Filipino Film Festival Nov 9-12 @AMC Kabuki: ABS-CBN’s Cinematografo International Film Festival

ABS-CBN’s Cinematografo International Film Festival Opening is on November 9 and the Philippine Consulate General is a co-presentor of the Opening Film, “Larawan”. Director Loy Arcenas, Rachel Alejandro (actress), and Maestro Ryan Cayabyab (composer) will all be in attendance.
 
The opening screening of "Larawan" on November 9, Thursday, will be at 6pm at AMC Kabuki 1 in Japantown, San Francisco. 

For more information, you can visit: http://cinematografofilmfestival.com/festival/films/ang-larawan/

Here are some of the highlights of the 4-day festival (Nov 9-12) at AMC Kabuki 1 in Japantown, San Francisco:
 
November 09 (Thursday)  / 6:00pm
U.S PREMIERE OPENING FILM: “Larawan” (the Portrait) directed by Loy Arcenas at 6pm.
In attendance are: Director Loy Arcenas, Maestro Ryan Cayabyab, Producer Girlie Rodis, and Actor Rachel Alejandro
 
November 11 (Saturday) 7:30pm
TRIBUTE TO FILM MAKER, RAMONA DIAZ: “Motherland” directed by Ramona Diaz at 7:30pm
In attendance will be Global FWN100™ 2015 Awardee Ramona Diaz and a Q&A happens immediately after the screening.
This is a very powerful piece and if you love documentaries, I highly recommend it
 
November 11 (Saturday) 8:00pm
Digitally Remastered classic release of “Sana Maulit Muli” (Hopefully Once More) starring Aga Muhlach and Lea Salonga
In attendance will be the director Olivia Lamasan and a short Q&A will happen immediately after the screening.
 
November 12 (Sunday) 6:00pm
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE CLOSING FILM: “Ghost Bride” directed by Chito Ronio
Genre: Asian Horror

Reserve your tickets now!

WooHoo! Ramona Diaz (Global FWN100™ '15) Scores Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship

Photo credit: Jen Rynda, Baltimore Sun.

Ramona Diaz remembers the moment during her college years that she realized she was destined to make movies.

"I was influenced by seeing Francois Truffaut's "Day for Night", a movie about a film director trying to get his movie made," said Diaz. "I was so enamored with it. It was such a romantic notion."

Diaz quickly switched her focus from photography to filmmaking and earned a master's degree in communication and documentary filmmaking from Stanford University.

Today Diaz, who was born in the Philippines and lives in Mt. Washington, is an award-winning documentary filmmaker known for her character-driven subjects that range from rock stars to dissidents.

Diaz is perhaps best known for her acclaimed documentary "Don't Stop Believin': Every Man's Journey" about the iconic 1980s rock band Journey and its new Filipino lead singer Arnel Pineda, whom the band discovered through YouTube.
 

Although Diaz had heard of the band Journey, she wasn't a diehard rock 'n' roll fan. Still, she was intrigued by Pineda's rags-to-riches story. After receiving an unsolicited email with a link to Pineda singing, Diaz was hooked.

"I met Arnel," said Diaz, whose films often spotlight Filipinos. "I knew he was a good person to have in a film. I really believed in him. He was what we call in the documentary world 'golden.'"

Diaz approached Journey's management about making a documentary. After submitting a a 10-minute test film, Diaz was given the green light by the band to make the movie.

"Don't Stop" opened in 2012 at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival and had its international premiere at the Dubai Film Festival. The film was also screened at the Charles Theatre in Baltimore in 2013.

"She [Diaz] is an amazing asset for filmmaking," said Baltimore producer Capella Fahoome, who worked with Diaz on "Don't Stop." "As a producer I get to work with a lot of directors. Ramona is a visionary; she immerses herself in her projects. She's very willing to share knowledge and resources."

"Anytime I see a filmmaker, especially a woman, it's inspiring," said Amy Kozak, a Baltimore filmmaker and head of the Baltimore Documentary Group.

Diaz has been a juror at major film festivals around the world, including South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Silverdocs Film Festival in Silver Spring.

In 2011, public television aired Diaz's film "The Learning," a documentary inspired by a series of Baltimore Sun articles by former reporter Sara Neufeld. The film followed the lives of four Filipino women who reluctantly leave their home to teach in Baltimore City schools.

Earlier this year, Diaz was one of three Baltimoreans to receive a prestigious 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship, along with musician Neil Feather and Johns Hopkins University professor Mitchell B. Merback. The fellowships are awarded annually to writers, performers and artists with proven track records and "exceptional promise."

Read the rest of the story here.
News story from Baltimore Sun

New Filipino Cinema Presents 11 Screenings of Filipino films at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Insiang (1975) Directed by Lino Brocka

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts' New Filipino Cinema series is now in its fifth year! Each edition captures a diverse and compelling snapshot of the best films coming out of this unique nation of islands. Through continued investment in this series, YBCA helps amplify creative voices seldom heard outside the Philippines. New Filipino Cinema runs from June 9th to July 3rd.

