Spanish LGTBI+ short film series at Instituto Cervantes

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

During the month of July, Instituto Cervantes Vimeo channel will host the short-film series “Te estoy amando locamente" (Falling in love with you madly), featuring eight different LGTBI+ stories by various Spanish filmmakers.

This film cycle presents personal stories, reflections, and testimonies that direct our gaze towards underrepresented realities in the cinema —and, one might say, in all artistic manifestations—: these are stories that deal, especially, but not only, with gender identity, homosexual love and transsexuality.

The series will kick off on July 7, Wednesday, with the screening of the 10-minute documentary "Una dedicatoria a lo bestia", released in 2019 by Nucbeade. A shocking documentary, it is a testimony about a little-known rehabilitation center for women between 13 and 21 years old that was in operation in a town near Madrid for four long decades. 

The short film will be available for 48 hours through this link: https://vimeo.com/557671872. The film series will continue on July 10 & 11, with Después también (2019), by Carla Simón, a short film about HIV. The movie will be accessible through this link:
 https://vimeo.com/557676690

The following week, Instituto Cervantes will stream two more short films: On July 14 & 15, "Su", a complex story about love and life, directed by Laia Foguet in 2019 (link to the movie: https://vimeo.com/557679177). On July 17 & 18, the award-winning short film "Víctor XX" (Ian de la Rosa, 2015) will take us to the barren and sunny landscapes of the Almeria coast to show a pleasant and absorbing story about the search for one's own sexual identity, the incomprehension of the others and the edginess that the final decision would cause. The movie will be accessible through this link: https://vimeo.com/557683845

The third week of the cycle will feature Cantando en las azoteas (Enric Ribes, 2017), a portrait of the 90-year-old Barcelona drag queen Gilda Love, accessible on July 21 & 22 through the link https://vimeo.com/557970147. On July 24 & 25 the Chilean directors Felipe Elgueta and Ananké Pereira will present their short film Snap (2018). The documentary will be accessible through this link: https://vimeo.com/557989467

The final week of the film cycle will open with the short movie Alma (2018), directed by Santiago León Cuéllar in 2018. It will be available on July 28 & 29 through the link https://vimeo.com/558009021. "El cuerpo de la mujer sin sombra" (Tamara García Iglesias, 2021) will conclude the film cycle on July 31. The short film will be accessible through this link: https://vimeo.com/558011405

The movies, presented by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the cinematographic distributor Marvin & Wayne, will be in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free. For further information and updates on this film series, please check out Instituto Cervantes’ Facebook site (www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila) or the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/115792793978301

For further information about the cultural program of Instituto Cervantes please log on to Instituto Cervantes’ website (http://manila.cervantes.es), or Instituto Cervantes Facebook page www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Daniel Padilla Starrer ‘Kun Maupay Man It Panahon’ Gets World Premiere in Prestigious Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Carlo Francisco Manatad’s first feature film “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine)” is part of the official selection of the 74th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, where it will have its world premiere in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present) section.

 

“Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” is the only competing film from the Philippines this year in Locarno, an A-List international film festival that provides a platform for auteur cinema. The Cineasti del Presente section for first or second feature films by emerging global talents will bestow the traditional Pardo d’oro and award for directing as well as prizes for Best Actor and Best Actress.

 

Starring Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol, and Charo Santos-Concio, the drama on the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban City, Leyte was filmed in the Waray dialect.

 

In the aftermath of Yolanda in November 2013, Miguel (Padilla) roams the ruins in search of the two women in his life: his friend Andrea (Rifol) and mother Norma (Santos-Concio). Miguel is determined to flee to the big city before another storm approaches.

 

“Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” is written by Manatad, who hails from Tacloban, together with Giancarlo Abrahan V and Jérémie Dubois. Its producers are Josabeth Alonso, Vincent Wang, and Armi Rae Cacanindin who remarked, “After seven years, finally, we’ve come to this!”

