UP FILM INSTITUTE’S NEW YEAR OF AUTEURS

UP Film Institute’s New Year of Auteurs

Pave the way for the rise of the bold filmmaking order as UP Film Institute brings in for 2010 the New Year of Auteurs. Featured are films by Lav Diaz, Raya Martin, Armando Lao, Francis Xavier Pasion, Ron Bryant, Sherad Anthony Sanchez, John Torres, Jerrold Tarog and Ruel Dahis Antipuesto. A special added program is a selection of breakthrough short films regarded now as classics from some of the most celebrated names in Philippine counter-stream cinema. A taste of vintage international features is provided by acclaimed cult films by legendary directors Alejandro Jodorowsky and Dario Argento.

Initial leg of UP Film Institute’s screenings for January 2010 is shown in graphs as follows:

CINE ADARNA:

Lav Diaz’s HEREMIAS
Jan 6 / wed / 1pm
Jan 9 / sat / 1pm

Lav Diaz’s EBOLUSYON NG ISANG PAMILYANG PILIPINO
Jan 7 / thu / 1pm
Jan 11 / mon / 1pm

Lav Diaz’s BUTTERFLIES HAVE NO MEMORIES
+AGONISTES
Jan 13 / wed / 4pm, 7pm

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s TRIPTYCH
(santa sangre, holy mountain, el topo)
Jan 12 / tue / 5pm, 7 p.m. (parts 1 & 2)
Jan 18 / mon / 5pm (part 3)

Dario Argento’s TWINBILL
(suspiria, the bird with the crystal plumage)
Jan 19 /tue / 5pm, 7 pm

John Torres’ Double Feature
(todo todo teros , taon noong ako'y anak sa labas)
Jan 20 / wed / 5pm ,7 p.m.

VIDEOTHEQUE:

Raya Martin’s NEXT ATTRACTION
Jan 8 / fri / 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Jan 9 / sat / 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Jan 11 / mon / 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Jan 12 / tue / 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Jan 13 /wed /4:30 & 6:30 p.m.

Armando Lao’s BIYAHENG LUPA
Jan 14 / thu /4:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Jan 15 / fri / 2:30pm & 4:30pm
Jan 16 / sat /6:30pm
Jan 18 / mon / 6:30pm
Jan 19 / tue / 4:30pm
Jan 20 / wed / 4:30pm
Jan 21 / thu / 6:30pm
Jan 22 / fri / 6:30pm
Jan 23 / sat / 4:30 & 6:30 p.m.

Francis Pasion’s JAY
Jan 15 / fri / 6:30pm
Jan 16 / sat / 2:30 & 4:30pm
Jan 18 / mon / 4:30pm
Jan 19 / tue / 6:30pm
Jan 20 / wed/ 6:30pm
Jan 21 / thu/ 4:30pm
Jan 22 / fri / 2:30 & 4:30pm
Jan 23 / sat/ 2:30pm

Ron Bryant’s ALON
Jan 25 / mon / 4:30 & 6:30pm
Jan 27 / wed / 4:30pm
Jan 29 / fri / 6:30pm
Jan 30 / sat / 2:30pm

Sherad Anthony Sanchez’s IMBURNAL
Jan 26 / tue / 4:30pm
Jan 29 / fri / 2:30pm

Sherad Anthony Sanchez’s HULING BALYAN NG BUHI
Jan 27 /wed / 6:30pm
Jan 30 /sat / 4:30pm

Jerrold Tarog’s CONFESSIONAL
Jan 28 / thu / 4:30 & 6:30pm
Jan 30 / sat / 6:30pm

Jerrold Tarog’s MANGATYANAN
Feb 1 / mon / 4:30 & 6:30pm
Feb 2 / tue / 4:30 & 6:30pm
Feb 3 / wed / 4:30 & 6:30pm
Feb 4 / thu / 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30pm
Feb 5 / fri / 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30pm
Feb 6 / sat / 2:30, 4:30 & 6:30pm

FREE SCREENING OF 3 NORA AUNOR CLASSICS

The UP Film Institute and the International Circle of Online Noranians (ICON) invite the public to the 25th anniversary commemorative screening of three films starring Superstar Nora Aunor: Gil Portes’s ’Merika and Mario O’Hara’s Condemned and Bulaklak sa City Jail.

Venue: UPFI Videotheque, UP Diliman
Date: December 19, 2009 (Saturday)

Schedule

1:00 pm
’Merika (1984, Adrian Films)

The story of Milagros Cruz, a Filipino nurse in New York, who longs for a different life despite material comforts abroad and opts courageously to go back to her country.

Direction: Gil M. Portes; Screenplay: Clodualdo Del Mundo Jr. and Jose Gil Quito; Cast: Nora Aunor, Bembol Roco, Cesar Aliparo, Marilyn Concepcion

Awards: PMPC Star Awards for Movies: Movie Actress of the Year (Nora Aunor), Cinematographer of the Year; Nominations: Gawad Urian: Pinakamahusay na Pelikula, Pinakamahusay na Direksiyon, Pinakamahusay na Pangunahing Aktres (Nora Aunor), Pinakamahusay na Dulang Pampelikula, Pinakamahusay na Pangalawang Aktor (Cesar Aliparo); Film Academy of the Philippines: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay; PMPC Star Awards for Movies: Movie of the Year, Movie Supporting Actor of the Year (Cesar Aliparo), Movie Screenplay of the Year

3:00 pm
Bulaklak sa City Jail (1984, Cherubim Films)

The searing odyssey of Angela, a pregnant victim of a miscarriage of justice, from her incarceration in the women’s section of an urban prison, through her escape and delivery of her love child in a city zoo, to her recapture and eventual legal triumph in obtaining custody of her baby. (Joel David)

