Tuesday, October 27, 2009

6th annual Chicago Filipino American Film Festival Schedule


Technophilia screens on Nov. 8, 2009, 4:30 pm for the CFAFF SHORTS PROGRAM.

2009 Festival Schedule

Visit our FILMS section to view programming descriptions and trailers.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6
7:00 PM Event: FAN Opening Night Reception
Join CFAFF as we kick off a weekend of film.

8:00 PM Feature Film: CONFESSIONAL by Jerrold Tarog (CAMERA Trilogy Part I)

10:00 PM Feature Film: MANGATYANAN by Jerrold Tarog (CAMERA Trilogy Part II)

10:30 PM Event: Post-party at DOLCE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7
11:00 AM Documentary Program 
MANILATOWN IS IN THE HEART
SOUNDS OF A NEW HOPE

1:00 PM Feature Film: DAYO

3:00 PM Feature Film: GIFT OF BARONG
Return engagement. Director Benito Bautista in attendance.

5:00 PM Feature Film: 100

8:00 PM Feature Film: INSIDE A CHANGE

10:30 PM Event: CFAFF Saturday Night Post-party at BON V

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8
12:00 PM Feature Film: BOSES

2:00 PM Feature Film: CONCERTO

4:30 PM Shorts Program

CFAFF SHORTS PROGRAM
“O” by Amber Rosario Manuguid
“No. 4″ by Benito Bautista
“Dumaguete Fragments” by Claro De Los Reyes
“The Scorpion and the Frog” by Dan Finley
“The Other Way Round” by Geoffrey Quan
“Technophilia” by Rianne Hill Soriano
“Among All Creatures” by Tyrone Acierto
“Flower Thieves” by Shawn Bernal
“One Year” by John P. Raposas

7:00 PM Feature Film: CREATUR 
World Premiere. Director, cast and crew in attendance.

Opening Night Reception – Friday, November 6th at 10:30 pm

Help us celebrate our opening night with a private reception at Dolce Restaurant on Friday, November 6th from 10:30 pm to 1:00 am.  Enjoy drink specials and good music with old and new friends! The CFAFF Opening Night Post-Party venue is Dolce, a new Italian/Filipino/Japanese fusion restaurant located  at 4114 N. Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL, 60618.  http://www.dolcechicago.com/

Official After Party – Saturday, November 7th at 10:30 pm

Join CFAFF as we party into the night at Chicago’s stylish ultra lounge Bon V.

A take on the French phrase for “good life”, Bon V covers two floors of a 7,500-square-foot space and is located in the West Loop neighborhood at 1100 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL 60607 http://www.bonvchicago.com

Attending Cinemanila 2009















Cinemanila was a blast. Technophilia screened at the Young Cinema Exhibition Program. Here are some additional photos during the festival.

Cinemanila Celebrates Its 11th Year with Topnotch Local and International Film Picks
By Rianne Hill Soriano

The annual Cinemanila International Film Festival celebrated its 11th year last Oct. 15 to 25, 2009 at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. 10 days of films, master classes, seminars, parties, and even reunions for many filmmakers, artists, and cinephiles… It has considerably become a part of their daily routine throughout the duration of the festival.

“Moving Forward with Moving Images.” Young as it is and still facing a number of challenges and tough times, Cinemanila is best known for the good films it shares to the Filipino audience every festival season – a mix of both local and international picks from the freshest and most promising to the well-renowned and critically-acclaimed.

Around 100 international and local films were screened – from the current toasts of the local independent scene to the award winners and favorites at prestigious festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Rotterdam, Sundance, and Pusan.

Apart from being known for its good programming of top films from all over the world, another good part of Cinemanila is that it tries to expand itself as much as it could – which then makes itself reaching out to more people. From the outdoor screenings to the 1st Cinemanila Machinima Film Festival to the Sine Barangay project, these are valuable ways to expose more people, especially those who don’t usually get to watch art-house films, to such cinema experiences.

