Perhaps she was wondering. Am I taking the photo of the sign or hers? I decided to get them both. The message might not be sent instantly but I guess it will come through.
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Sidenotes:
I went to see two entries at the Cinemanila Film Festival last night. One entry from South Korea, No Regret and our very own entry, Tribu, which incidentally premiered last night so the moviehouse was expectedly jam-packed.
No Regret is gay film drama which tells the story of Su Min, a lad who grew up in the orphanage and went to Seoul to study art design while doing part time jobs at the factory and as cab driver. He lost his job due to layoffs and finds himself working in a gay bar. The director, Leesong Hee-il is said to be a rather well-known indie filmmaker who did several short films mostly dealing with relationships - both gay and straight. It was released in S. Korea last year in limited theaters. The movie reminds of Wong Kar Wai’s Happy Together. I saw some renowned Filipino directors who were there last night. The likes of Gil Portez, Joel Lamangan and other celebrities like Rey Pumaloy. Oh boy, it felt like Pink Festival all over again!
Tribu (Tribe) is a Filipino indie film about the gangland in Tondo, one of the most densely populated districts in Manila. Tondo is notorious for being the poorest, dirtiest, and ugliest underdeveloped place in the country. This film, with an all cast of non-professional actors, won best film during the recently concluded 2007 Cinemalaya Indie Film Festival Competition. The movie gave me goosebumps towards the latter part of film. The movie is grand, explicit and raw. It depicts severe social conditions, conflicting social issues and morals. The movie sears with the pain reality that is both vicious and compassionate. Jim Libiran, the director, is a native of Tondo.
I wonder how the foreign judges will see this film. I believe although the movie deals with the universal issues of social conflicts and poverty, the core values and culture are still contextual. That only Filipinos would truly understand. It’s rare to finally watch quality Filipino films that would really put a hole in your soul. Well, it may sound a bit of an exag, but that’s how I felt after I went out of the cinema. That is how it is with this film. See it if you can.
2 comments:
I guess the old girl is thinking "What do we have here".
I hope she had switched off her cellphone.
Ah, you are so lucky, I don't really find the time to see movies these days. I'm too busy working and taking photos.
We have a film festival on here in september, for the first time in Oostende. We have a new Kinepolis cinema centre here, 10 theatres, I believe. We already had a complex with 8 theatres in the centre of town, I hope they don't go bust now the Kinepolis is here. Kinepolis is a Belgium based European group that has theatres all over Europe. I've been going to the Rialto, the one in town, since I was a kid and it was still a single theatre cinema. I think we had 8 theatres throughout the town when I was a kid, but they all went bust when the video recorder became common and the video rental stores started rising like mushrooms.
I like that look!
I read about "Tribu" in the newspapers. It is for sure a movie I want to see. I know Tondo a little bit. Just the church and a few streets around it. It looked quite OK but I was probably lucky that I didn't go inside the underbelly of Tondo.
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