WE spent a few days in Hong Kong last week to catch the beginning of spring before we flew back to Manila and resumed our normal duties. We took this opportunity to check out the 2017 Hong Kong FilmArt, an annual event film people look forward to as it gathers the most significant players from around the world.
This year more than 800 exhibitors from more than 60 countries participated, setting up their booths at the huge Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the Wan Chai district.
And when we passed by the Philippine Pavilion, beautifully set up by the hardworking young men and women of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), we immediately felt pride knowing this new team was determined to put the Philippines on the map among major film players from different parts of the globe.
We saw chairman Liza Diño-Seguerra busy meeting with foreign producers and distributors. She managed to say hello after a meeting and apologized that she had to go to her next one right away. We asked her staff how many meetings she had accepted for the day, and we were told she was fully booked until 6 pm that day.
We chanced upon some filmmakers and producers who were there to present and pitch their films. Pedring Lopez was busy talking about Nilalang and his other planned film projects to possible distributors. Producer-filmmaker Perci Intalan was there to sell Die Beautiful.
The dynamic Gutierrez couple, Chuck and BabyRuth, was there to sell Sunday Beauty Queen and some other future projects. Producers Anne Prado Magadia and her brother John Paul Prado were also busy scouting for foreign distributors for their film Dagsin. Photographer-filmmaker David Fabros and his Singapore-Filipino trainee Clarence Yim were also busy pitching their film concept Luna y Salvacion to possible financiers.
Los Angeles-based filmmaker John Paul Su also had some productive meetings for his film Toto. Su was joined by Bibeth Orteza-Siguion-Reyna and Manet Dayrit, who are both investors in the film that won Best Film and best actor for Sid Lucero at the 2016 Los Angeles Comedy Festival.
While visiting some of the European booths, we were surprised and elated to see the trailer of the Filipino film Purgatoryo on the LED screen of Reel Suspects, a multifaceted French “all rights” distribution company that specializes in art-house fare, ranging from genre and niche films (such as cult and video arts, thrillers, LGBT and even erotic movies), with an eye on emerging filmmakers.
With the eye-catching cinematography (Mycko David and Cesca Lee) of the movie directed by young filmmaker Derrick Cabrido, produced by Sarah Santiago, and featuring wonderful performances by Jess Mendoza, Kristoffer King, Bernardo Bernardo and Samuel Quintana, the film was immediately bought by Reel Suspects.
CMB Film Services Inc. top honcho Jim Gallardo-Baltazar and top cinematographer Rody Lacap also took part in the many activities lined up for the film expo and market. We also met Jean Go-Marasigan of BG Productions Inc. at the fair.
We were happy to see filmmaker Sigrid Bernardo (Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita, Lorna and Kita-Kita) and her producer Alemberg Ang, who were pitching their new film concept ImPerfect at the Hong Kong Asia Financing Forum, a subsection of the FilmArt that aims to connect filmmakers to international financiers and other industry players.
FDCP’s aggressive positioning at the FilmArt this year is due to its thorough understanding of its mandate to undertake activities that will promote the Filipino local film industry in foreign markets.
The FDCP, with the able support of agencies, including the National Film Archives of the Philippines, Philippine Film Export Service Office, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines (TPB’s controversial head Cesar Montano showed up), QCinema International Film Festival and Quezon City Film Development Commission (represented by Ed Lejano), put up the Philippine Pavilion, and we witnessed the many visitors who came and turned it into a very busy pavilion.
“I’m exhilarated by the amazing turnout of film companies that we showcased in our Philippine Pavilion. The HK FilmArt is one great opportunity for us to network and explore endless opportunities with our foreign counterparts. With this convention, we hope to not only show the world the best of the best of the Philippine film industry, but, more important, to learn, to be inspired, to network and to widen our understanding and collaboration with the international market,” Diño said.
Will Charo Santos winat the Asian Film Awards?
WE caught up with the ever-busy Ronald Arguelles, channel head of Cinema One, in Hong Kong. Arguelles participated at the FilmArt and will stay longer and attend the awards ceremonies of the 2017 Asian Film Awards (AFA) scheduled tomorrow, where the film he produced, Ang Babaeng Humayo, is nominated in three categories: Best Actress for Charo Santos, Best Screenplay for Lav Diaz and Best Director also for Lav Diaz.
“Lav is not attending but Charo is,” Arguelles shared, adding the AFA returns to Hong Kong after being held in Macau for the part three years. “The AFA is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, that’s why the ceremonies have been brought back to Hong Kong this year.”
Santos will be up against a formidable lineup that includes Son Ye-jin (The Last Princess), top favorite Fan Bingbing (I Am Not Madame Bovary), Haru Kuroki, (A Bride for Rip Van Winkle) and Kara Wai (Happiness).
It would be nice to see Santos bring home the award, because it was exactly 40 years ago when she was hailed Asia’s Best Actress for Mike de Leon’s Itim. Incidentally, Santos will start shooting a new film with Diaz in Singapore (and, maybe, Germany) sometime soon.
Arguelles, who is also in the thick of making the final selection for the annual Cinema One Originals independent-filmmaking competition, also shared his dismay over the final outcome of Cinema One’s appeal to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, which slapped an R-18 rating to the Petersen Vargas movie 2Cool2BForgotten. “They originally gave us an R-16 rating, then after we appealed, they gave an R-18. It’s just so frustrating.”
We understand where Arguelles’s sentiments are coming from. If a movie is given an R-18 rating, then it cannot be shown in any of the SM cinemas nationwide, so the movie loses many theaters right away. Then this week, the small film that won the Best Picture at the CinemaOne Festival last November is facing Beauty and the Beast, so imagine how tough it is for the movie to be noticed.
Oh, well.