2nd Sinag Maynila Film Festival unreels at SM Cinemas
by Archie Liao
Dedicated to the creation of opportunities for the artistic interaction and exchange among independent filmmakers and the film-going community, Sinag Maynila is poised to become the top independent film festival in the country.
“This year’s edition is bigger and better. We have introduced new sections like short film category and the Samsung Cinephone category where student filmmakers get the chance to showcase their talents and represent their respective schools”, says Festival Director Brillante Mendoza.
Five talented filmmakers collaborated with Mendoza under the full-length features category.
Their collaboration resulted in stories that focus on Pinoy culture with relevant messages that resonate globally.
This year’s entries under the full-length film category are:
MRS. by Adolf Alix Jr.
Starring: Elizabeth Oropesa, Lotlot de Leon, Rosanna Roces, Anita Linda, Mark Herras.
70-year-old Virginia shares the old ancestral house with Delia, her ever-loyal maid. Delia is marrying her long-time boyfriend, Rene, and tearfully confides to Virginia that she wants to go home to her parents in the province to start a new family life with him. Haunted by a past that Virginia tries to conquer—her only son Sonny Boy who disappeared years ago, what follows shows a portrait of a woman and a mother trying to juggle the sad realities of life in a cycle of life and death.
EXPRESSWAY by Ato Bautista
Starring Alvin Anson, Aljur Abrenica, RK Bagatsing, Kiko Matos, Inez Bernardo, Japo Parcero, Arpee Bautista, Jim Libiran.
A syndicate old-timer named Ben needs to do one last assignment before the boss he works for grants him his much delayed retirement. Assigned to be his partner is the neophyte Morris, a trigger-happy, sadist who yearns to impress the syndicate boss. For Ben, this last assignment turns out to be a journey of introspection, self-healing and redemption. With this awakening, he takes it upon himself to pull Morris out of the eventual hell-of-a-life he says he has lived as a hitman.
DYAMPER by Mes De Guzman
Starring Carlo Aquino, Alchris Galura, Tim Mabalot, Kristofer King, Liza Dino-Seguerra, Debbie Garcia.
Three friends wait along Dalton Pass every dawn to jump at the back of rice delivery trucks to steal the goods and sell it at the wet market as their means of income. One of them accidentally gets a pack of drugs in one of the trucks they jumped and finds themselves in jeopardy when its owners track them down to retrieve the stash, and gives them a chance to get off the hook by means of taking on a risky mission.
T.P.O. by Joselito Altarejos
Starring Oliver Aquino, Mara Lopez, Micko Laurente, Menggie Cobarrubias, Lui Manansala.
Teresa is a battered mother in the hands of her husband, Miguel. When their son Miguelito starts to get hurt as violence erupts at its worst, Teresa will seek Temporary Prtotection Order (TPO) against her husband. Meanwhile, Miguel, together with their son, goes through the same long and arduous process of applying for the custody of their son on the town’s most festive and busiest day. When they see each other in the middle of the road, an accident will ensue leaving them both destroyed and at the losing end. The narrative will start repeating backwards, the truth will be revealed with scenes that have yet to unfold.
LILA by Gino Santos
Starring Janine Gutierrez, Enchong Dee, Sherry Alingod, Migs Cuaderno.
Jess is a young woman running from her past and moves into the house of a warmhearted landlady. She finds a diary in her room that belonged to an old tenant. As days pass, strange occurrences ensue and the diary’s words take an eerie turn when Jess finds herself in the middle of a malevolent turn of events from a dark past not entirely her own.
Conceptualized and helmed by its CEO and Founder Wilson Tieng, together with world-renowned and internationally acclaimed film director Brillante Mendoza, Sinag Maynila gives grants to deserving filmmakers to develop their materials into full-length films for public exhibition.
Aside from full length features, the festival features shorts and Cinephone entries.
Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival 2016 unreels in selected SM cinemas from April 21 to 26.
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