Carlo Encisco Catu named Talented New Director in London filmfest

MANILA, Philippines – Carlo Encisco Catu (right), director of indie film ARI (My Life With A King), won the Talented New Director Award in the eighth International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema in London, United Kingdom last Saturday, Feb. 26.  

Catu defeated 13 other new international film directors, namely Dogul Akal and Onur Saylak, The Jungle (Turkey); Ignacio Velasquez, Francine (Chile); Kirsty Robinson, Tea + Cake (UK); Marcelo Torcida, Happy Those Who Cry (Paraguay); Richard Summers-Calvent, Pundemic (USA); Marty Madden, Cotton (USA); Esquire Jauchem, Bondage (USA); Osei Bonsu, Shine (USA); Shaub Abdul Miah, Death Do Us Part (UK); Mark Nistico, Blue Collar Boys (USA); Alexandra Hargreaves, Thinker (New Zealand); and Lynne Alana Delaney, The Remake (USA).

ARI is about Jaypee (played by newcomer Ronwaldo Martin, younger brother of Coco Martin), “a Kapampangan youth who doesn’t know how to speak in Kapampangan and doesn’t want to, until he runs into a compelling but weird character known as the King of Kapampangan poets, Conrado Guinto.”

The film was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor for a Foreign Language Film (for Ronwaldo), Best Original Screenplay for a Foreign Language Film (for Robby Tantingco) and Best Editing for a Foreign Language Film (Carlo Francisco Manatad).

It is ARI’s third international award in a span of five months. It won for Catu the Best World Film in the 11th Harlem International Film Festival in New York in Sept. 2015 and Best Debut Director in the first All Lights India International Film Festival in Kochi, India in Nov. 2015. ARI received the MMFF New Wave Best Film.

Louie Ignacio, director of Laut (nominated in four categories including Best Director for a Foreign Language Film and Best Foreign Language Film), indie producer Ferdinand Dizon Lapuz, producer Baby Go and daughter Pamela attended the awards night.