Norte, Nuwebe win int’l awards

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino films Norte and Nuwebe recently scored international honors, with the former winning the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the fifth IBAFF Festival Internacional de Cine de Murcia in Spain, and the latter taking home the Honorable Mention, Director Narrative Feature award for its director Joseph Israel Laban at the fourth Queens World Film Festival in New York.

Nuwebe is scheduled to compete in other filmfests worldwide, as follows: The 13th Rome Independent Filmfest, March 16 to 23, Italy (International Competition); seventh CinemAsia Filmfest, April 1 to 6, Amsterdam; The Netherlands (Main Competition); and 32nd Festival Cinematografico Internacional del Uruguay, April 10 to 20, Montevideo (International Competition).

A Cinemalaya entry in the New Breed Section last year, Nuwebe is inspired by the actual story of Krista (played by Barbara Miguel), who became pregnant at the tender age of nine. Her mother Dolores (Nadine Samonte) believes that she was impregnated by a nuno sa punso (elf in a mound) but the real story proved to be more complicated than it seems, as Krista suffered sexual abuse perpetrated by her own father, Moises (Jake Cuenca).

Meanwhile, the Lav Diaz-directed Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan finally comes home after receiving rave reviews and acclaim overseas. It will hold screenings at Ayala Center Cebu, March 18, 6:30 p.m.; Greenbelt 3, March 25, 6:30 p.m.; and Glorietta 4, March 31, 6:30 p.m.

Norte was ranked No. 9 by the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound as one of the Best 10 Films of 2013. It’s in the league of such award-winning films as Gravity of US (No. 2), Blue is the Warmest Colour of France (No. 3, Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes) and The Great Beauty of Italy (No. 4, 2014 Oscar Best Foreign Language Film).  

Norte follows the story of Joaquin (Archie Alemania) who is wrongly jailed for murder while the real killer roams free. The murderer Fabian (Sid Lucero) is an intellectual who is frustrated with his country’s never-ending cycle of betrayal and apathy. The convict Joaquin is a simple man who finds life in prison more tolerable when something mysterious and strange starts happening to him. —With a report from Celso De Guzman Caparas