From a classic film recently restored by Martin Scorsese’s foundation, to the tale of a transgender person who becomes pregnant, to a historical epic about the battle against US invaders during the Philippine-American War, the 2016 presentation covers issues of importance to the people of the Philippines and the world more broadly. Co-curated by Filipino movie critic Philbert Ortiz Dy and YBCA’s Joel Shepard, the program offers up box-office hits, edgy indies, and family-friendly films. Buy tickets here.
 

Insigne
Dir. Lino Brocka
Thu, Jun 9, 7:30 PM
Sun, Jun 12, 4:30 PM

We begin by going back in time to honor perhaps the Philippines’ greatest filmmaker and most independent spirit, Lino Brocka, with a brand-new restoration of his masterwork, Insiang. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, says: “Shot under extreme pressures of time (roughly 11 days), money, and government censorship, Insiang has lost none of its political urgency or vitality. Brocka, the Philippines’ most internationally celebrated filmmaker working within—and against—the Marcos dictatorship, masterfully fuses documentary realism with classic melodrama to chart the fate of one teenage girl, the beautiful and waifish Insiang, who becomes hardened and vengeful after her boyfriend abandons her to the predatory sexual advances of her mother’s lover.” (1976, 95 min., Tagalog with English subtitles)


Sleepless
Dir. Prime Cruz
Sat, Jun 11, 4:30 PM
Thu, Jun 23, 7:30 PM

What is it like to be young in Manila nowadays? You’re likely working in a call center, fielding calls from half a world away while the rest of the city sleeps. You’re likely living alone in a small apartment. You’re likely making bad choices to keep the loneliness at bay.Sleepless, a smash indie hit, is a story of what it takes to survive in metro Manila, and finding the connections that will keep you sane. Starring Glaiza de Castro and Dominic Roco. (2015, 97 min., Tagalog with English subtitles)
 

Honor Thy Father
Dir. Erik Matti
Sat, Jun 11, 7 PM
Sun, Jun 19, 4:15 PM

One of the biggest movie stars in the country, John Lloyd Cruz, teams up with maverick director Erik Matti to deliver a grim tale of survival set in the cold northern regions of the Philippines. A man with a dark past must delve back into that darkness to save his family following the collapse of a massive pyramid scheme. Honor Thy Father is a tense, noirish story of corruption, religion, and betrayal. (2015, 115 min., Tagalog and Kankanaey with English subtitles)
 

Miss Bulalacao
Dir. Ara Chawdhury
Sun, Jun 12, 2 PM, Director in person
Sat, Jul 2, 4:30 PM

A drag princess gets pregnant following an alien abduction, and rumors of immaculate conception raise his status to that of a cult leader. Bursting with small-town flavor, this film displays a keen understanding of the nation’s evolving attitudes toward gay people. (2015, 102 min., Bisaya with English subtitles)(2015, 102 min., Bisaya with English subtitles)
 

The House by the Bamboo Grove (An Kubo Sa Kawayanan)
Dir. Alvin Yapan
Thu, Jun 16, 7:30 PM
Sun, Jul 3, 2 PM

Set in the lush Bicol countryside, this mystical fairy tale focuses on the reclusive Michelle, an embroiderer who finds profound comfort in her plain little kubo (hut). Her boyfriend and others try to convince her to leave for greener pastures elsewhere, but Michelle’s hut, and the simple things around it, communicate happiness and security in a language only she can understand. Starring Mercedes Cabral (Thy Womb). (2015, 88 min., Tagalog and Bicol with English subtitles)

Preceded by Tami-aw (Serene) by Mary Ann Gabisan, an intimate portrait of a rural 4Ps (social welfare) recipient. (2015, 11 min, Bisaya with English subtitles)

Check out the rest of the roster here.
BUY TICKETS.

Ramona Diaz, The Visionary Behind 'Imelda' and 'Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey' on Global FWN100™ '15 Award

Photo credit: PhilStar.com

Filipino-American film director Ramona Diaz, the woman behind such acclaimed documentaries as Imelda, The Learning and Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey, was recently hailed one of 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World by the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN).

The Filipina Women’s Network is a San Francisco-based non-profit professional organization for women of Philippine ancestry with members worldwide.

The Global FWN100 Awards honor Filipino women who are changing the face of leadership in their local communities and in the countries they now call home.

It is a much deserved accolade for Diaz, whose film Imelda, a full-length documentary about the former First Lady of the Philippines, garnered the Excellence in Cinematography Award for documentary at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and the ABCNews VideoSource Award from the IDA.

In an interview with FWN, Diaz said she makes films about “the Filipino experience for a global audience.”

“We are often represented as minor characters, even in our own narratives. We seldom see ourselves represented on the screen in a lead role,” Diaz noted.

Through her films, she intends to make a difference in the way Filipinos are projected.

“I hope to be impactful by changing those expectations and bringing our experiences to a global, mainstream audience,” she said.

The best part of being a Filipina woman leader is “upending expectations and stereotypes.”

Not that it has been easy. She told FWN: “Being a woman in the film industry is challenging enough. Being a woman of color in the film industry is a double whammy. Every day is about making myself visible and heard.”

Read more here.
Story courtesy of PhilStar.