son (Tetchie Agbayani and Sid Lucero) who retreat to the woods in advance of the American invasion of the Philippines in the late 19th century. The son finds an abandoned young woman, presumably raped by a hilariously mustachioed American soldier, and soon the mother passes away. Not long after that, the couple has a mixed-race boy they call their son, and so another generation of Filipinos begins. Will it be free? (5/5)

Independencia and Imburnal win awards in 7th Bangkok International Film Festival

Independencia and Imburnal win awards in 7th Bangkok International Film Festival

Jocelyn Dimaculangan

Friday, October 2, 2009
07:05 AM
Rating




Filipino filmmakers bring good news to their countrymen as thousands recover from the destruction brought about by typhoon Ondoy.

The black-and-white film Independencia bagged two prizes in the 7th edition of the Bangkok International Film Festival. Imburnal was given a Special Mention in the filmfest that took place in Thailand from September 24-30.

Independencia was the Grand Prize winner in the Southeast Asian Category and the recipient of the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Jury Prize Award. The period film set during the American colonization of the Philippines stars Sid Lucero, Tetchie Agbayani, and Alessandra de Rossi.

Meanwhile, the 2008 Cinema One entry Imburnal shared the Special Mention honor with Malaysian James Lee's Call If You Need Me.

Another Filipino indie film, Aurora, also competed in this year's edition of the Bangkok IFF.

The jury of the Southeast Asian Category was composed of Vincenzo Bugno, Royston Tan, and Tul Waitoonkiat.

Independencia producer Arleen Cuevas informed PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) that the Philippine delegation was composed of herself, Imburnal director Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Aurora director Adolfo Alix Jr., Imburnal producer Ronald Arguelles of Cinema One, and director Senedy Que.

Brillante Mendoza served as a jury member in the main competition of the Bangkok IFF and his obra Kinatay was screened in the non-competition section.

The Piolo Pascual-starrer Manila will also be screened in the Southeast Asian Panorama section. It was recently announced that the film, co-directed by Adolf and Raya, would compete in a separate film festival that will take place in Warsaw, Poland. (CLICK HERE to read related article.)

The jury awarded Independencia the Grand Prize in the Southeast Asian category "for its strong cinematic expression. The film is visually adventurous with humor, expressing historical aspects while also very friendly to the audience."

Meanwhile, Imburnal earned a Special Mention "for putting together a very risky concept with complicated sociopolitical background, and for the director's courage and bravery."

The NETPAC Award was given to Independencia "for its cinematic creation exploring the history of the Philippines and the history of Philippine Cinema within the limited space and with a few characters."

Raya Martin's "Independencia" and "A Short Film about the Indio Nacional" rare back to back screenings from September 14-19 at U.P. Cine Adarna

Raya Martin's "Independencia" and "A Short Film about the Indio Nacional"
rare back to back screenings from September 14-19 at U.P. Cine Adarna

Raya Martin’s critically acclaimed films “Independencia” and “A Short Film about the Indio Nacional” will be screened at University of the Philippines Cine Adarna from September 14-19, 2009. The two films form the first two parts of a planned trilogy. The concept of the trilogy has two basic premises: first, that each film will be set in (not necessarily about) a particular period of struggle in Philippine history (the Spanish, American, and Japanese occupations); and second, that each will be made in an aesthetic prevalent to the period in question. Their narratives aren’t causally linked, only thematically. The third film is in pre-production.

Raya Martin's “Independencia”, is the first Filipino film to screen in Un Certain Regard, an Official Selection section of the Cannes Film Festival 2009. The film stars Sid Lucero, Alessandra de Rossi, Tetchie Agbayani and Mika Aguilos.
"Independencia" has been invited to several international film festivals namely Munich, Brussels, Toronto, Bangkok, Vladivostok, Rio, Calgary, Sitges, Sitges, New York, Pusan, Valdivia, Antalya, Vienna and more.

Meanwhile, "A Short Film about the Indio Nacional (Or the Prolonged Sorrow of the Filipinos)" which is Raya's first film, won the Best Film at Pesaro Film Festival in 2006. Both films are shot and will be screened on 35mm film.

The films are directed by Raya Martin, one of the most talent young filmmakers in the Philippines, whose films have been garnering critical acclaim both in the Philippines and around the world. His other film Next Attraction won the Grand Jury Prize in the Cinemanila International Film Festival 2008, and another work, Now Showing, was selected for the Director's Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival last May 2008.
The films are presented by Cinematografica Films. The screenings are dedicated to Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc.

