During the press launch of the 23rd Pelicula>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival at the Red Carpet Cinema of the Shangri-La Plaza at the corner of Shaw Boulevard and EDSA, I was face-to-face with Francisco Javier Lopez Tapia, the new Director of the Instituto Cervantes de Manila.
Francisco replaced Galvan Javier, who was recently assigned to Sweden’s Instituto Cervantes.
Javier Lopez Tapia impressed many members of the Fourth Estate as a gorgeous persona worthy of adulation by fans had he been a screen idol.
Francisco might not be a film or television star but he is a rock star in his own right.
“I don’t think I can be a movie star because I am busy with my work at the Instituto Cervantes de Manila. But it’s a compliment to be noticed as such. Thank you,” chuckled Javier Lopez Tapia who heads the presentation of the 2024 Spanish Film Festival that kicks off on Saturday, October 5 with its opening film, “Robot Dreams” directed by noted Spanish director Pablo Berger.
Although he didn’t pursue an acting career, Farncisco has a string of stage performances in schools.
“When I was teenager, I was part of school plays. In the university I was also an actor in our stage plays,” he recalled.
That is why it wasn’t a farfetched idea that he was assigned as the new director of Instituto, the Spanish cultural center in the Philippines.
Heading this year’s Pelicula>Pelikula event is an important task for Javier Lopez Tapia.
Francisco said that the Philippines and Spain exchange diversified cultural activities that foster deeper understanding and friendship between the two countries. The festival is a platform, he explained, to show them.
Some films to be screened at the Official Selection include Victor Erica’s latest work “Cerra los ojos” (2023), Javier Macipe’s “La Estrella azul” (2023), Dani de la Ordens’ “Casa en llamas” (2024), “Loli Tormento” (2023) to be presented by its scriptwriter Mario Torrecillas, to name only a few.
(Photo Credit: Screengrab from Boy Villasanta's report in Road News)
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