The parts still needing improvements mostly fall under the major concern of festival budget and funding. Market! Market! and Bonifacio High Street were definitely wonderful places to situate the festival in. However, there was just one major concern for the general audience – they were not very accessible to local public transport especially to those students and working cinephiles who would have to brace rush hour traffic with mostly expensive taxi rides in order to catch their film picks at the festival. And yet, on the brighter side, it’s truly interesting to note that the local government of Taguig has welcomed Cinemanila in their progressive city this year. Personally, I felt the kind of support the Taguig government provided for the festival. In fact, if not for the transportation issue that a number of people were not able to attend due to inaccessibility of direct public transport as MRT, LRT, jeepneys, and buses from major points/work places/schools, things were then developing rather smoothly for the festival. Perhaps, this could be one major concern that festival and the city government should attend to next time – maybe by utilizing The Fort buses with effective dissemination of pick-up points to the people intending to go the festival from work places and schools, and also maybe having additional cinemas and/or outdoor screenings near these places through the help of both private institutions and other local government units. It’s about making Cinemanila a part of the subculture of the Pinoys during this time of the year – with it being customary for them to see such great films from all over the world through the festival. And we can definitely do it if we work together and support one another to make our very own Cinemanila International Film Festival a part of our valuable events to look forward to every year.

As we acknowledge all these growth and learnings, with such a young but promising international film festival by the Filipinos, we should be proud of all these efforts. Every year, we get to see these esteemed films and acknowledge the filmmakers behind them, and we also meet such inspirational people from the industry both in the local and international scenes. Kudos to Cinemanila, the filmmakers, and the Cinemanila audience!

Highlighting the 11th Cinemanila are films including:

Opening Film – Lola by Brillante Mendoza (Philippines)

Closing Film – Himpapawid (Manila Skies) by Raymond Red (Philippines)

International Competition

Jury Members – Brillante Mendoza, chair (Philippines); and Eric Sasono (Indonesia)

Cheng Du, I Love You by Fruit Chan (China)

Hunger by Steve McQueen (UK)

Independencia by Raya Martin (Philippines)

Mammoth by Lukas Moodysson (Sweden)

Machan by Uberto Pasolini, (Italy/Sri Lanka)

Milk of Sorrow by Claudia Llossa (Peru)

Pandora’s Box by Yesim Ustaoglu (Turkey/France/Germany/Belgium)

Ricky by Francois Ozon (France)

Samson and Delilah by Warwick Thornton (Australia)

Tony Manero by Pablo Larrain (Chile/Brazil)

Tulpan by Sergey Dvortsevoy (Kazakhstan)

Digital Lokal (Philippines)

Jury Members – Sonja Heinen, chair (Germany); In-Seong Yoo (Korea); Sherad Anthony Sanchez (Philippines)

Anacbanua by Christopher Gozum

Biyaheng Lupa by Armando “Bing” Lao

Ang Beerhouse by Jon Red

Dolores by Lito Casaje

69 1/2 by Ted Manotoc

Iliw by Bona Fajardo

World Cinema

Adam Resurrected by Paul Schrader (USA)

A Year Ago in Winter by Caroline Link (Germany)

Baby Doll Night by Adel Adeeb (Egypt)

Black Dynamite by Scott Sanders (USA)

Broken Embraces by Pedro Almodovar (Spain)

Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino (USA)

Let the Right One In by Tomas Alfredson (Sweden)

I Come with the Rain by Anh Hung Tran (Vietnam/USA)

My Suicide by David Lee Miller (USA)

Leonera (Lion’s Den) by Pablo Trapero (Argentina/Korea)

Asian Cinema

A Matter of Size by Sharon Maymon and Erez Tadmor (Israel)

Beautiful by Juhn Jaihong (Korea)

Call If You Need Me by James Lee (Malaysia)

Caramel by Nadine Labaki (Lebanon)

Engkwentro by Pepe Diokno (Philippines)

Jeonju Digital Project 2009: Visitors (Korea, Japan, Philippines)

