By Ruben V. Nepales
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Lav Diaz’s nine-hour “Kagadanan sa Banwaan ning mga Engkanto (Death in the Land of Encantos)” won the Golden Lion Special Mention award in the Horizons (Orizzonti) Documentary section of the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.

The top prize went to “Wuyong (Useless)” by China’s Jia Zhangke.

Diaz and Zhangke won against such name directors as Jonathan Demme and Julian Schnabel. Last year, renowned director Spike Lee won the award in this category for “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.”

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By Ruth L. Navarra
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–A Filipino graphic artist literally makes waves in Sony Pictures’ latest animation “Surf’s Up.”

Armand Serrano confessed that’s he’s no surfer dude but, has worked the waves for the past three years as only geeks can — he studied and researched on the principles of water. It was necessary because he had to know how water moved and flowed so he could draw it accurately.

“I also had to study foliage of a tropical forest because there was a scene in the movie where a character called Geek took in the hero Cody into his secret home,” he said.

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By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Sleep-deprived, Filipino-American filmmaker Ramona Diaz’s mind was swirling with all sorts of “compelling” images: African-American girls dancing and chanting “Pen-pen de Sarapen.” An American school principal and janitress swaying to “Pinoy Ako [I'm Filipino],” the theme of the ABS-CBN reality show “Pinoy Big Brother.” And her film’s Caucasian cinematographer insisting on changing his citizenship to Filipino.

Diaz, whose 2004 documentary “Imelda” won Best Cinematography in the Sundance Film Festival, was in the country for almost a month, to shoot scenes for her latest documentary “The Learning.”

From controversial First Lady Imelda Marcos, Diaz is now training her camera on a group of Filipina schoolteachers who have migrated to Baltimore, Maryland, to teach in inner-city schools.

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By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

UPDATE: Editor’s note: Added link to winners’ page. Thanks to reader Lynn for the link.

ACTRESS Cherry Pie Picache has won the Best Actress award for her role in the Philippine entry “Summer Heat” in the recent 28th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) held from June 20 to July 1, the Department of Foreign Affairs announced on July 10.

Citing the report of Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Virgilio Reyes Jr., the DFA said in a press statement that Picache was cited “for her sustained and controlled performance of the character of the gay sister, Jess, who despite her apparent cultivated masculine exterior betrays a softness which can hardly be seen but can be felt by all.”

The DFA said the DIFF was organized by the Centre for Creative Arts and funded by the National Film and Video Foundation, National Lottery Distribution Fund, Hivos, Stichting Doen, City of Durban, Ethekwini Municipality, KwaZuluNatal Department of Economic Development, with support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy, French Embassy, Goethe Institute, and other partners.

The DIFF presented a selection of the best in cinema from South Africa, Africa, and around the world; some 300 screenings at 22 venues were organized across the Durban district during the festival period.

By Dexter R. Matilla
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Disney’s new animated movie “Meet the Robinsons” is big in every way. Big cast, big-name voices, and big ideas all throughout.

But perhaps none is bigger than the biggest character in the movie, Tiny, the Robinsons’ T-Rex pet. The obviously hard-to-miss Tiny steals the scene in one sequence, eliciting laughter once he speaks.

The voice belongs to Filipino-American Joe Mateo. A Fine Arts Advertising graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, Mateo also co-wrote the script and did storyboard work for the movie, which is based on the book “A Day with Wilbur Robinson” by William Joyce.

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