After last year’s incredible participation of the Philippine Delegation in Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) as Country of Focus, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) continues the momentum with a powerhouse lineup in the BIFF 2019.
FDCP once again leads the delegation at BIFF, as well as the Asian Film Market and its several programs like Asian Project Market and Platform BUSAN.
FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño is more than happy with the representation of the Philippines to Busan.
“This year, we bring again a strong lineup in Busan in terms of films, film projects and Filipino companies. Our goal to bring the Filipino content in Asia and to the world is slowly happening and with that, FDCP stays true to its goal that we will be supporting them every step of the way as part of our legacy for the next 100 years,” she said.
The Busan International Film Festival runs until Oct. 12 in Busan, South Korea.
The latest film from Brillante Mendoza, a Lav Diaz film, an internationally-acclaimed film that will represent the Philippines to the Oscars, and a new wave independent films compose this year’s Philippine entries for screening, world premiere, and competition.
Mindanao
The film will have its World Premiere at BIFF. It is the latest offering of Brillante Mendoza.
Starring Judy Ann Santos, the film tackles the story of a mother to an ailing child of cancer. She’s also a wife to a combat medic deployed in an offensive war in the southern Philippines. The story is merged with the epic tale of the warrior brothers Raja Sulayman and Indarapatra against the two fire-breathing sea serpents.
Ang Hupa
Known for the length of his films about the social and political struggles, Lav Diaz has garnered the admiration of the international festival circuit.
His film Ang Hupa (The Hault) is set in the year 2034 AD and Southeast Asia has been in the dark for the last three years, literally, because the sun hasn’t shone as a result of massive volcanic eruptions at the Celebes Sea in 2031. Madmen control countries, communities, enclaves and bubble cities. Cataclysmic epidemics razed over the continent. Millions have died and millions have left.
Lingua Franca
Isabel Sandoval is a New York-based Filipina filmmaker who has produced, written and directed two full-length feature films, including the Filipino-language Señorita (2011), which premiered in competition at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. Señorita also won the Emerging Director Award at the Asian-American International Film Festival in 2012.
Sandoval’s film Lingua Franca follows Alex, who is recently back in Brighton Beach after a family-imposed sabbatical in Russia. He finds work at a slaughterhouse while looking after his grandmother Olga, who suffers from dementia. He finds himself drawn to Olga’s Filipino caregiver, Olivia. When he realizes that she’s an undocumented trans woman, Alex must decide whether to help Olivia with her predicament.
Verdict
Trained well throughout his career by Brillante Mendoza and became his protégé, Raymund Gutierrez as a screenwriter, is guided by the founder and teacher of Found Story, Armando “Bing” Lao – a unique storytelling that is applied in both his and Brillante’s films.
The film Verdict centers on Joy and her six-year-old daughter Angel live in Manila, with her husband, Dante, a small-time criminal. As so often in the past, Dante comes home drunk at night and beats Joy brutally. This time, he also hurts Angel. Joy grabs her daughter and flees to the local police post to finally get him sent to jail. Justice, Joy learns, takes time at best and is impossible to get at worst. Not without reason, she feels that she and her daughter are increasingly under threat.
John Denver Trending
Arden Rod Condez hails from Pandan, Antique and has been a writer of ABS-CBN Corporation.
His award-winning film John Denver Trending follows the story of a 14-year-old farmboy whose life suddenly upended when a video of him brutally attacking a classmate went viral.