Little Zizou by Sooni Taraporevala (India)

Macabre by Mo Brothers Indonesia/Singapore)

My Magic by Eric Khoo (Singapore)

Non-ko by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Japan)

Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman (Israel)

Passion by Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan)

Young Cinema Competition (Philippines)

Jury Members – Tan Chui Mui, chair (Malaysia); Kong Rithdee (Thailand); and John Torres (Philippines)

Dalaw by Janus Victoria

Harang by Mikhail Red

Ito ang Gabing Babalikan Kita Pagkatapos ng Tatlong Taon nang Hindi Maiiyak at Masasaktan by Antoinette Jadaone

Limang Libo by Ice Idanan

Save Me!!! by Ramon del Prado

Stations by Emmanuel Quindo Palo

To Siomai Love by Remton Siega Zuasola

Young Cinema Exhibition (Philippines)

The Artist Is In by Marcus Adoro

Ang Ibig Sabihin ng ‘OK Lang’ by Ryan Nikolai Dino

Gemini by Leo Valencia

Gusto Kong Lumipad by Glenn Ituriaga

Irene F**king Jordan by Paolo Herras

Karoler by Michael Angelo Dagñalan

Technophilia by Rianne Hill Soriano

Waiting Shed by Ely Buendia

SEA (Southeast Asia) Film Competition

Jury Members – Ronnie Lazaro (chair); Joel Shepard (USA); and Bee Thiam Tan (Singapore)

Adrift by Thac Chuyen Bui (Vietnam)

Bakal Boys by Ralston Jover (Philippines)

Here by Ho Tzu Nyen (Singapore)

Jermal by Ravi Bharwani (Indonesia)

Karaoke by Chris Chong (Malaysia)

A Moment in June by O Nathapon (Thailand)

Talentime by Yasmin Ahmad (Malaysia)

Woman on Fire Looks for Water by Woo Ming Jin (Malaysia)

SEA Shorts Competition

Uwan Init Pista sa Langit (Philippines) by Remton Siega Zuasola and Keith Deligero

Focal Point (Malaysia) by Alizera Khatami & Ali Seifourri

Rat (Malaysia/Taiwan) by Lau Kek Huat

Outing (Singapore) Jow Zhi Wei

Sea Horse  (Indonesia) by Shalahuddin Siregar

SEA Shorts Exhibition

Lakad ni Sammy (Philippines) by Joel P. Ruiz

Love Suicides (Malaysia) by Edmund Yeo

It’s Not Raining Outside by Yosep Anggi Noen

The 11th Cinemanila awardees are:

Main Competition

Best Actor - Alfredo Castro in Tony Manero (Chile/Brazil)

Best Actress - Tsilla Chelton in Pandora's Box (Peru/Spain)

Grand Jury Prize - Tulpan by Sergey Dvortsevoy (Germany/Kazakhstan/Switzerland/Russia/Poland)

Lino Brocka Grand Prize - Hunger by Steve McQueen (UK/Ireland)

SEA (Southeast Asia) Competition

Best SEA Short - Focal Point by Alizera Khatami and Ali Seiffouri (Malaysia)

Best SEA Film - Talentime by Yasmin Ahmad (Malaysia)

Special Mention - Woman on Fire Looks for Water by Woo Ming Jin (Malaysia)

Young Cinema (Philippines)

Best Short Film - To Siomai Love by Remton Siega Zuasola

Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema - Remton Siega Zuasola for To Siomai Love

Digital Lokal (Philippines)

Lino Grand Prize - Anacbanua by Christopher Gozum

Lino Grand Jury Prize - Biyaheng Lupa by Armando Lao

Best Director - Christopher Gozum for Anacbanua


Lifetime Achievement Award – Paul Schrader (USA)

Indie Spirit Award – Lav Diaz


Technophilia: Official Selection the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival 2009


To our friends in Chicago, hope you can watch Filipino and Filipino-American films at this year's festival from Nov. 6-8, 2009. Technophilia is screening on Nov. 8.

