Brillante competes in San Sebastian Fest

After harvesting honors in Cannes, Berlin and Venice, Brillante Mendoza is competing for the first time in the San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF) with Alpha: The Right to Kill. He’s pitted against 11 other awarded directors from around the world in the festival that opens Sept. 21 for the Golden Seashell plum, including Felix Van Groeningen (for Beautiful Boys, produced by Brad Pitt), Louis Garrel (A Faithful Man), Peter Strickland (In Fabric), Liu Jie (Baby) and Swedish actress Tuva Novotny (Blind Spot, her helming debut). 

The six directors join the six others whose participation was announced earlier.

Last year, Underground, a film produced by Brillante and directed by newcomer Daniel Palacio, was shown at the SSIFF’s New Directors category

Like Brillante’s Netflix-streamed series AMO and Ma’Rosa (that won Jaclyn Jose Best Actress in Cannes), The Right to Kill is set at the background of the Philippine government’s scourged-earth crackdown on illegal drugs. Part of the synopsis: The police force led by the SWAT executes an operation to arrest Abel, a big-time methamphetamine (shabu) distributor, with PO3 Moises Espino and his informant Elijah providing intelligence.  A violent battle erupts between the SWAT and Abel’s group in the middle of the slum area. Abel escapes the scene, taking sums of money and methamphetamines in his bag. The SWAT kills Abel…

Anyway, if you’ve been following accounts of the anti-drug drive in the papers and newscast, you can probably guess what happens after that.

Will Brillante create another record at San Sebastian?

So far, he has won Best Director for the following films:

• Ma’Rosa (2016) ­— 54th Gijon Film Festival and 1st Malaysian Film Festival;

• Thy Womb (2012) — 38th Metro Manila Film Festival;

• Kinatay (2009) — 62nd Cannes Film Festival, 42nd Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival, 33rd Gawad Urian Award and 7th Golden Screen Award Philippines;

• Serbis (2008) — 6th International Pacific Meridian Film Festival of Asia – Jury Award; and

• Tirador (2007) — 31st Gawad Urian Award and 21st Singapore International Film Festival.

Bistek’s colorful life laid bare in book

Quezon City Mayor Herbert ‘Bistek’ Bautista at a lunch he hosted for movie writers born from January to June at his office at the Quezon City Hall…

Every year, Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista hosts a birthday lunch (or dinner) for his movie writer friends, like recently first lunch for those born from January to June at a function room of the Quezon City Hall and then dinner for those born from July to December.

During the open forum, Bistek revealed a lot but requested the movie media to keep “off the record” especially concerning “some” of his love life. It’s public knowledge that the Mayor has four children by two different women, none of whom he married (but both have remained his good friends), making people suspect that, well, he’s not the marrying kind. Comedians are great lovers and Philippine Cinema has a long roster of them, right?

Funfare has just finished reading Bistek@50, Life in Full Color, The Herbert Bautista Biography, copies of which he distributed during the lunch/dinner.

Bistek’s sister Harlene (wife of Romnick Sarmenta) wrote this touching opener:

When I was about 11 years old. Kuya would often come home from work morning na talaga — as in like 7 or 8 a.m.

Every single time, he would lie beside me and cover my ears with his hands. He would do that for a good five minutes or so.

Years later, I joined a spiritual retreat and I received letters from family and loved ones. In Kuya’s letter, he revealed to me the reason why he covered my ears when we were younger. He said he wanted to protect me from the noise of the world so I could sleep soundly.

And he still does that to this day. Not covering my ears with his hands though, but making sure that I am protected from the givens of this world.

He has always been there to protect me. He is indeed my Captain Barbell, my Pinoy superhero…Kuya ko.

…with brother Hero and sister Harlene and (inset) the cover of his Life in Full Color biography — Reprinted from the book

Some tidbits from the book:

• His monicker Bistek is short for Bisayang Intsik. It originated from the TV show 2+2 in which his character was named, yes, Bistek;

• His friends said that the young Bistek was “torpe” (shy) where courting girls was concerned. For a long time, he kept secret his big crush on Lea Salonga (with whom he starred in Like Father, Like Son; Captain Barbell; Ninja Kids; Dear Diary; and Pik Pak Boom). He didn’t pursue Lea when a lady writer told him that Lea “does not want someone who’s also in showbiz”; and

• Bistek and Ruby Rodriguez had “a rather long relationship,” although when asked about it up to now, he would mouth the showbiz cliché “we are just good friends.”

(Reminder: Get a copy of the book and find out the other ”colors” in Bistek’s life.)

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