Cinemanila to show Tony Veloria’s ‘Batang West Side’ and ‘Pusang Gala’
MANILA, Philippines - Batang West Side, directed by Lav Diaz and produced by Tony Veloria, was first screened in the country through the Cinemanila International Film Festival 11 years ago when it competed in the international section and won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema and the Best Acting Ensemble awards.
It was during this screening that late Alexis Tioseco was introduced to Lav Diaz. Alexis went on to become an internationally recognized advocate of Philippine cinema and founder of the online Southeast Asian film journal Criticine.
Eleven years after its premiere and three years after the foiled screening in Taguig, Lav Diaz’s infamous five-hour film finally returns to Cinemanila.
There’s still some mystery left in the life of multi-awarded director Mario O’Hara: yet another lost film — Pusang Gala — has been found.
A never-before-released film, Pusang Gala was made for TV and produced by Tony Veloria over a decade ago. It stars Janice de Belen, Ricky Davao, Gina Alajar and Yul Servo. And it remained inexplicably shelved until it was accidentally found by director Lav Diaz very shortly after O’Hara’s death.
Cinemanila will pay final respects to the great director by hosting the world premiere of Pusang Gala in this year’s edition of the festival. The screening of these films will also pay tribute to accountant-turned-independent-film-producer Tony Veloria.
The Cinemanila International Film Festival is the country’s largest and longest running international film festival. The 14th edition will run from Dec. 5 to 11 at Market! Market!, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For more information, please go to www.cinemanila.org or like Cinemanila2012 on Facebook and follow @Cinemanila2012 on Twitter.
