Mother Lily Is Right After All

In this title-conscious and title-hungry country, it won't do any harm to add one more, will it?

And the winner is Klaudia Koronel who stars in Toro (Live Show) by director Joey Javier Reyes and Naked Under the Moon (Hubad Sa Ilalim ng Buwan) by Lav Diaz, to be shown respectively in the Panorama Section (along with Seiko Films' Burlesk King) and in the "Forum Section of the 50th Berlin International Film Festival this month.

Yes, Klaudia is the "50th Berlinale Queen." A bold star "reigning" in a prestigious international film festival. How about that?

Toro and Naked/Hubad are both produced by Mother Lily's Regal Films, the same producer harshly and relentlessly criticized by some elements in the movie industry for resorting to making low-budget (so-called pito-pito) films as emergency measure four years ago when the industry was slipping into a big slump. At that time, the characteristically loquacious but media-shy Regal Matriarch kept mum on the "issue," refusing to hit back at her critics.

She could have said, "If you want to splurge tens of millions of pesos per project, go right ahead. That's your right and strategy. But leave me alone to my own 'right' and strategy." But Mother Lily decided that silence was the better part of discretion. Time has vindicated her -- and how!

Naked/Hubad is among the dozen or so pito-pito films produced by Mother Lily, with Lav Diaz and Jeffrey Jeturian among the talented new (pito-pito) directors discovered by her. Other pito-pito worthies include Ang Kriminal Ng Bo. Concepcion (also by Lav Diaz), Sisa (by old-timer Mario O'Hara), and Sana Pagibig Na and Pila-Balde (both by Jeturian), all of which are doing the rounds of international film festivals.

See. Mother Lily is right after all. She has proved beyond any reasonable doubt that even a low-budget (not more than P5 million per pito-pito) film can make heads turn abroad if it's done well. (Remember the also low-budget Taiwanese film The Wedding Banquet which was praised in various international film festivals?)

Incidentally, Mother Lily has appointed Joey Javier Reyes as head of a new division of Regal Films devoted to the making of films intended for the international market.

Meanwhile, here's additional info on the 50th Berlinale from Funfare international correspondent Ferdinand Lapuz:

I am leaving for Berlin on Feb. 8. I will be there in time to attend the European premiere of Mel Chionglo's Burlesk King on the 9th. It is the opening film of the Panorama Section. Even before its European bow, Robbie Tan of Seiko Films has signed a deal with Zalsgeber and Co. for Burlesk King's German distribution.

The world premiere of Toro (Live Show) is on Feb. 11, 10:45 p.m. at the CineStar3. It is in the Panorama Section along with Burlesk King; Naked Under the Moon (Hubad sa Ilalim ng Buwan) will have its international premiere on Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. in the Forum Section.

Although Toro remains unshown in the Philippines, it has been officially invited to the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival (March), Bogota (Colombia) International Film Festival (October) and Brussels Independent Film Festival in November.

The complete list of Filipino delegates to Berlin are:

* Naked Under the Moon: Director Lav Diaz and actors Joel Torre and Klaudia Koronel

* Toro: Director Jose Javier Reyes, director Khryss Adalia, director Don Escudero, production designer Jake de Asis and Ana Capri

* Burlesk King: Producer Robbie Tan and Rodel Velayo

Last Saturday, House Speaker Manny Villar had a tete-a-tete with a group of movie writers at Annabel's Restaurant (Quezon City), organized by Lolit Solis.

You guessed it: Villar "hinted" to the movie press that he will run for Senator, a "hint" he confirmed the next day during a speaking engagement in Davao. Villar sure knows the right medium. When former President Fidel Ramos and Danding Cojuangco ran in the 1992 elections, they held presscons exclusively for the movie press (movie columns are avidly read by people from the AB and CD classes).

Funfare wouldn't be surprised if Villar would use the movies to boost his Senatorial bid. Will he have his Cinderella life story made into a movie? Why not?

The Villar biopic will run this way ("synopsis" courtesy of Lolit Solis):

Once upon a time, on Dec. 13, 1949, Manuel "Manny" B. Villar, Jr. was born in Moriones, Tondo, Manila, to a government employee and a seafood dealer.

With business running in his blood, he chose to help his mother sell shrimp and fish in a public market at age 11, instead of playing trumpo and tumbang preso with his friends.

Working his way to college, he was able to finish Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines and later on completed Masters in Business Administration.

After college, he immediately worked as an accountant at SGV but resigned shortly to embark on his own seafood delivery business. Unfortunately, his dream of succeeding in the field was cut short when a restaurant failed to pay him.

As if there was a fairy godmother guiding him, he found himself in front of the office of the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines and with luck on his side, the company took him as a financial analyst.

In 1975, with two reconditioned trucks which he bought for P10,000, he started his sand-and-gravel business in Las Piñas. While delivering supplies to big developers, he kept his mind open on the latest trends in housing and came up with the idea of selling house-and-lot packages at very reasonable prices.

Instead of focusing his attention on the A-B market, he focused on catering to the needs of C-D-E market, building houses at 120 sqm. lots when developers that time were offering 240 sqm lots. This time, his prayers were answered as his houses sold like hotcakes.

At 26, he already reached the "millionaire" status, ready to conquer the world with his wealth. Instead of shifting his attention to accommodate the needs of the upper class, he further focused his attention on the needs of the medium and lower-income Filipinos.

Applying what he has learned in college, he initiated mass-housing projects to achieve economies of scale, introduced development projects within subdivisions buying off their rights of ways, and pioneered the use of second real estate mortgages to make houses affordable to many people.

In 1992, looking for other ways to serve the people besides providing them with affordable housing units, he decided to run for congressman in the lone district of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa. Garnering close to a hundred thousand votes, he won with the most overwhelming mandate among Metro Manila congressmen.

Villar applied his economic and managerial expertise as a key member of the House of Representative's economic team, providing measures such as the New Foreign Investments Act and Bank Liberalization Law to institute a stable economy. In his own district, he has also emerged as a very concerned public official, overseeing various infrastructure projects like the Alabang-Zapote flyover, widening of the Daang Hari Road, and establishment of the Friendship Route and the famous Las Piñas Historical Corridor among others.

His impressive performance in Congress led to his re-election on 1995 and in 1998, he clinched his third and final term. Earning the trust of his colleagues in the House of Representatives, he was elected as the Speaker at 48, the youngest in Congress' history.

Speaker Villar is happily married to Cynthia. Their partnership dates back to their college days at UP. Their fruitful relationship is blessed with two sons, Paolo and Mark, and a daughter, Camille.