Direction: Mario O’Hara; Screenplay: Lualhati Bautista; Cast: Nora Aunor, Gina Alajar, Celia Rodriguez, Perla Bautista, Maya Valdez, Zenaida Amador, Maritess Gutierrez, Shyr Valdez, Tom Olivar, Ricky Davao

Awards: FAMAS: Best Actress (Nora Aunor), Best Supporting Actress (Perla Bautista); Catholic Mass Media Awards: Best Actress (Nora Aunor), Best Supporting Actress (Celia Rodriguez), Best Supporting Actress (Perla Bautista); FAP: Best Adapted Screenplay; PMPC Star Awards for Movies: Movie Director of the Year, Adapted Screenplay of the Year, New Movie Actress of the Year (Maritess Gutierrez); Metro Manila Film Festival: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Nora Aunor), Best Screenplay, Best Story, Best Supporting Actress (Celia Rodriguez)

7:00 pm
Condemned (1984, NV Productions and Golden Dragon Films)

Tells of the sibling love between Yolly, a rose peddler in the streets of Ermita, and her brother Efren who is entrapped in the operations of a syndicate queen (Gloria Romero).

Direction: Mario O’Hara; Screenplay: Mario O’Hara, Jose Javier Reyes, Frank Rivera; Cast: Nora Aunor, Gloria Romero, Gina Alajar, Rio Locsin, Dan Alvaro, Leni Santos, Ricky Davao, Connie Angeles, Sonny Parsons, Alicia Alonzo, Romnick Sarmenta, Toby Alejar

Nominations: FAMAS: Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Romero), Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Music; PMPC Star Awards for Movies: Movie Actress of the Year (Nora Aunor), Movie Actor of the Year Actor (Dan Alvaro), Movie Supporting Actress of the Year (Gina Alajar), Movie Screenplay of the Year, Movie Theme Song of the Year, New Male Movie Star of the Year (Dan Alvaro)


A program will be held—featuring a panel discussion with guests, the soft launch of the DVD of Bona and Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos from NV Productions and Ivory Music & Video, and the special screening of Doy Del Mundo’s short film Superfan—between 4:30 and 7:00 pm at the UPFI Bernal Gallery. The event is open to the public.

SISTER STELLA L @ 25

SISTER STELLA L @ 25: Tuloy ang Pakikibaka!

Quarter of a century later, the rage of Sister Stella L remains as pertinent as when it was released in 1984. The proof, alas, is in the death toll. To date, 850 mainstream journalists and other public figures have been killed in the name of the Philippine government’s 2001 "War on Terrorism" campaign. Human rights violations number to 169,530 individuals, 18,515 families, 71 communities, and 196 households. One person is killed every three days.

The terror of Sister Stella L knows no boundaries, not even the four corners of the silver-screen. It is real and present. And we live it.

Thus, with urgency, the University Film Institute of the Philippines and the Vilma Santos Solid International celebrates the 25th anniversary of Sister Stella L with a screening in the UP Cine Adarna on March 20, 5pm. The event will also feature an exhibition of production memorabilias and a forum with the esteemed cast and crew, including Governor Vilma Santos.

Directed by Mike De Leon and written by Pete Lacaba and Jose Almojuela, Sister Stella L tells of the socio-political awakening of a nun (Vilma Santos) as she helped workers on strike against an oil factory in Barrio Agoho ran by an abusive administration. Cautious, Sister Stella’s enlightenment was hastened upon witnessing the torture of political leader Ka Dencio (Tony Santos).

The strength of the film Sister Stella L lies in the nuanced study of the transformation of a common citizen. Beyond the blatant display of rarara activism, it reveals and resolves layers of conflict of Sister Stella: as a nun committed to serving God, as a woman struggling to reconcile feelings for an ex-lover, and as a citizen slowly seeing the truths of a brutal system.

Simply put, Sister Stella is everyone of us, in various shades of restlessness from living in a system that has consistently let its people down. Mike De Leon’s masterpiece is not so much an invitation to see a well-crafted film but a call to action. For really, the film is just a mirror of our realities. And Sister Stella L makes us turn the other way around, so we can start seeing, from reel to real, with eyes wide open.

25TH YEAR COMMEMORATION OF SISTER STELLA L. AT UP FILM INSTITUTE

The year was 1984 when director Mike de Leon made one of the most important films in Philippine Cinema. It was Sister Stella L., the Vilma Santos starrer that showcased the latter’s acting versatility. It was just the turn of the decade when she made a daring transformation in Burlesk Queen, and her turnaround debut this time in a nun’s role proved to be one of her finest.

Sister Stella L. defied certain taboos during the last years of the Marcos regime by dealing with explosive issues like labor unrest and repression of the media. Mike de Leon’s first explicitly political film done after Benigno Aquino’s assasination, was also Regal Films’ first and last serious political film to date. It eventually served as an impetus for the 1986 EDSA uprising.

The film won 10 Urians for the year 1984, including best picture, director, screenplay, actor (Jay Ilagan), actress (Vilma Santos), supporting actor (Tony Santos), supporting actress (Laurice Guillen), music, editing and sound. It was chosen as one of Urian’s 10 best films of the 1980s. It also won best picture and director awards from the Film Academy of the Philippines and Star Awards and was in competition at the Venice Film Festival.

Catch the rare chance of seeing Sister Stella L. again on the big screen on March 20, 2009, 5pm at the Cine Adarna in UP Diliman. There will also be a forum with the cast and crew (with 2005 Gawad Plaridel Awardee Vilma Santos-Recto in attendance) and an exhibit of priceless film memorabilia. Tickets for the event is sold at 50 pesos each. For inquries, you may call or text Ramil at 0918-8071978.