In 2019, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) selected “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” for the FDCP Project Market while in 2021, the FDCP’s FilmPhilippines Office named it as a recipient of the International Co-production Fund (ICOF) worth PHP 2.5 million.

 

“We are tremendously proud of the journey of ‘Kun Maupay Man It Panahon,’ which is a milestone in Philippine regional cinema. FDCP is honored to have supported Carlo Francisco Manatad’s journey from the development and production of this project until now when it’s ready to be shown to the world. We thank Locarno for giving it a world premiere and express our heartfelt gratitude to all international film labs, programs, and organizations for believing in and extending support to a Filipino regional film,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

 

The production companies behind “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” are Cinematografica, planc., iWantTFC, Globe Studios, Black Sheep, Quantum Films, and CMB Films from the Philippines, House on Fire from France, AAND Company from Singapore, KawanKawan Media from Indonesia, and Weydemann Bros. from Germany.

 

It was also selected at Sorfund Pitching Forum, Talents Tokyo, Cannes Cinefondation L’Atelier, and Hanoi Project Market and was developed at La Fabrique des Cinema du Monde, Torino Film Lab Feature Lab 360, Semaine de la Critique Next Step, and EAVE Ties that Bind.

 

It has also received support from Aide aux cinemas du monde managed by the Centre national du cinema et de l’image animee and Institut francais, Torino Film Lab | Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Brot fur die welt - Bread for the World Protestant development service, Visions Sud Est supported by SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), Doha Film Institute, Asian Cinema Fund for Script Development, Talents Tokyo Next Masters Support Program, and Berlinale World Cinema Fund, an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and with further support by the Goethe-Institut.

 

The “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” co-producers are Ling Tiong, Yulia Evina Bhara, Milena Klemke, Yvonne Wellie, Jakob D. Weydemann, and Jonas Weydemann while the executive producers are Carlo Katigbak, Cory Vidanes, Roldeo Endrinal, Jamie Lopez, Ginny Monteagudo-Ocampo, Olivia Lamasan, Quark Henares, Jan Pineda, Alonso, Cacanindin, and Arleen Cuevas.

 

Other members of the team are Patricia Sumagui (line producer), Lim Teck Siang (director of photography), Whammy Alcazaren (production Designer), Benjo Ferrer III (editor), Andrew Florentino (music), Roman Dymny (sound design), Sam Manacsa (art director), and Thesa Tang (wardrobe).

 

The Locarno Film Festival, to be held from August 4 to 14, has been showcasing arthouse films since 1946. In 2015, Manatad’s short film “Junilyn Has” premiered in Locarno's Pardi di Domani section.

 

Philippine Post Office releases commemorative stamps to mark the 75th Anniversary of PHL-U.S Relations

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The Philippine Postal Corporation (Post Office) has released a commemorative stamp to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Philippines-U.S. Diplomatic Relations on July 04.

 

Postmaster General and CEO, "Mr. Postman" Norman N. Fulgencio represented by Postshop, Philately and Museum Division Chief Elenita D.L. San Diego presented the Commemorative Stamp Frame to US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d'Affaires John C. Law held at the Independence Flagpole in Luneta Park Manila.

 

July 4, 1946 marked the formal beginnings of Philippine-US diplomatic relations when the Treaty of General Relations and Protocol (or the Treaty of Manila) was signed by the Philippines and the United States of America.

 

The official logo which was incorporated in the 75th Anniversary of the Philippines-U.S. Diplomatic Relations commemorative stamps highlights the common colors of the Philippine and American flags, which symbolize the two countries’ shared history, and the sun, stars, and stripes that represent hope for the future of this deep relationship.

 

The Post Office has printed 30,000 pieces of the stamp. In-house graphic artist Ryman Dominic Albuladora did the layout of the commemorative stamp which is now available at the Philatelic Counter, Manila Central Post Office in Liwasang Bonifacio.