Tribute to great cinema

With Makati’s Cinemanila International Film Festival showcasing over a hundred acclaimed films at Greenbelt 1 Cinemas in Ayala Center, Aug. 1 to 15, festival director Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz VI, feels that the dream of "bringing the world to the Philippines and the Philippines to the world," is slowly being realized.

Opening film Heaven from Germany, directed by Tom Tkywer of Run Lola Run fame, tells of a woman who takes the law into her own hands. It vied for Berlin Festival’s Golden Bear last February and copped the coveted Film Prize in Silver at the 2002 German Film Awards. Closing film is In the Mood for Love from Hong Kong’s Kar Wai. The movie is about how an executive and a secretary uncover an affair between their respective mates, leading them to something deeper than friendship. It received the Best Foreign Language Film from the 2001 New York Film Critics Circle; Best Foreign Film from the 2001 Cesars and the Best Actor award for Tony Leung at the 2000 Cannes.

Also to be shown at Cinemanila are No Man’s Land, the movie that won Best Foreign Film in this year’s Oscars and other film gems from Italy, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Luxemborg, United Kingdom, Russia, Estonia, the United States and Canada, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore (one of the entries is directed by a friend of mine, Cheek), India and Mexico. Audiences will also have a chance to interact with visiting filmmakers who will be presenting their own entries to the festival.

Cinemanila will also pay tribute to great filmmakers John Cassavetes, Francois Ozon and Mike de Leon. Cassavetes, the legendary director and actor who influenced filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and many more, is known best for A Woman Under the Influence. Other Cassavetes films are Faces and Shadows.

Meanwhile, Francois Ozon is the genius behind Under the Sand, See the Sea, Sitcom, 8 Women and Water Drops on Burning Rocks.

There will also be a retrospective of the works of master director Mike de Leon. The retrospective will include Bilanggo sa Dilim, Batch 81, Sister Stella L, Kakabakaba, Bayaning Third World, Signos and Kisapmata.

Cinemanila 2002 opens on August 1 with Education Secretary and former Senator Raul Roco as the main guest. Another highlight of the opening festivities is the gathering of actors and actresses who made films with Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, both National Artists for film.

There will also be a competition of entry films from different countries. For the main competition, some 17 first-rate titles vie for the festival’s Grand Prize Lino Brocka Award to be conferred by an international jury of eminent film personalities who will also pick winners for Best Actor, Best Actress and Grand Jury Prize. Other awards at stake include the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac) Jury Prize, Don Quixote Prize, Best International Short, Best International Documentary and the Ishmael Bernal Prize for Alternative Cinema/Young Cinema.

Makati’s Cinemanila 2002 is presented by the City of Makati. It is also sponsored by Ayala Cinemas, it’s official theater venue, Independent Cinema Association of the Philippines, Hotel Intercontinental Manila, DHL yehey and RPN 9.

Lotus Eaters in Manila

Those who love the music of the ’80s will have a blast on Aug. 3 as new wave group Lotus Eaters will perform in a one-night concert at the Rockwell Club Tent.

The Lotus Eaters, composed of Peter Coyle and Jeremy Kelly is one of the most popular bands in the ’80s. They are the band behind the songs German Girl, The First Picture of You and It Hurts. Their new album has spawned the hits Can Your Kisses Fly and Stayfree.

Local bands RiverMaya and True Faith (who both idolize the band) are special guests of the concert. Tickets are priced at P1,000 (which also entitles bearer free entrance to the exclusive concert after-party at Mati where they can get photo ops and autographs from the Lotus Eaters themselves) and P500. Seating is on a first come-first served basis. Those who come in their most exaggerated ’80s outfit have a chance to win cool prizes from Myx.

For more information, tune in to Studio 23/Myx or log on to pinoycentral.