RP’s Donsol among 63 foreign Oscar entries
It’s not time to celebrate just yet but it’s a good enough reason for the country to hope for the best while keeping our collective fingers crossed.
The good news is that Donsol, the film submitted to the Best Foreign Language Film category of next year’s Oscars, has qualified as one of the 63 films from different countries, meaning it will compete for the Top Five from which the winner will be chosen during Oscar night early next year.
Hundreds of films from around the world are submitted for consideration to the Oscars every year. It’s not the first time that a Filipino film has qualified. Among those which did were Gatas, Saranggola and Munting Tinig (released internationally by Columbia Pictures, retitled Small Voices), all directed by Gil M. Portes; Inagaw Mo ang Lahat sa Akin by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna; Anak by Rory B. Quintos; and, two years ago, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros by Aureaus Solito which is, like Donsol, an “indie” film.
Donsol was selected by the Film Academy of the Philippines as the country’s entry to the Oscars because it passed all the requirements of the awards – that the film should at least be screened in local theaters in 2006, not in the English language and has a 35mm version (said to be rare among current independently-produced digital films).
Already twice an international winner – the Jury Award at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in
Shot entirely in Donsol town in Sorsogon which is noted for friendly whalesharks (known as butanding), Donsol is a heart-warming study of relationships that could but cannot and never will be. Sid plays Daniel, the lonesome Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO) who guides tourists in diving interaction with the butanding. Daniel is drawn to Teresa (Angel), a breast-cancer survivor as beautiful and as mysterious as the enormous visitors of the sea.
“This is special to me,” Sid told The STAR. “I am just so happy when I learned that Donsol made it to the shortlist of 63 films for Oscar consideration. We all worked very hard for the movie. It’s my first lead role, a project that I am very proud of. If Donsol makes it to the Final Five, then whew, it will be a ‘first’ for the country.”
“That’s super good news,” Angel also told The STAR. “Let’s all pray and hope for the best, and take things one at a time. It’s a good movie with a lot of heart, a lot of beautiful sights, sounds and local color. I’m so glad to be a part of it.”
Alix described Donsol, his directorial debut, as a poignant love story about two people who may or may not end up together.
“Both of them are haunted by their past, so they connected in this seemingly Edenic paradise but they have to face realities...”
Alix is now in Batanes shooting his latest movie, Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, also starring Sid. His second movie, Kadin, the Goat was also shot in Batanes and screened in the 3rd Cinemalaya film festival last July.
Other films in the list of 63 vying for the Oscar top 5 include
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