Pinoy named to French filmfest jury

MANILA, Philippines - Nestor Jardin, president and festival director of the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, was chosen as one of four members of the international jury for the 18th Festival Internationale des Cinemas d’Asie (International Festival for Asian Films), ongoing until Feb. 21 in Vesoul, France.

Jardin, former president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, was also executive producer of the film “Emir,” a musical about an OFW in the Middle East.

President of the jury is Atiq Rahimi, a noted and award-winning scriptwriter and documentary filmmaker from Kabul, Afghanistan now living in Paris.

The other members of the jury are Ermek Chinarbaev from Kazakhstan, a noted filmmaker whose films have been featured in Cannes and other festivals and won awards in the Locarno Film Festival; and Latika Padgaonkar from India, a scholar, festival director, film magazine editor and writer.

The jury will choose the three winners of the “Cyclo d’Or” given by the Conseil Regional de Franche-Compte: best picture, Grand Prix du Jury (jury prize) and special mention.

Nine Asian films are in competition, including Niño, the only Filipino film in the festival. Niño was a co-winner for Best Film in the 2011 Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, and picked up the Special Jury Prize in the 2011 Cinemalaya competition.

The other competition films are from Tibet, South Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Turkey.