The schedules are:
A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE INDIO NACIONAL, SEPT 14-16, 5 PM

INDEPENDENCIA, SEPT 14-17, 7 PM and SEPT 18-19, 1 PM

"Independencia" Synopsis, 35mm, 77 minutes:
Early 20th century Philippines. The sounds of war signal the arrival of the Americans. A mother and son flee to the mountains, hoping for a quiet life. One day, the son discovers a wounded woman in the middle of the forest, and decides to bring her home. Years pass. Man, woman and child live in isolation from the growing chaos all over the country. But a coming storm soon threatens their existence, and American troops draw nearer.
See the trailer. http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=r5rVvv9s8z4

" A Short Film about the Indio Nacional" Synopsis, 35mm film, 96 minutes:
Set in the 1890s brewing revolution of Filipinos against Spain, "Maicling pelicula nañg ysañg indio nacional " is a collection of silent film actualities revolving around an indio, the common man during the colonial times.
See the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCzECZ2eL4g

Quotes about Raya Martin.
"There is no doubt this is the work of a great filmmaker." –Emmanuel Burdeau, Editor-in-chief, Cahiers du Cinéma

"Raya Martin bases his work - without plagiarism - on the earliest forms of filmmaking. In fact, he reinvents silent film." –Gertjan Zuillhof, International Film Festival Rotterdam

"Raya Martin's beautiful paean to the common man, or 'indio,' of the period is a fascinating work that intermittently rewards patience and confirms Martin's place as a talent to watch." –Jay Weissberg, Variety Magazine

"Indio fills in an historical gap. It does so with constant invention and poetic beauty." –Mark Peranson, Cinema Scope

Raya Martin By Alexis A. Tioseco

ya Martin

By Alexis A. Tioseco

The brand of social realism espoused by the better films of Lino Brocka (Manila in the Claws of Neon, 1975; Insiang, 1976; Orapronobis, 1989), has become the dominant form of socially conscious filmmaking in the Philippines over the past four decades. This form of filmmaking was important for its time: when the government had control of the media, to tackle social issues directly through cinema meant to lift a blindfold. But as the means of communication become more difficult to suppress, society no longer attempts to hide its corruption and moral bankruptcy the way it once did. Faced with a population inundated daily with the misery of reality—from television, newspapers and neighbours, to what one sees on the streets on one’s daily commute—the challenge of a socially committed artist is to make their viewer feel, with a renewed intensity, what surrounds them. Two valid propositions for today’s filmmaker: to encourage a greater understanding of what is by examining in detail its context (as in the work of Lav Diaz) or to encourage thoughts of what can be by appealing to the imagination (as in the work Raya Martin). As Chris Marker said not so long ago, “Rarely has reality needed so much to be imagined.”

“What will you do with all your liberty?” poses one character to another at the end of Martin’s feature debut A Short Film About the Indio Nacional (2005). The young theatre actor to whom it is addressed simply looks confused, and the eager revolutionary who asks it runs into the forest expecting battle, but is greeted instead by an empty field, and the shadow of evening falling.

This question could very well be considered the starting point for Independencia (2009), one of two films of Martin’s premiered in Cannes 2009. (Independencia screened in Un Certain Regard, while, Out of Competition in a Special Screening there was Manila, a two-part homage to Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, co-directed with Adolfo Alix Jr. Martin directed the Bernal tribute).

Indio Nacional and Independencia form the first two parts of a planned trilogy. The concept of the trilogy has two basic premises: first, that each film will be set in (not necessarily about) a particular period of struggle in Philippine history (the Spanish, American, and Japanese occupations); and second, that each will be made in an aesthetic prevalent to the period in question. Their narratives aren’t causally linked, only thematically.

Indio Nacional is made with the elements of pre-20th century reality: silent, shot on black and white 35mm stock with a stable camera, utilizing title cards to describe the action or represent dialogue. Much of the film follows three characters during the last days of the Spanish occupation in the Philippines (mid-1890s) with scenes of daily life spliced in between. However, there is also a prologue: three extended shots, in digital, colour, and with sound, of a restless woman, unable to sleep. She tosses and turns in her small hut, the room illuminated only by a candle, before waking up her companion and requesting a story. The story he tells isn’t your typical bedtime story; it’s a profound allegorical tale about nationhood and sacrifice, and the teller can hardly contain his emotions as he tells it. When this sequence takes place is undefined; it is distinct from the rest of the film, but it sets the mood for what follows.

