Having worked a variety of production jobs before, Mike de Leon stepped into the director's chair with a vengeance as his debut feature “Itim” shows him to be worthy of the acclaim garnered since the films' release. Responsible for being the start of Charo Santos-Concio before her prolific producing career, the chance for more to discover this early genre gem shouldn't be overlooked as many of the prominent elements of his later career are explored here.
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Arriving in a remote village, photographer Jun (Tommy Abuel) comes to the area looking to do a story on the religious practices observed by the locals who are about to observe a dedicated Holy Week during his visit. As his invalid father Dr. Tores, (Mario Montenegro) is also in the area, his trip is complicated by tending to his ailing condition as well as...
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Arriving in a remote village, photographer Jun (Tommy Abuel) comes to the area looking to do a story on the religious practices observed by the locals who are about to observe a dedicated Holy Week during his visit. As his invalid father Dr. Tores, (Mario Montenegro) is also in the area, his trip is complicated by tending to his ailing condition as well as...
- 5/5/2023
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.Newsrrr.First: Notebook is launching a weekly email newsletter in 2023! Sign up here to keep up with our latest writing in this precarious digital age.At a recent screening of Rrr in Chicago, S.S. Rajamouli mentioned that his father and screenwriting partner V. Vijayendra Prasad is beginning to draft a sequel. In the meantime, Rajamouli is preparing an untitled film starring Mahesh Bubu, set to begin filming in the spring.In this Willamette Week article about George Saunders’s new short story collection Liberation Day, there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention of a film project. Richard Ayoade will direct an adaptation of Saunders’s 2012 short story “The Semplica-Girl Diaries,” set to begin filming next year. Though Ayoade stole the show in both parts of Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, this will be his...
- 11/16/2022
- MUBI
The ambition behind Carlo Francisco Manatad’s Whether the Weather Is Fine is undeniable. Set in the aftermath of 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan (aka Super Typhoon Yolanda), the film opens on Miguel (Daniel Padilla) waking to the fact that there’s no longer a house surrounding him and his couch. More sleepwalking in disbelief than searching with desperation, he moves to find his mother (Charo Santos-Concio’s Norma) just as his girlfriend (Rans Rifol’s Andrea) finds him. Everywhere they go has been shattered to pieces architecturally, emotionally, and morally—altruism flying out the window as a dog-eat-dog mentality sinks in. And no one can move an inch without running into someone else thanks to an extras list so expansive, their continuous end credit blocks are blindingly dense.
While the plot’s as simple as “trying to find direction” when none can seemingly be found, it doesn’t make it any...
While the plot’s as simple as “trying to find direction” when none can seemingly be found, it doesn’t make it any...
- 9/18/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Carlo Francisco Manatad is a Filipino film director and editor based in Manila. He is a graduate of the University of the Philippines Film Institute. His short film, “Junilyn Has”, competed at the Festival del film Locarno and went on to screen at several international film festivals such as Clermont Ferrand, Uppsala, Winterthur and Busan to name a few. “Sandra and Fatima Marie Torres and the Invasion of Space Shuttle Pinas 25” has won awards in Russia, Romania and the USA, most notably winning the Best Comedy Short at the Aspenshorts Fest – an Oscar qualifying film festival. A Philippine and Singaporean co-production, “Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee of the Month”, his last short film was selected in competition at the 56th Semaine de la Critique at the 70th Cannes International Film Festival. One of the most prolific editors in the Philippines today, he has collaborated with numerous filmmakers for independent and mainstream scene.
- 9/7/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Whether The Weather Is Fine is directed by Philippines filmmaker Carlo Francisco Manatad.
Beijing-based sales agent Rediance has picked up international rights to Whether The Weather Is Fine, from Philippines filmmaker Carlo Francisco Manatad, which will receive its world premiere at the upcoming Locarno film festival (August 4-14).
Based on the director’s own experiences, the film is set in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated coastal regions in the Central Philippines in November 2013. The story follows a young man searching for missing loved ones as another storm approaches.
The film, which will screen in Locarno’s Concorso Cineasti del presente section,...
