Curtain-raisers:
Here are three interesting text messages:
• From Leah Salterio: The brain of stupid people have two sides — the left side where nothing is right and the right side where nothing is left.
• From Nap Gutierrez: The Lord said, “I will strip you of everything. When you have nothing, then you will have Me and when you have Me, it is then that you have everything.”
• From Joji Dingcong: This was nominated for Best Poem of 2005, written by an African kid: “When I was born, I black. When I grow up, I black. When I go in the sun, I black. When I scared, I black. When I sick, I black. And when I die, I black. And you white fella, when you born, you pink. When you grow up, you white. When you go in the sun, you red. When you cold, you blue. When you scared, you yellow. When you sick, you green. And when you die, you gray. And you calling me ‘colored?’ Where’s your sense of logic?”
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Congratulations to indie producer-director Brillante “Dante” Mendoza for being the recipient of this year’s Gawad Tanglaw Presidential Jury Award for Film Excellence. Dante was cited for his films Masahista, Manoro, Kaleldo, Tirador, Foster Child and Serbis, all of which have won accolades — and some awards — in international film festivals. The awarding will be on March 3.
Dante is also among the 27 Asian directors chosen to participate in this year’s Hong Kong Asian Film Financing Forum, according to Funfare contributor Jonathan Landreth quoted organizers as saying. Dante will compete with other directors from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam for the attention of financiers at the event’s seventh edition slated on March 23 to 25 during the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Here’s the rest of Jonathan’s report:
China’s Lu Chuan will bring Sleep With Hypnotist which he is producing and directing for Beijing Yuanchuan Film TV & Culture Co. Chuan is best known for 2004’s Kekexili: Mountain Patrol, winner of the special jury prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Lu’s last project, 2005 HAF entry Nanking! Nanking!, is scheduled to be released in February.
Dante is bringing Chop Chop, produced by (Funfare’s Toronto-based international correspondent) Ferdinand Lapuz and Didier Costet. Dante’s Serbis, which got funding at the HAF 2008, went on to compete in Cannes last year.
Tim Kwok, a HAF selection committee member and president of Convergence Entertainment, said that the projects chosen find “common ground between what is considered an art house film and a commercial one.”
There are four projects from Hong Kong this year, with entries from directors Barbara Wong Chun Chun (Happy Funeral, 2008), Dante Lam (Beast Stalker, 2008), Teddy Chen (Accidental Spy, 2001) and actress-turned-director Charlie Young (Bangkok Dangerous, 2008).
Other directors whose projects are included this year are Ning Hao (the 2006 hit Crazy Stone); Naomi Kawase, youngest winner of the Camera d’Or Award, with 1997’s Suzaku; Jack Neo, Singapore’s highest-grossing film director; Na Hong-jin (2008 Cannes entry The Chaser); and Wei Te-sheng who broke Taiwan’s all-time box-office record in 2008 with Cape No.7, a home-grown film.
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com).