Set during the American occupation, Independencia is made in the style of a ‘30s Hollywood studio film: shot entirely on a set, featuring painted backdrops, thick make-up on the actors’ faces, and an exaggerated acting style. Significantly, he took something out of the typical Hollywood studio film, as well: their blatant racial stereotyping. Independencia opens with a beautiful sequence of a celebration in a small town interrupted by the sounds of war encroaching. A jarring cut introduces us to our eventual protagonists for the film’s first half, a mother (Tetchie Agbayani) and son (Sid Lucero), who we see inside their home packing their things to leave. As she blows out a candle the screen fills with black and a drum kick signals the credits. The tone of the film is set, and also its rhythm: the action is engaging but the cuts are brisk, almost awkward: Martin wants to both absorb you, and keep you conscious of what he’s doing. Even stronger examples of this consciousness appear later on: in the satiric newsreel that divides the films two halves, and a startling moment when a character turns and addresses the camera: “I hear the sound of the Americans. They are very close. Listen.”

Martin isn’t attempting to make a historical film in Independencia, to make claims about a history and a relationship with America that remains convoluted and charged. What he is doing is using this artifice, these obvious lies, to create a new truth. As Cocteau wrote: “I’ve always preferred mythology to history. History is composed of truths which become lies, mythology of lies which become truth.”

Indio Nacional began with a myth—the story the husband tells the wife at bedside—and Independencia ends with one. The second half of the film focuses on a family: a man (the son now grown up), a woman (a stranger he finds in the forest), and a child. The child belongs to two worlds. His skin (light) and features are of those of a child of mixed blood, that of his mother and the American soldier (heard but not seen) who raped and abandoned her in the forest (implied but not depicted).

The child is curious, constantly gets lost (but never harmed) while exploring the forest, a space to which, as the film progresses, he seems to belong to more and more. As the Americans draw near, a violent storm erupts, claiming the lives of the parents. Embraced by nature, the son survives. As morning breaks, a bird comes to rest gently with him, suggesting further his unique relationship with nature.

Shortly after, he is discovered by two American soldiers (one bearing the now infamous Teddy Roosevelt moustache), together with their Filipino ally. The Filipino, surprised, perhaps, by his having survived the storm, asks him: “Where did you come from, boy?” and, looking to the heavens, “Up there?”

The child breaks free from the Americans (who duly cock their rifles and fire at him), and climbs a rock, escaping to the top of a mountain. As the camera tracks forward, the artificiality of the set comes into closer view. He glances around himself briefly, and then slowly leaps. At this moment, the sky lights up: turning from yellow to an intense blood red (in pseudo “painted on celluloid” fashion, an ode to Brakhage, Martin claims), waves emanate and quiver, the sound of the wind intensifies, the voices of a children’s choir fill the soundtrack, and the film ends.

The film clearly believes the child is gifted—even his cloak appears coloured in the final shot—but whether he survives the fall or not is no longer of consequence. What is important is the implication behind his decision: that he alone has decided his fate, and not another.

The remnants of American culture are everywhere in the Philippines, its influence obvious in the twang with which many speak, the style in which many dress, and the ideas many have of what cinema should be. Like the young boy in Independencia, the traces of American culture are still in our system, if not in our blood. But how we choose to live now, what we choose to do with our independence, with our liberty, is our decision.

Chinua Achebe writes: “Did not the black people in America, deprived of their own musical instruments, take the trumpet and the trombone and blow them as they had never been blown before…And the result, was it not jazz?” In Independencia Martin has crafted a film that uses a mode of filmmaking, an instrument, popular to American cinema of the period, and subverts it, playing it for his own end, and in the process creates something strikingly original, something new.

http://www.cinema-scope.com/cs39/spot_tioseco_alexis.html

2 RP entries in Toronto film fest

Only in Hollywood
2 RP entries in Toronto film fest
By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:35:00 09/10/2009



TORONTO—No two films could be as different from each other as the two Philippine entries in the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): Raya Martin’s “Independencia” and Mike Sandejas’ “Dinig Sana Kita (If I Knew What You Said).” But that’s a good thing. It is time for more variety in our country’s film festival entries.

When we commented via e-mail about his refreshing choices, Raymond Phathanavirangoon, TIFF’s Southeast Asia programmer, said, “I’ve seen quite a number of shaky handheld cams running-through-the-slums films in the last few years. I’m frankly looking for new angles and new stories coming from the Philippines. That said, if it’s done well, I’ll consider it.