Beijing-based sales agent Rediance has picked up international rights to Whether The Weather Is Fine, from Philippines filmmaker Carlo Francisco Manatad, which will receive its world premiere at the upcoming Locarno film festival (August 4-14).
Based on the director’s own experiences, the film is set in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated coastal regions in the Central Philippines in November 2013. The story follows a young man searching for missing loved ones as another storm approaches.
The film, which will screen in Locarno’s Concorso Cineasti del presente section,...
- 7/12/2021
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
In celebration of the 100 Years of Philippine Cinema, “Habambuhay” is a new, insightfully entertaining documentary series that commemorates the lives and efforts of the people behind and in front of the camera who helped shape the Philippine Movie Industry for a very long time.
It features exclusive interviews, rare archival footages, clips and photos that will help illuminate the fascinating stories behind the industry’s most significant contributors and biggest names in Philippine Cinema.
“Habambuhay” boasts a star-studded list that includes screen legends like Anita Linda, Luis Nepomuceno, Eddie Mesa, Rosemarie Gil, Gloria Romero, and Eddie Garcia, in the actor’s last in-depth interview before his untimely passing, as well as industry pillars such as Mother Lily Monteverde (Regal Entertainment), Charo Santos-Concio (Star Cinema), and Marichu Vera-Perez (Sampaguita Pictures).
Renowned filmmakers Peque Gallaga, Laurice Guillen, Lav Diaz, Brillante Mendoza, Jerrold Tarog, screenwriters Ricky Lee, Raquel Villavicencio, Rody Vera, and Philippine...
It features exclusive interviews, rare archival footages, clips and photos that will help illuminate the fascinating stories behind the industry’s most significant contributors and biggest names in Philippine Cinema.
“Habambuhay” boasts a star-studded list that includes screen legends like Anita Linda, Luis Nepomuceno, Eddie Mesa, Rosemarie Gil, Gloria Romero, and Eddie Garcia, in the actor’s last in-depth interview before his untimely passing, as well as industry pillars such as Mother Lily Monteverde (Regal Entertainment), Charo Santos-Concio (Star Cinema), and Marichu Vera-Perez (Sampaguita Pictures).
Renowned filmmakers Peque Gallaga, Laurice Guillen, Lav Diaz, Brillante Mendoza, Jerrold Tarog, screenwriters Ricky Lee, Raquel Villavicencio, Rody Vera, and Philippine...
- 7/9/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Director Mikhail Red has completed production on his most recent film “Eerie”. The supernatural thriller film stars Bea Alonzo as a guidance counselor tasked with figuring out a schools dark past through an ex student, ominously named, “Eri”.
Mikhail Red’s fourth feature length film is set to release in theaters on March 27th, 2019. A trailer for the film has been released by Star Cinema and can be viewed below.
Synopsis
As we get closer to the wedding day, Lia becomes unsure if she is choosing the right man to marry, torn between the man from her past and the man she’s building a future with. The unexpected and gruesome death of a student threatens the existence of an old Catholic school for girls. Pat Consolacion (Bea Alonzo), the school guidance counselor, involves herself with the students in the hopes of helping them cope, and at the same time...
Mikhail Red’s fourth feature length film is set to release in theaters on March 27th, 2019. A trailer for the film has been released by Star Cinema and can be viewed below.
Synopsis
As we get closer to the wedding day, Lia becomes unsure if she is choosing the right man to marry, torn between the man from her past and the man she’s building a future with. The unexpected and gruesome death of a student threatens the existence of an old Catholic school for girls. Pat Consolacion (Bea Alonzo), the school guidance counselor, involves herself with the students in the hopes of helping them cope, and at the same time...
- 2/18/2019
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday.
Last week, Uproxx published an article called “Attack of the Two Hour and 20 Minute Movies!,” in which writer Vince Mancini bemoaned a rash of supposedly overlong films at a time when many indies run 80-something minutes, and streaming services allow viewers to binge more extended content in the comfort of their own homes. This Friday, Lee Chang-dong’s 148-minute “Burning” and the even longer “Suspiria” will open in limited release, continuing what Mancini believes to be a nefarious trend.