The Chicago Filipino American Film Festival is proud to announce the 2009 Official Selections.

Feature-Length Category

CONFESSIONAL
A young videographer travels to Cebu to film a documentary about the annual Sinulog Festival, only to discover a landscape of corruption, cultural divides, and the elusive nature of truth. Directed by Jerrold Tarog and Ruel Dahis Antipuesto, CONFESSIONAL is Part 1 of Tarog’s CAMERA Trilogy. Winner of Best ASEAN Film at the Cinemanila Film Festival. Presented with English Subtitles.

MANGATYANAN (THE BLOOD TRAIL)
In the second part of Jerrold Tarog’s ongoing CAMERA Trilogy, Laya (Che Ramos), the estranged daughter of an acclaimed photographer follows in her father’s footsteps, and is assigned to cover a tribal ritual called “the Blood Trail.” Along the way, Laya’s own journey brings her face to face with the dark secrets of her buried past.  Presented with English Subtitles.

DAYO
DAYO is the story of a young boy who travels to Elementalia, a mythical place inhabited by the dark and wondrous characters pulled from Philippine folklore. The first feature-length digital animated film produced in the Philippines , DAYO is a landmark achievement for children of all ages, and a magical adventure in the tradition of classic Disney with a distinctive Philippine flavor. With English Subtitles.

GIFT OF BARONG
Benito Bautista returns to the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival with Festival favorite, GIFT OF BARONG, an acclaimed documentary that follows two Filipino American surfers who travel to the Philippines in search of waves, and embrace their own identity as Filipinos. Presented in English and with English subtitles.

100
Chris Martinez wrote and directed 100, a moving tale about a busy professional woman who learns she is terminally ill, and is forced to re-evaluate what is important in life through a final to-do list of 100 items. Winner of an Audience Award for Best Feature at Cinemalaya, and Best Actress for Mylene Dizon. Presented with English Subtitles.

INSIDE A CHANGE
Acclaimed hip-hop music video director Rik Cordero delivers a landmark feature film that follows the story of a young man who rediscovers the importance of family on the last day before he is sent to prison. Winner of Best Film, HBO New York Latino Film Festival.

CONCERTO
A historical period piece set just outside Davao City during the Japanese occupation in World War II, CONCERTO follows the story of a family’s survival during wartime, and the music that offers common ground and understanding on both sides of the war. Winner of Best Picture at the Golden Screen Awards. English subtitles.

BOSES
A reclusive violin teacher takes a young music prodigy under his wing, while the boy’s abusive father attempts to reclaim custody of the child. Directed by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, BOSES garnered the award for Best Director and Best Film at the Golden Screen Awards. Starring Cherry Pie Picache and Ricky Davao. With English subtitles.

Documentary Program
MANILATOWN IS IN THE HEART: TIME TRAVEL WITH AL ROBLES
Directed by Curtis Choy
SOUNDS OF A NEW HOPE
Directed by Eric Tandoc

CFAFF SHORTS PROGRAM
“O” by Amber Rosario Manuguid
“No. 4″ by Benito Bautista
“Dumaguete Fragments” by Claro De Los Reyes
“The Scorpion and the Frog” by Dan Finley
“The Other Way Round” by Geoffrey Quan
“Technophilia” by Rianne Hill Soriano
“Among All Creatures” by Tyrone Acierto
“Flower Thieves” by Shawn Bernal
“One Year” by John P. Raposas

CREATUR
Based on real life experiences, CREATUR follows the story of a circle of friends whose struggle to survive in a landscape of gang violence. CFAFF is proud to present CREATUR, a feature-length Filipino American drama shot in 16mm film and produced entirely in Chicago using entirely local cast and crew. In English.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Technophilia at Cinemanila












Check out Technophilia festival information at Cinemanila website

The following photos courtesy of filmmakers Rianne Hill Soriano and Michael Angelo Dagnalan: