IT was in 2005 that the Philippines made history at the 58th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. It was the very first time that the country was etched on the world film map in one of the prestigious cinema events.
It was Filipino director Brillante Ma. Mendoza’s “Masahista (The Masseur),” a foray into the life of a masseur in a provincial city gay massage clinic that bagged the Best Film in Video in Locarno. From then on, the history of the native filmmaking was never the same again.
Moviemaking in celluloid or the use of negatives and positives in film was on the way out and digital filmmaking would soon reign in the business.
The Locarno award gave Brillante all the opportunities to represent the Philippines in many international film festivals where he won various honors, topped by his winning Palme d’Or Best Director for the dark film “Kinatay (The Execution of P/The Butchered) at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival. Mendoza was an exceptional filmmaker of his generation.
This year, another Filipino filmmaker, Carlo Francisco Manatad has cracked up a special participation in the 74th Locarno where his film “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine)” competed in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present Competition)—this column was written in the time frame of the festival, August 4 to 14, 2021—a very prestigious contest. We’ll keep you posted on the results of the fest’s awarding.
“Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” is about how a mother and his two children survived the onslaught of the deadly Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in Tacloban City, Leyte in 2013. It stars Charo Santos as the mom, Rans Rafol and Tacloban City-bred Daniel Padilla as the kids.
Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present Competition) is a section of Locarno dedicated to emerging directors from all over the world. The selected feature films screening as world or international premieres, from documentary to fiction, will compete for the Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente.
Charo, Rans and Daniel were all excited about the chance of their film in the international arena.
Held every August since 1946, the Locarno, one of the world’s longest running annual festivals, focuses on auteur cinema where film fans and industry professionals come together to discover new inspiration and transform their passion into cinematic artistry.
“Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” film took part in the 2019 Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Project Market and was awarded with a fund worth PHP 2.5 million through the Agency’s FilmPhilippines International Co-production Fund (ICOF) in 2021.
Meanwhile, aside from “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon,” three non-competition titles and seven filmmakers comprised the strong-Philippine delegation to Locarno.