Wednesday, October 31, 2012

WATCH OUT! THY WOMB



ni Bernie Placido

Ang pelikulang pinuri, pinalakpakan, pinarangalan at binigyan ng limang minutong standing ovation sa ibang bansa ay mapapanood na sa December 25, 2012 bilang kalahok sa Metro Manila Film Festival. Ang "Thy Womb" Starring Ms. Nora Aunor sa direksiyon ni Brillante Ma. Mendoza! Mula sa Film Development Council at Centerstage Productions.

Monday, October 29, 2012

NORA AUNOR FILM FEST



HIMALA
Restored HD Version
Showing on December 5, 2012
Premiere Nights: Decemeber 2 and 4
with Launching of 
HIMALA COFFEE TABLE BOOK 
by Ricky Lee



EL PRESIDENTE
Metro Manila Film Festival Entry
Showing on December 25, 2012



THY WOMB
Metro Manila Film Festival Entry
Showing on December 25, 2012
Premiere Night: November 23 - Davao

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

NORA AUNOR - STARRER 'THY WOMB' MAKES IT TO METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL


By JOSE CARLOS L. MANINGAT
Philippine Online Chronicles
October 19, 2012

Source:  http://thepoc.net/breaking-news/entertainment/17220-nora-aunor-starrer-thy-womb-makes-it-to-mmff.html

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Brillante Mendoza’s internationally acclaimed film “Thy Womb,” which stars Nora Aunor, has earned a last-minute slot as an official entry to the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival after “Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang” (which was to star Zsa Zsa Padilla) backed out from the film fest.

“Thy Womb”, which reaped three awards at the 69th Venice International Film Festival last month, was earlier denied a slot in the local film fest.

"I'm happy and glad that we were given a chance to share our film with the Filipino audience. It's a nice Christmas gift for all the cast and crew to share a film that we are all proud of," Director Mendoza told Yahoo! Philippines in a text message.

The Brillante film, which is set on the islands of Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao, tells the story of a Badjao midwife (Aunor) coping with her own infertility.

It won the P. Nazareno Taddei Award (Special Mention) for expressing authentic human values during last month’s Venice film fest. Aunor meanwhile won the Bisato d’ Oro Award for her portrayal in the film. Another award, the La Navicella Venezia Cinema Award by the Journal of Cinema, was conferred to Mendoza.

The film also stars local actresses Lovi Poe and Mercedes Cabral.
On Friday, the film outfit behind “Lola Basyang” confirmed that it is pulling out the film from the annual film fest, but declined to explain the decision.

Two other films ("Tuhog" starring Eugene Domingo and Enchong Dee; and "My Prince Charming" starring Thai actor Mario Maurer) were optioned as replacement entry based on the ranking of the scripts, according to an ABS-CBN News report.

But both projects were reportedly unable to wrap up the filming in time for the MMFF premiere of entries on Christmas Day.

ABS-CBN said “Thy Womb” will join the following MMFF entries: : "Conyo Problems" from GMA Films; "El Presidente' from Scenema Concept International, Inc.; "One More Try" from Star Cinema; "Shake, Rattle and Roll 14" from Regal Entertainment, Inc.; "Si Agimat, si Enteng Kabisote and Me" from Octoarts Films, M-Zet Productions, Imus Productions, APT Entertainment and GMA Films; "Sisteraka" from Star Cinema and Viva Films; and "The Strangers" from Quantum Films.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

FOREIGN CRITICS LAUD 'THY WOMB'



By KAYE VILLAGOMEZ
mb.com.ph
Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation
October 7, 2012


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MANILA, Philippines — The Nora Aunor film “Thy Womb” won the nod of international film critics in several published reviews.
With a current 100 percent “Fresh” rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, “Thy Womb” recently competed for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. The Brillante Mendoza film went on to bring home three special prizes from the said festival: La Navicella Venezia Cinema Award, the P. Nazareno Taddei Award – Special Mention, and the Bisato d’ Oro Award for Best Actress, which went to Ms. Aunor.
One of Rotten Tomatoes’ top critics and Variety reviewer Guy Lodge said of the 2012 release: “Typically arresting direction and a stoically moving lead turn from local industry legend Nora Aunor.”
Lodge added, “Mendoza leaves these anarchic intrusions unsettlingly free of social context; perhaps the director is concerned about a more external focus crowding his affectingly intimate relationship study. He strenuously avoids judging Shaleha’s (Nora) simultaneously courageous and anti-feminist decision to act as her beloved husband’s marriage broker, though Aunor’s softly crinkled face beautifully registers the internal pain of her every decision in this curious process.”
The critic added how tempting it was to call “Thy Womb” Mendoza’s best opus. “As an open-hearted, even sentimental tale of a working-class woman making the most selfless of sacrifices to give her husband a child, it’s tempting to call ‘Thy Womb’ the gentlest film to date from hardworking Filipino provocateur Brillante Mendoza. Then one remembers that it opens with a live human birthing and, later, graphically depicts the beheading of a cow by machete.”
Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter’s (THR) Neil Young recognized the “alluring scenery and a sympathetic lead performance help elevate an otherwise tepid, underdeveloped slice of Philippine ethno-drama.”
The detailed THR account read: “A spectacularly big sky, big sea location just off the coast of Borneo, Tawi-Tawi is one of the country’s five mainly Muslim provinces, and Mendoza’s depiction of the religion’s exotic but mild local variant adds much flavor to proceedings, especially the dazzlingly opulent garments worn at festive and formal occasions.
An IMDB.com critique said of the film: “Quickly assuming the stature of one of the most important directors from the Philippines, Brillante Mendoza churns out another macabre narrative of the hard knock lives from his native land with the effective ‘Thy Womb.’ Working at break neck speed and putting out several shorts and a title or two a year, he’s earned a prolific reputation after a 2009 Cannes win for Best Director for the infamous ‘Kinatay,’ and then followed that up with a starring role for the one and only Isabelle Huppert. But he switches gears a bit for this latest story, leaving behind a violence that dictates the narrative arc to tell a meditatively tragic tale, one which simmers gracefully to its abrupt finale.”
Produced by Center Stage Productions, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and written by Henry Burgos, “Thy Womb” – local title “Sinapupunan” – also stars Lovi Poe, Bembol Roco and Mercedes Cabral.