Dante Mendoza filmfest at SM City Pampanga

MANILA, Philippines - In line with its My City, My SM campaign, SM will showcase Brillante “Dante” Mendoza’s films today up to Dec. 18 at SM City Pampanga. 

Mendoza, who was born in San Fernando, has given his hometown and the rest of the Philippines honor with international awards for his independent films, which are shot in digital video. He is the first Filipino to win the Best Director plum at the Cannes International Film Festival for his full-length film Kinatay, besting directors Quentin Tarantino (for Inglorious Basterds) and Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock).

Three of his films, Lola, Kaleldo and Manoro will be showcased in the filmfest. Lola, which will be shown today and tomorrow, stars Anita Linda in the leading role. It revolves around the story of two elderly women who try to cope with and survive life’s harsh realities for the elderly as both bear the consequences for a crime involving their respective grandsons — one is the victim, the other a suspect. Both weak and poor, they laboriously solicit money in the midst of the storm — one for the victim’s burial, the other for the suspect’s bail bond.

Kaleldo, which will be shown on Dec. 16 and 17, is set in Guagua, Pampanga a decade after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, which ravaged the province with lahar. It follows the life of Rodolfo “Mang Rudy” Manansala, a wood carver and his three daughters and their relationships with people close to them in a span of seven summers.

Manoro, which will be shown on Dec. 18, is the story of Jonalyn, a 13-year-old aeta who fresh from her elementary graduation rites teaches middle aged and elderly aetas to read and write. This allows them to cast their votes in the upcoming presidential election in 2004. To her dismay, however, her grandfather prefers to hunt for wild boar to feed members of aeta community, thus missing his chance to exercise his birthright. Months later, the results of the election are placed under suspicion because of alleged rampant cheating. Apologies are said for lapses of judgment yet nothing has come out of this to date.