CINEMANILA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Nov. 3 -15; SM Cinemas / Ayala Cinemas)
NOV. 3 (Mall of Asia Centerstage, Pasay City)
Gala Screening of Perhaps Love at 4PM
Opening Films: Raya Martin's short film with Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep at 7PM
8TH CINEMANILA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
FILMS IN COMPETITION
1. EVERLASTING REGRET / Stanley Kwan (HK-China, 2005) The film is based on Changhen Ge, a novel by Wang Anyi, about a woman's turbulent life in 20th century Shanghai, China. The story follows Qiyao (Maggie Cheung), a legendary and celebrated beauty, from her pre-Revolution glamour and status to her simpler life as she struggles to preserve the dignity of her past while surviving the contestant betrayal by her men. She stands proud and bears witness to the waves of change in her city from 1947 to 1981, until one wave finally overwhelms her. The film is a visionary exploration of history ad personal experience conveyed through a refined aesthetic and a romantic style that characterized the pre-Communist literature of Shanghai . Open Prize, Berlin 2005 115 minutes
2. 9th COMPANY / Fyodor Bondarchuk (Finland-Russia-UK, 2005) The film is
based on a true story of the 9th company during the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan in the 1980's. 130 minutes
3. CITIZEN DOG / Wisit Sasanatieng (Thailand, 2004) 100 minutes
4. CLIMATES / Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey-France, 2006) FIPRESCI Prize, Palm D'Or nominee – Cannes 2006) 101 minutes
5. IT'S ONLY TALK / Ryuichi Hiroki (Japan , 2005) FIPRESCI Prize , Singapore Film Festival 2006 126 minutes
6. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE / Park Chan-Wook (South Korea, 2005) CinemaAvvenire Award-Best Director, Little Golden Lion – Venice 2005. Stars Lee Young-Ae (leadstar in the hit Koreanovela Jewel in the Palace) 112 minutes
7. THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY / Ken Loach (UK-Germany-Italy-Spain-France-Ireland, 2006) Palme D'Or, Cannes 2006 127 minutes
8. KUBRADOR / Jeffrey Jeturian (Philippines, 2006) 98 minutes
9. HEREMIAS / Lav Diaz (Philippines, 2006) 540 minutes
10. TAKING FATHER HOME / Ying Liang (China, 2006)
BLACK / Sanjay Lheela Bhansali (India, 2005) stars Amitab Bachnan. Indian version of "The Miracle Worker" 122 minutes
IT'S ONLY TALK / Ryuichi Hiroki (Japan, 2005) FIPRESCI Prize, Singapore Film Festival 2006 126 minutes
PRINCESS RACCOON / Seijun Suzuki (Japan , 2005) Mechiyo (The banished prince) falls in love with Tanukihime (Zhang Ziyi as a princess of raccoon dog disguised to human). This is an Operetta which includes comedy, singing and dancing, and a love story. 113 minutes
STARFISH HOTEL / John Williams (Japan, 2006) 98 minutes
LITTLE BIRDS / Takeharu Watai (Japan, 2006) There is no easy solution to the situation in Iraqw. But how often do you hear from those that really matter in all of this? Takeharu Wati's Little Birds gives voice to those unheard and ignored by media networks. It is the recipent of the Human Rights Awards at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival. The film takes its titles from the epitaph on the plank of wood that serves as a makeshift gravestone for three children who died when their house was destroyed by three bombs. It reads: "Don't cry dad. We became birds in the sky." 102 minutes
IF YOU WERE ME 2 / Ji Woo Chung, Jin Jang Dong-Won Kim, Kyung-hee Park Seung-wan Ryoo (South korea , 2006) Omnibus film on human rights issues 113 minutes
IF YOU WERE ME ANIMA VISION / (omnibus) (Korea, 2005) 70 minutes
SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE / Park Chan-Wook (South Korea, 2005) CinemaAvvenire Award-Best Director, Little Golden Lion – Venice 2005. Stars Lee Young-Ae (leadstar in the hit Koreanovela Jewel in the Palace) 112 minutes
SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER AND SPRING / Kim Ki Duk (South Korea, 2003) A young boy lives in a small floating temple on a beautiful lake, together with an elderly master who teaches him the ways of the Buddha. Years later the boy, now a young man, experiences his sexual awakening with a girl who has come to the temple to be healed by the master. The youth runs away to the outside world but his lust turns his life into hell, so he returns to the lake temple to find spiritual enlightenment. 103 minutes
LOVE CONQUERS ALL / Tan Chui Mui (Netherlands-Malaysia, 2005) 90 minutes
CLIMATES / Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey-France, 2006) FIPRESCI Prize, Palm D'Or nominee – Cannes 2006) 101 minutes
ANGEL'S FALL / Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey, Greece , 2005) 98 minutes
WILLOW TREE / Majid Majidi (Iran, 2005) 96 minutes
CITIZEN DOG / Wisit Sasanatieng (Thailand, 2004) 100 minutes
SHORT FILMS ABOUT TSUNAMI / Apichatpong Weerasethakul & Christelle Lheureuz, Pipope Panitchpakdi, Thunska Pansittivorakyl, Sompot Chidgasornpongsem Suchada Sirithanawuddhi (Thailand, 2005) 114 minutes
SERAMBI / Garin Nugroho, Tonny Timarsanto, Viva Westi, Lianto Lusen (Indonesia, 2006) Documentary film about the people in Aceh after the tsunami.
PAPER DOLLS / Tomer Heymann (Usa-Israel-Switzerland, 2006) Documentary about a group of transvestite Filipinos who emigrate to Israel to take care of elders at day while on their day off perform as drag performers in a group called the Paper Dolls . 80 minutes
CHINESE RENAISSANCE PROGRAM
PERHAPS LOVE peter ho-sun chan (HK-Malaysia-China, 2005) Directed by famous Hong Kong director Peter Chan, and staring by the handsome Takeshi Kaneshiro ("House of Flying Daggers," "Turn Left Turn Right"), the talented Zhou Xun ("The Little Chinese Seamstress," " Beijing Bicycle"), the remarkable singer and actor Jacky Cheung, and the Korean heartthrob Ji Jin-he. A love triangle develops during the making of a musical in mainland China. 108 minutes.
EXILED / johnny to (HK, 2006) Golden Lion Nominee: Venice 2006 100 minutes
TWO BY STANLEY KWAN
EVERLASTING REGRET (HK-china, 2005) Open Prize, Berlin 2005 115 minutes
CENTERSTAGE (HK, 1992) Silver Bear – Best Actress, Berlin 1992. Maggie Cheung portrays the 1930's Chinese actress Ruan Ling Yu 154 minutes
STILL LIFE / Jia Zhangke (China-HK, 2006) Open Prize, Doc-It Award Venice 2006 108 minutes
PEACOCK / Gu Changwei (China, 2005) Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize, Berlin 2005 114 minutes
WALKING ON THE WILD SIDE / Han Jie (China, 2005) Tiger Award, Rotterdam 2006 89 minutes
TAKING FATHER HOME / Ying Liang (China, 2006) 100 minutes
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MAGIC MIRROR / Manoel De Oliveira (Portugal, 2005) Golden Lion Nominee, Venice 2005 137 minutes
FROSTBITEN / Anders Banke (Sweden, 2006) International Fantasy Film Award, Fantasporto 2006. Vampires terrorize a city in Norrbotten , Sweden . 98 minutes
SCIENCE OF SLEEP / Michel Gondry (USA, 2006) stars Gael garcia Bernal. Directed by Michel Gondry, director of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" 105 minutes
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY / Ken Loach (UK-Germany-Italy-Spain-France-Ireland, 2006) Palme D'Or, Cannes 2006 127 minutes
VERA DRAKE / Mike Leigh (UK-France-New Zealand, 2004) Nominated for Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay: Academy Awards 2004; Golden Lion: Venice 2004 125 minutes