This week’s question: Are movies too long these days?
Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), The Wrap, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla
Conventional notions regarding running times or attention spans don’t apply to the works of Filipino master Lav Diaz, who continues to tell expansive stories that make zero promises of mass appeal. He has...
Last week, Uproxx published an article called “Attack of the Two Hour and 20 Minute Movies!,” in which writer Vince Mancini bemoaned a rash of supposedly overlong films at a time when many indies run 80-something minutes, and streaming services allow viewers to binge more extended content in the comfort of their own homes. This Friday, Lee Chang-dong’s 148-minute “Burning” and the even longer “Suspiria” will open in limited release, continuing what Mancini believes to be a nefarious trend.
This week’s question: Are movies too long these days?
Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), The Wrap, MovieMaker Magazine, Remezcla
Conventional notions regarding running times or attention spans don’t apply to the works of Filipino master Lav Diaz, who continues to tell expansive stories that make zero promises of mass appeal. He has...
- 10/22/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The Woman Who Left screens as part of the 26th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival on Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 Pm at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre. Ticket information can be found Here
The Woman Who Left is a sprawling epic dealing with revenge and redemption, second chances and missed opportunities, inspired by the works of Leo Tolstoy. Ah, but here’s the twist: the setting is the Philippines circa 1997, when the local news was filled with horrific tales of kidnapping and extortion, along with the return of Hong Kong to China. But this is a more personal story centering on middle-aged Horacia (Charo Santos-Concio), now in year thirty of her long prison sentence after being convicted of murder. She’s settled into her fate, becoming a mentor/ teacher to the other inmates. One day she is shocked when her the warden tell her that she’s free. Horacia...
The Woman Who Left is a sprawling epic dealing with revenge and redemption, second chances and missed opportunities, inspired by the works of Leo Tolstoy. Ah, but here’s the twist: the setting is the Philippines circa 1997, when the local news was filled with horrific tales of kidnapping and extortion, along with the return of Hong Kong to China. But this is a more personal story centering on middle-aged Horacia (Charo Santos-Concio), now in year thirty of her long prison sentence after being convicted of murder. She’s settled into her fate, becoming a mentor/ teacher to the other inmates. One day she is shocked when her the warden tell her that she’s free. Horacia...
- 11/9/2017
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It’s 1997, and Great Britain is ending its rule in Hong Kong. The political world is shifting, possibly on the brink of something, and a radio playing in a women’s prison in the Philippines announces this information during the opening moments of “The Woman Who Left.” The next report details a rash of kidnappings targeting the rich, the business class, and moneyed tourists. But for Horacia (Charo Santos-Concio) nothing has changed at all, and her existence is relatively peaceful, considering her constrained circumstances. In the 30th year of a life sentence for a murder she didn’t commit, she’s a caretaker to.
- 5/19/2017
- by Dave White
- The Wrap
There are few filmmakers more influential to their nation’s cinema than Lav Diaz. Arguably the world’s most well known Filipino auteur, he has become the bed rock for what is the third Golden Age of Philippine Cinema and a master filmmaker whose impact is felt across the globe. A master of what is known to most as “slow cinema,” Diaz is best known for epic, quietly profound pictures that near double digit hours in their length, and has been a festival darling throughout the world.
And his latest may be one of his most interesting works yet.
Entitled The Woman Who Left, Diaz returns with a story that’s a touch less political than one would imagine coming from the auteur. Instead, Diaz introduces the viewer to Horacia Somorostro, a former teacher who has just seen her release from prison after spending 30 years locked up for a crime...
And his latest may be one of his most interesting works yet.
Entitled The Woman Who Left, Diaz returns with a story that’s a touch less political than one would imagine coming from the auteur. Instead, Diaz introduces the viewer to Horacia Somorostro, a former teacher who has just seen her release from prison after spending 30 years locked up for a crime...
- 5/15/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The nominees for the 11th Annual Asian Film Awards were announced last week.