“But I’ve even said this to indie filmmakers in Manila when I was there—in order to sustain the ‘Philippine New Wave,’ films must also be able to cross over into the mainstream. It’s been years since ‘The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros’ which made an impact internationally and became an indie local hit. ‘If I Knew What You Said’ is, to me, a crowd-pleasing film that really could move the audience, whether in Makati or in Toronto. I’m not sure if audiences here will be surprised or not, but they will hopefully enjoy it.”

We’ll find that out when the film—Mike Sandejas’ teen romance between a rebellious girl rocker (Zoe Sandejas, Mike’s own daughter) and a deaf boy who loves to dance (Romalito “Rome” Mallari, hearing impaired in real life) — is screened in Toronto on September 11, 3:30 p.m. (AMC 7), September 13, 4:30 p.m. (AMC 2) and September 19, 11:00 a.m. (AMC 10).

“Independencia,” which made history as the first Filipino film to be shown in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last May, is a family drama set in the early 1900s that mimics the early silent films. Raymond is dedicating the screenings to Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc, the film critics who were killed in Quezon City last week. The programmer said, “They deserve recognition for all they have done for cinema. Plus, they were very close to Raya and very much championed ‘Independencia.’ ”

Raya has decided not to attend the TIFF because of this tragedy. He also did not answer our questions about “Independencia” in the TIFF for this column—we understand.

The screening dates: September 12, 12:45 p.m. (Scotiabank Theatre 3), September 13, 6:15 p.m. (AMC 5) and September 17, 7 p.m. (Varsity 2).

“Independencia” producer Arleen Cuevas told me via e-mail that in the Philippines, the film will be shown back to back with Raya’s first feature, “A Short Film About the Indio Nacional,” at the UP Film Center from September 14 to 19. These two films are part of Raya’s planned trilogy.

On how he eventually chose “Dinig ... ” and “Independencia,” Raymond explained: “‘Independencia’ is an intelligent, beautiful formalist piece that questions the art of cinema itself. And it tackles a period that is rarely examined in Western media — the invasion of the Philippines by the Americans. That said, it is very accessible despite its deeper dimensions since it takes the guise of the Filipino melodrama ...

“As for ‘Dinig ... ’ the director (Mike) obviously understands young people well, and the two leads are really charming. Of course, the fact that it tackles the subject of the deaf and their struggles adds an important dimension as well.”

We asked Mike, whom we interviewed via e-mail before he left Manila for Toronto, what he thought of his work’s chances in international film fests since RP entries usually showed the gritty, seamy side of life. “Honestly, it was all we had — hope,” said the law school dropout who learned filmmaking by working as a producer/production manager for such Filipino filmmakers as Mike De Leon, Gil Portes and Lav Diaz. “We knew we were going against the flow. We were not out to prove anything about Filipino cinema. I just wanted to do something that expressed my passion for my craft and my advocacy for the deaf. I felt that I was being led to do this film because it was a mission of sorts ... ”

Bucking the trend

“I have nothing against films with darker themes,” said Mike of bucking the trend. “I just thought that maybe with this film, we can thematically widen the spectrum of Philippine independent films. We are happy to be going to the TIFF. Maybe we are opening a door of sorts to some Filipino filmmakers who share similar themes and sensibility. Maybe foreign audiences want to see something else. Maybe it’s time we did show something else.”

As the father of a teenage girl, we had to ask Mike—how challenging was it to direct Zoe? Raising a young daughter is a challenge in itself but to have to direct her as well? “It was challenging because we are both strong-willed artists and often disagree on things at home,” admitted the father of four girls (Zoe is the eldest). “Putting aside our relationship as father-daughter and bringing a professional attitude to the set was tough. I had to push her abilities in some scenes. I had to be her director. She had to grow up fast. She’s only 16.”

“The easy part of it was that I love my daughter so much,” continued the proud dad whose film “Tulad ng Dati (Just Like Before)” won the Cinemalaya Best Film prize in 2006 and went on to compete in the Pusan IFF New Currents Section. “Thus, the care and diligence I exercised in raising her was the same I did for her in the film. Every thought and emotion she had, I shared with her as we did the film. We learned so much about each other as we worked together. She knew my style and way of thinking in filmmaking and followed it. It was like being a basketball coach with a great point guard. Making the film made us much closer. I am happy that other filmmakers have been asking about casting her in their films.”

(To be concluded on Saturday)