Serbis wins awards in Pacific Meredian int'l filmfest

Brillante Mendoza’s Serbis won the Best Director and Best Actress awards (for Gina Pareño) in the Pacific Meredian International Film Festival of Asian-Pacific Countries held in Vladivostok, Russia last Sept. 13 to 19. Director Mendoza attended the festival to accept the awards.

Serbis which premiered to mixed reviews in Cannes main competition last May had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Regent Entertainment has acquired the US distribution Regent Entertainment and they have confirmed that Serbis will open theatrically in select cities in the US in November. It will have its US premiere as an official selection in the New York Film Festival next month.

Regent Entertainment executives Mark Reinhart (VP for acquisitions) and Jonathon Aubry (VP for Theatrical Marketing) hosted a dinner for the movie after its first screening in Toronto. Also present in the dinner were Mendoza, French co-producer Dider Costet, producer Ferdinand Lapuz and Fortissimo executives Michael Werner and Wouter Barendrecht.

Regent said with the release of Serbis this year, it is possible that it will qualify for the Best Foreign Language Film category in the Golden Globes awards and critics awards like the Los Angeles and New York Film Critics Awards.

Michael and Wouter announced that they have finalized the Canadian deal of Serbis for Maximum Distribution for English Canada and Seville Pictures for French Canada.

Co-producer Costet is also releasing Serbis in France in November. Equation (the distributing arm of Swift Productions) is handling the French distribution of the film.

Mendoza’s Foster Child was released in France last February by Ad Vitam and the DVD will be released this month. Tirador acquired by Swift Distribution will be released in France next year.

Thailand’s Sahamongko Films plans to release Serbis later this year. Other territories which acquired Serbis so far are Benelux with Paradiso Entertainment, Singapore and Brunei with Cathay, Portugal with Lusomundo, Greece with Seven Films and in Israel with United King.

Earlier this year, Mendoza ’s Tirador won the Caligari Prize Award in Berlin’s Forum section and the Best Film, Director and Netpac Awards in Singapore. Foster Child won the Signis Award in Las Palmas and the Best Film and Best Actress (for Cherry Pie Picache) awards in Singapore.

Brillante will attend the New York screening of Serbis on Oct. 12. He will also serve as instructor at the Asian Film Academy (Sept. 25 to Oct. 12) in Pusan, Korea. Director Hou Hsiao Hsien will be this year’s Dean of the AFA.

In November, Brillante will sit as a member of the jury in the international competition section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece where Serbis will be screened in the Independence Days section with Francis Pasion’s Jay. Paolo Villlaluna and Ellen Ramos’ Selda is in the main competition section.