The ceremony is to be held in Hong Kong after a long stint in Macau. The reason for this changeover is to pay homage to the 20th anniversary since the handover of Hong Kong. This year, 34 films received nominations. Out of those 34, 21 are of Chiniese-origin, and 20 are South Korean, making South Korean films the second most nominated.
Some of the best releases of 2016 are up against each other this year. Park Chan Wook’s, “The Handmaiden,” although it did not receive a nod for best film nor best director, it did receive a levy of other nominations including: best supporting actress (Moon So-ri), best newcomer, best screenplay, best editing, best costume design, and best production design. Another strong Korean film up for several awards is “Train to Busan.” This outrageously popular zombie-horror film is up for five...
The ceremony is to be held in Hong Kong after a long stint in Macau. The reason for this changeover is to pay homage to the 20th anniversary since the handover of Hong Kong. This year, 34 films received nominations. Out of those 34, 21 are of Chiniese-origin, and 20 are South Korean, making South Korean films the second most nominated.
Some of the best releases of 2016 are up against each other this year. Park Chan Wook’s, “The Handmaiden,” although it did not receive a nod for best film nor best director, it did receive a levy of other nominations including: best supporting actress (Moon So-ri), best newcomer, best screenplay, best editing, best costume design, and best production design. Another strong Korean film up for several awards is “Train to Busan.” This outrageously popular zombie-horror film is up for five...
- 1/17/2017
- by Lydia Spanier
- AsianMoviePulse
Train To Busan and The Wailing also secured multiple nominations.
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s I Am Not Madame Bovary, Korean director Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing and Koji Fukada’s Harmonium from Japan are the frontrunners at the upcoming Asian Film Awards, vying for both best film and best director.
Joining the fray for best film are Chung Mong-hong’s Godspeed, which also nabs a best actor nod for Michael Hui, and Kim Jee-woon’s The Age Of Shadows. Soul Mate’s Derek Tsang and The Woman Who Left’s Lav Diaz are also in the race for best director.
This year, 34 films from 12 countries (out of almost 1,600 submissions from 28 countries) are in contention for 15 awards. Korean cinema dominates, with festival favourite The Handmaiden [pictured] receiving the most nominations with six nods, followed by breakout hit Train To Busan with five and The Wailing with four.
I Am Not Madame Bovary receives five nominations, including best actress...
Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s I Am Not Madame Bovary, Korean director Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing and Koji Fukada’s Harmonium from Japan are the frontrunners at the upcoming Asian Film Awards, vying for both best film and best director.
Joining the fray for best film are Chung Mong-hong’s Godspeed, which also nabs a best actor nod for Michael Hui, and Kim Jee-woon’s The Age Of Shadows. Soul Mate’s Derek Tsang and The Woman Who Left’s Lav Diaz are also in the race for best director.
This year, 34 films from 12 countries (out of almost 1,600 submissions from 28 countries) are in contention for 15 awards. Korean cinema dominates, with festival favourite The Handmaiden [pictured] receiving the most nominations with six nods, followed by breakout hit Train To Busan with five and The Wailing with four.
I Am Not Madame Bovary receives five nominations, including best actress...
- 1/11/2017
- by screenasia@yahoo.com (Silvia Wong)
- ScreenDaily
Park Chan-wook also added to line-up; latest Lav Diaz and Errol Morris features join festival programme.
This year’s BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) has bolstered its Screen Talk line-up and added two titles to its film programme.
Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel - who star in Lion, playing as the American Express Gala at this year’s festival - will join Lff director Clare Stewart to jointly discuss their careers as part of this year’s Screen Talk series.
South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, whose latest feature The Handmaiden plays at Lff following its premiere in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has also been added to the discussion programme, joining a line-up that already boasts film-makers Werner Herzog, Paul Verhoeven and Ben Wheatley.
The festival has made two additions to this year’s film programme: Lav Diaz’s The Woman Who Left has been added to the festival’s Journey strand, while...
This year’s BFI London Film Festival (Oct 5-16) has bolstered its Screen Talk line-up and added two titles to its film programme.
Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel - who star in Lion, playing as the American Express Gala at this year’s festival - will join Lff director Clare Stewart to jointly discuss their careers as part of this year’s Screen Talk series.