9th COMPANY / Fyodor Bondarchuk (Finland-Russia-UK, 2005) The film is based on a true story of the 9th company during the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan in the 1980's. Young Soviet Army recruits are sent from a boot camp into the middle of the war in Afghanistan . The action is not like a boot camp at all. It is very bloody and dirty. The 9th company is defending the hill 3234. They are hopelessly calling for help. But help never comes. "This is war, you kill, or get killed", says the 9-th company leader Khohol (Bondarchuk). They believed that they served their country. But two years later that country ceased to exist. 130 minutes
PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION / Robert Altman (USA, 2006)
Nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear: Berlin 2006. All star cast. It is celebrity version of Garrison Keillor's radio show. It adds a slight story of the radio show ending as a new owner (Tommy Lee Jones) has bought the Fitzgerald theater that the show broadcasts from and is going to tear it down. Another fantasy element is thrown in as an angel (Virginia Madsen) stalks the theater to take one of the performers. Keillor plays the lead character, coincidentally called GK. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep play the singing Johnson Sisters, with Lindsay Lohan as a suicide-obsessed daughter of Streep. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are hilarious as the slightly off-color singing cowboy duo, Dusty & Lefty. Kevin Kline is a security guard who tells the story. Maya Rudolph also appears as a pregnant stage coordinator. 105 minutes
HOLLYWOODLAND / Allen Coultrer (USAm 2006) Nominated for Golden Lion: Venice 2006. A Detective examines the death of George Reeves, TV's Superman portrayed by Ben Affleck. Also stars Adrien Brody, Dianne Lane .
THE ACHIEVERS / Abraham Lim (USA, 2006) 95 minutes
COLMA: THE MUSICAL / Richard Wong (USA, 2006) 119 minutes
SENTENCED HOME / David Grabias, Nicole Newham (USA, 2006) Funded by the Sundance Documentary Fund and PBS, SENTENCED HOME puts a
never-before-seen face on current U.S. deportation policy. 73 minutes
CLEOPATRA WONG / Bobby A. Suarez (Singapore-Philippines, 1978)
Story about the adventure of a beautiful secret agent (Marie Lee) Also stars Catched the eye of Quentin Tarantino and has been one of the inspirations for him to write "Kill Bill" 92 minutes
BAMBOO GODS AND BIONIC BOYS / Andrew Leavold
An overview of the most outrageous moments from the Philippines prolific B-film industry
PINOY VISION PROGRAM
The first of our showcase programs of new short works highlights emerging local talents, accented with a pair of works by Filipino producers who are beginning to make waves on the international scene. 70 – 90 minutes
AUSTRALIAN INDIES
RAUL: THE TERRIBLE / David Bradbury (Australia, 2006)
Raul Castells. He admires Che's convictions. Raul is a walking, talking force of Raul, the Terrible (who was born in the city of Che Guevara ) is a warts-and-all portrait of a man driven to change the world and a frightening insight into the politics of poverty. 52 minutes
THE ACTRESS / Zak Hilditch (Australia, 2005) 91 minutes
BURKE & WILLS / Matthew Zeremes, Oliver Knorr (Australia , 2005) 74 minutes
EMULSION / Jontahan Ogilvie (Australia, 2005) 85 minutes
IN BETWEEN DAYS / So-yong Kim (USA-Canada-South Korea, 2006)
FIPRESCI Prize: Berlin 2006, Special Jury Prize for So Yong Kim & Bradley Rust Gray: Sundance 2006
HEREMIAS / Lav Diaz (Philippines, 2006)
Bagged the Special Jury Prize at the recently concluded 20th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland "Heremias" stars Ronnie Lazaro as a farmer who fasts for 40 days and nights 540 minutes
KUBRADOR / Jeffrey Jeturian (Philippines, 2006) 98 minutes
YOUNG CINEMA NIGHT
DOCUMENTARIES
DIGITAL LOKAL COMPETITION
BEST OF PINOY DIGITAL FILMS
LINO BROCKA RETROSPECTIVE