MANILA, Philippines - Since its successful inauguration in March 2015, the first set of featured films has debuted in various international film festivals.
“The exposure of the filmmakers in other countries brings pride and honor to Sinag Maynila and to the Filipino filmmakers,” says festival director Brillante Mendoza.
As we welcome the new year, the independent film festival Sinag Maynila already has a new line-up of films slated for screening in April.
Conceptualized and helmed by its CEO and founder Wilson Tieng, together with Mendoza, Sinag Maynila gives grants to independent filmmakers so they can develop their individual material into a full-length film for public exhibition. This year, the festival has been opened to any Filipino independent filmmaker who wishes to apply for a film grant.
Five chosen filmmakers closely collaborated with Tieng and Mendoza. The collaboration resulted in stories that reflect the Filipino culture while illustrating messages that will resonate globally.
• MRS. by Adolf Alix Jr. Seventy-year-old Virginia shares the old ancestral house with Delia, her ever-loyal maid. Delia is marrying her long-time boyfriend, Rene, and tearfully confides to Virginia that she wants to go home to her parents in the province to start a new family life with him.After being haunted by a past that Virginia tries to overcome — her only son Sonny Boy who disappeared years ago — what follows shows a portrait of a woman and mother trying to juggle the sad realities of life in a cycle of life and death.
MRS. stars Elizabeth Oropesa, Lotlot de Leon, Rosanna Roces, Anita Linda and Mark Herras.
• Expressway by Ato Bautista. A syndicate old-timer named Ben needs to do one last assignment before the boss he works for grants him his much-delayed retirement. Assigned to be his partner is the neophyte Morris, a trigger-happy sadist who yearns to impress the syndicate boss.
For Ben, this last assignment turns out to be a journey of introspection, self-healing and redemption. With this awakening, he takes it upon himself to pull Morris out of the eventual hell-of-a-life he says he has lived as a hitman.
Expressway stars Alvin Anson, Aljur Abrenica, Kiko Matos, Antoinette Reds, Jim Libiran, Japo Parcero and Judith Javier.
• Dyamper by Mes De Guzman. Three friends wait along Dalton Pass every dawn to jump at the back of rice delivery trucks to steal the goods and sell them at the wet market as their means of income.
One of them accidentally gets a pack of drugs from one of the trucks. They find themselves in jeopardy when the owners track them down to retrieve the stash and give them a chance to get off the hook by means of taking on a risky mission.
Dyamper stars Carlo Aquino, Alchris Galura, Tim Mabalot, Kristofer King, Liza Diño-Seguerra and Debbie Garcia.
• T.P.O. by Joselito Altarejos. Teresa is a battered wife and mother in the hands of her husband, Miguel. When their son Miguelito starts to get hurt as the domestic violence turns for the worst, Teresa will seek a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) against her husband.
Meanwhile, Miguel, together with their son, goes through the same long and arduous process of applying for the custody of their son on the town’s most festive and busiest day. When they see each other in the middle of the road, an accident will happen, leaving them both destroyed and at the losing end. The narrative will start repeating backwards, as the truth will be revealed with scenes that have yet to unfold.
T.P.O. stars Oliver Aquino, Mara Lopez, Micko Laurente, Menggie Cobarrubias and Lui Manansala.
• Lila by Gino Santos. Jess is a young woman running away from her past and moves into the house of a warm-hearted landlady. She finds a diary in her room that belonged to a former tenant.
As the days pass, strange occurrences ensue as the diary’s work take an eerie turn. Jess finds herself in the middle of a malevolent event from a dark past not entirely her own.
Lila stars Janine Gutierrez, Enchong Dee, Sherry Alingod and Miggs Cuaderno.
The second Sinag Maynila Film Festival will run from April 21 to 26. For details, visit Sinag Maynila on Facebook (SinagMaynila), Twitter (@sinagmaynila) and Instagram (@sinagmaynila).