South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, whose latest feature The Handmaiden plays at Lff following its premiere in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has also been added to the discussion programme, joining a line-up that already boasts film-makers Werner Herzog, Paul Verhoeven and Ben Wheatley.
The festival has made two additions to this year’s film programme: Lav Diaz’s The Woman Who Left has been added to the festival’s Journey strand, while...
- 9/22/2016
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
This was a busy year at Tiff, where I was a juror for Fipresci, helping to award a prize for best premiere in the Discovery section. Not only did this mean that some other films had to take a back burner—sadly, I did not see Eduardo Williams’ The Human Surge—but my writing time was a bit compromised as well. Better late than never? That is for you, Gentle Reader, to decide.Austerlitz (Sergei Loznitsa, Germany)So basic in the telling—a record of several days’ worth of visitors mostly to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienberg, Germany—Austerlitz is a film that in many ways exemplifies the critical theory of Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin. What is the net effect for humanity when, faced with the drive to remember the unfathomable, we employ the grossly inadequate tools at our disposal?Austerlitz takes its name from W. G. Sebald’s final novel.
- 9/20/2016
- MUBI
This year’s Toronto International Film Festival was another dense program filled with lots of new films in need of distribution. Fortunately, many of the highlights — from awards season heavyweights like “Jackie,” which went to Fox Searchlight, to smaller-scale crowdpleasers like “Tramps,” a Netflix acquisition — are guaranteed to find audiences beyond the Tiff arena. And most buyers agreed that this was, generally speaking, a pretty healthy year. Nevertheless, as the festival came to a conclusion, several great movies in the lineup remained homeless. Here are some of the ones that IndieWire wants to bring to the attention of all the buyers out there. We hope they’re paying attention.
See MoreThe 2016 IndieWire Tiff Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
“Boundaries”
With her underrated debut film “Sarah Prefers to Run,” Chloé Robichaud made one of the best coming-of-age stories in recent years. For her follow-up, the Québécois writer-director widened her focus,...
See MoreThe 2016 IndieWire Tiff Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival
“Boundaries”
With her underrated debut film “Sarah Prefers to Run,” Chloé Robichaud made one of the best coming-of-age stories in recent years. For her follow-up, the Québécois writer-director widened her focus,...
- 9/19/2016
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
★★★★☆ By his own gargantuan standards, Lav Diaz's Golden Lion winner The Woman Who Left is a mere morsel. His second picture of 2016 after the nine-hour epic A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, which premiered at Berlin, this one clocks in at less than four hours and sheds much of Lullaby's metaphysical weight. Instead, it tells the comparatively straightforward story of Horacia (the incredible Charo Santos) who is unexpectedly released from prison after serving thirty years for a crime she didn't commit, and who sets off in search of vengeance against the former lover who put her there.
- 9/14/2016
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Following up his mammoth, 8-plus hour A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, which premiered at Berlin earlier this year (our review), a first teaser has been unveiled for Lav Diaz‘s next feature The Woman Who Left, which runs a measly 3 hours and 47 minutes by comparison.
The film concerns a man who has spent 30 years in prison, only to be released after someone else confesses to his alleged crime. His blissful release is tarnished when he realizes his old lover had set him up, causing a downward spiral in both of their lives.
The teaser is a wordless, black and white series of vignettes following a woman wandering and standing — and featuring a jarring cut to a kitchen that is both idiosyncratic in sequence and quite effective. See it below, along with an extended synopsis and new images.
Tiff synopsis:
A spiritual brother of the late, great Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang,...
The film concerns a man who has spent 30 years in prison, only to be released after someone else confesses to his alleged crime. His blissful release is tarnished when he realizes his old lover had set him up, causing a downward spiral in both of their lives.
The teaser is a wordless, black and white series of vignettes following a woman wandering and standing — and featuring a jarring cut to a kitchen that is both idiosyncratic in sequence and quite effective. See it below, along with an extended synopsis and new images.
Tiff synopsis:
A spiritual brother of the late, great Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang,...
- 9/5/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
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