Award-winning Filipino directors to hold free talks, screenings at 20th Cine Europa

MANILA, Philippines — Award-winning Filipino directors Brillante Mendoza and Lav Diaz are among those scheduled to give free lectures and screenings in time for the 20th anniversary of Cine Europa film festival in the Philippines.

As the educational component of the 20th Cine Europa, screenings and open forums for Filipino flicks that recently made waves in Europe are ongoing at the Premiere Theater of Shang Cineplex.

On September 23, there will be a screening of “2Cool To Be Forgotten,” Audience Choice Award winner at the Torino Film Festival, at 1 p.m. This will be followed with an open discussion with director Petersen Vargas and writer and film critic Gay Ace Domingo.

At 3 p.m., there will be a screening of the documentary “Journeyman Finds A Home (The Life Story of Simone Rota).” This film, still a work in progress, was shot in Milan in Italy, featuring the biography of a Filipino-Italian football player now representing the Philippines’ men’s football team. Raised in Italy, Rota was abandoned as a child.

After the screening, Rota will join Doy Del Mundo, Maricel Cariaga and Albert Almendralejo in a panel discussion.

On September 23, from 1 to 6:30 p.m., there will be a screening of Lav Diaz’s “Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon,” Grand Prize winner (Golden Leopard) at the 2014 Locarno Film Festival, making it the first Filipino film to be at the festival’s main competition. It has also won other recognitions such as FIPRESCI award, Don Quixote Award, Junior Jury Award, and Best Foreign Language Film in Sao Paolo Film Festival.

Hazel Orencio, who won Best Actress for the film at the Boccalino D’Oro Independent Critics Awards, will introduce the film. She will be joined by Diaz and educator and film critic, Richard Bolisay.

Last September 17, Cannes Festival-winning director Brillante Mendoza and TV5 Executive Vincent “Chot” Reyes held a screening and an open discussion of Mendoza’s “Amo,” the film made for TV that was featured in the distribution market of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

This was followed by a screening of Mendoza’s “Kadaungan,” a love story between a Dutch journalist and a Filipina in Cebu. “Kadaungan” also premiered on TV5.

Through these educational efforts, the 20th Cine Europa hopes to help more Filipino filmmakers like Lav and Brillante to know more about the distribution market of the Cannes Film Festival and eventually, make waves and earn recognition in Europe and beyond.