Filipino film 'Rigodon' awarded best feature film in Greece

Filipino independent filmmakers Sari Dalena and Keith Sicat won the Best Feature Film award for their debut feature RIGODON in the international competition category at the 8th International Panorama of Independent Filmmakers in Athens, Greece last September 30.

"RIGODON is a beautiful film and it is my personal honor to have your film at our festival," Panorama festival director Chionidis Panagiotis said.

The 80-minute feature, which was screened in the festival last September 28, follows the spiritual journeys of three Filipino immigrants, in post-9/11 New York City, whose lives intertwine in the age of racial profiling and government crackdowns.

Written and directed by Dalena and Sicat, RIGODON stars Joel Torre, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, and Arthur Acuna. The film has been getting accolades from audiences and critics since its premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film has also screened at the Fribourg and Cinemanila International Film Festivals.

RIGODON has been nominated for awards at the New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Asian American International Film Festivals.

RIGODON most recently screened at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and is set to screen at the Institute of Contemporary Art as part of the Boston Asian American Film Festival, Austin Asian Film Festival and Chicago Filipino American Film Festival on November. RIGODON was also invited to screen at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York on January 2007.

Another Philippine entry, Lababo (Kitchen-Sink Drama), co-directed by Seymour Barros Sanchez and Ginalyn Dulla, competed at the short narrative feature category. The initial co-production of Red Room Productions and the University of Makati Film Society, which was screened at the Panorama last September 25, covers significant dates concerning the Philippines' relationship with the United States. Parallel to these events are the lives of two Filipinas (Nerissa Icot and Virnie Tolentino) who fall for the same American soldier (Stephen Patrick Moore).

For further information, please email Sari Dalena and Keith Sicat at [email protected] or visit their film's website at http://www.rigodonfilm.com.