Kubrador wins Special Jury Prize in Rome film festival

Kubrador (The Bet Collector) did it again. The digital film that has won eight international awards for the country has added another feather on its cap by getting the Special Jury Prize at the Seventh Asiatica Filmmediale in Rome competition for Best Asian Feature Film.

The Special Jury Prize, according to Kubrador producer Joji Alonso of MLR Films, is awarded to the film which placed second in the entire competition.

Kubrador, directed by Jeffrey Jeturian, has the following awards: two Fiprescis, two Best Picture awards – one from the New Delhi Filmfest and another from Cinemanila and three Best Actress Awards for Gina Pareño, who plays the title role

Kuhrador was cited "for the extraordinary and seismographic capacity of portraying a social situation through the suffering of one woman."

Pareño joined Jeturian in Rome for two days but had to rush back to the Philippines to tape for her ABS-CBN show.

According to Jeturian, the screening at Cinema Farnese in Rome was attended by many Filipinos. After the screening, an Italian critic said that Gina’s performance can be ranked alongside world cinema’s best.

"He even went as far to say that Gina reminded him of Italy’s acting great, Ana Magnani. Magnani, like Gina, started out in comedy," says Jeturian in a text message.

Jeturian adds that the Italian critic’s comment on Gina came on the heels of another comment from a member of the audience in Thessaloniki, Greece. The movie viewer, says Jeturian, noted that Gina’s acting is worthy of an Oscar.

Other winners in the Rome Filmfest are Mainline (Best Film) from Iran directed by Rakhshan Bani Etermad; The Island of Rebirth (Audience Award) from Kazakhstan directed by Rustem Abdrashev.

In the Best Documentary division, the winners are: Buddha’s Lost Children (Best Documentary) from the Netherlands, directed by Mark Verkek; Special Mention: Total Denial, from Bulgaria/Italy directed by Maurizio Borriello and Indonesian Cinema directed by Milena Kaneva.

From the Asiatica Filmmediale, the 35th competition Kubrador has gone to, the film will be exhibited in Tallin, Estonia (Dec. 1 to 10), Bratislava Slovak Republic (Dec. 1 to 9), Cairo, Egypt, Dubai (Dec. 10 to 17) and in Suchitra in Bangalore, India in late December.

Next year, Kubrador will join 15 more film festivals and compete in Copenhagen, Denmark and Bangkok.

Kubrador is the story of Amelita (Pareño), an aging bet collector for the illegal numbers game jueteng.