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Rising hopes of a revival in Filipino cinema
Increased representation at this year’s Cannes festival – from Lav Diaz to Kyla Danelle Romero – is sparking hopes that the country’s movies may finally get more widely distributed
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Filipino cinema made a resounding statement at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, signalling a potential return to the global stage for a country with a rich, yet often overlooked, cinematic history. Five Filipino-produced films graced the Croisette, including acclaimed director Lav Diaz’s feature-length production Magellan, Japanese co-production Renoir, and short films Bleat! and Ali.
The festival marked a historic moment for Filipina filmmakers. Kyla Danelle Romero became the first Filipina filmmaker to compete for the Palme d’Or in the “Short Films in Competition” section with her 15-minute film Agapito, a poignant story about an impoverished family working as pin-setters in an old bowling alley. Her director of photography, Geia de Vera, also made a statement as one of the first Filipina cinematographers featured in the same category.
The news is a welcome sign that Filipino cinema may be ready to make an international comeback and shows “a renewed interest in what artists from this side of the world have to offer in terms of cinematic storytelling,” according to Anne Frances Sangil, associate professor at De La Salle University.
While Filipino films may not boast the same global renown as those from regional powerhouses such as Japan or South Korea, the country has long enjoyed “a definitive, strong national cinema,” declares Sangil. During its 1950s heyday, the local film industry produced hundreds of films. The very best received international acclaim – Manuel Conde’s Genghis Khan earned a technical achievement citation at the 1952 Venice Film Festival.
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