'INDEPENDENCIA' & 'DINIG SANA KITA' AT THE TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL (TIFF)

[PHOTO AT LEFT Courtesy of pinoygigs online - 'Dinig Sana Kita' (If I Knew What You Said, international title AND BELOW 'Independencia']

TORONTO, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009, (from Pinoy Gigs Online) - Dinig Sana Kita (If I Knew What You Said) Two Filipino films is included in the 34th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada which is scheduled for public screening from September 10 to 20. The two films were, Dinig Sana Kita by Director Mike Sandejas and Independencia by Director Raya Martin.

Dinig Sana Kita (If I Knew What You Said, international title) was written and produced by Direk Mike. It stars the deaf actor Romalito Mallari, Robert Seña, Lorenzo Mara, and Zoe Sandejas. Dinig Sana Kita will be a part of the Contemporary World Cinema. Contemporary World Cinema is a section in Toronto International Film Festival which is dedicated to the “best of current international filmmaking.”

Dinig Sana Kita won the Audience Choice award in the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival held last July. It has also been invited to Hawaii International Film Festival in October and the Brussels Independent International Film Festival in November. Dinig Sana Kita was rated General Patronage (GP) by the Movie and Television Rating and Classification Board.

Independencia

Meanwhile, the Independencia by Direk Raya Martin will be screened in the Vision program for its North American premiere. Vision program, is a section in Toronto International Film Festival which is dedicated to innovative works of newcomers and veteran filmmakers who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary cinema. It spotlights work that challenges our notion of mainstream cinema and explores experimental filmmaking techniques, new territory and technologies.”

Independencia is a black-and-white film. It stars Alessandra de Rossi, Tetchie Agbayani, and Sid Lucero. The Independencia was also included in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival last May. The film is also set to compete at the 47th Annual New York Film Festival and Vladivostok International Film Festival in Russia next month. The Independencia is the third Filipino film that enter the prestigious New York Film Festival. The other two films were Insiang (1976) by the late Lino Brocka and Brillante Mendoza’s Serbis (2008).

The Film Society of Lincoln Center, organizer of the New York Film Festival, has described Direk Raya’s Independencia by saying it “offers a kind of alternative history of the Philippines and its struggle for nationhood in this stylized tale of a mother and son hiding in the mountains after the U.S. takeover of the islands.”

Dinig Sana Kita (If I Knew What You Said) Public Screening Schedule

September 11 (Friday) 03:30PM AMC 7 (AMC Theatres in Toronto Life Square) September 13 (Sunday) 04:30PM AMC 2 (AMC Theatres in Toronto Life Square) September 19 (Saturday) 11:00AM AMC 10 (AMC Theatres in Toronto Life Square)

Independencia Public Screening Schedule

September 12 (Saturday) 12:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3 September 13 (Sunday) 06:15PM AMC 5 (AMC Theatres in Toronto Life Square) September 17 (Thursday) 07:00PM VARSITY 2

Tags: dinig sana kita, dinig sana kita in toronto film festival, if i knew what you said, indenpendencia in toronto film festival, independencia, Pinoy Film in TIFF, TIFF, toronto international film festival

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 2:53 am and is filed under Pinoy Movie, Pinoy Pride. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Toronto Film Festival rolls out carpet for A-list stars
Thursday, September 10, 2009, By Barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09253/996751-60.stm#ixzz0QhRgw4HS>

(From Pittsburg Post Gazette by editor Barbara Vancheri) If the prospect of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Michael Caine, Colin Farrell, Michael Douglas, Nicolas Cage, Mariah Carey, Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen weren't enough, producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are due at the Toronto International Film Festival to support "Precious."

The full title is "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" and it's about a high school girl (Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe) who is pregnant with her father's child ... again. She cannot read or write, is teased for being overweight and abused physically and emotionally by her mother (Mo'Nique).

Hard sell? Not if Oprah gets behind it and the movie lives up to its promise that it does not wallow in depression.

Toronto welcomes the world this week for the 34th film festival, which opens today and concludes Sept. 19. It's where the seeds of good buzz and Oscar dreams are planted, and where bad buzz ravages a movie's prospects faster than blight on tomato plants.

Toronto opened a golden door for such movies as "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Wrestler," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "Capote" and "Walk the Line" in recent years.

Of particular interest to Pittsburghers this time: The North American premiere of "The Road," which debuted at the Venice Film Festival to mixed reviews.

One critic said it fell "dispiritingly short on every front" while another said director John Hillcoat did an admirable job of turning Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a big-screen movie starring Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

It was announced yesterday that the nationwide release date for "The Road" has been moved from Oct. 16 to Nov. 25.

The film shot in the Strip District and on closed roads near Breezewood, in Saxonburg, New Galilee, Raccoon Creek State Park, Braddock, McKeesport and in nearby coal country. It moved to Lake Erie, New Orleans, Mount St. Helens and Oregon from here.

In other Pittsburgh connections, George A. Romero's "Survival of the Dead" will premiere as part of the Midnight Madness program.

It's set in a world where the dead rise to menace the living (otherwise known as business as usual) and a rogue soldier leads a band of military dropouts in search of a refuge. Romero subverts the Western and finds even more inventive ways to kill zombies, all the while addressing societal issues as usual.

Romero, who now lives and works in Toronto, is scheduled to appear at a Saturday evening zombie walk in the city's Yonge-Dundas Square. The event will conclude with a free screening of 1968's "Night of the Living Dead," which launched a genre, a career and helped to put Western Pennsylvania on the movie map.

The zombie walk is just part of a host of freebies, including concerts, a roller-derby exhibition tied to the release of "Whip It," a ballet presentation and swing-dancing lessons.

But the main focus is moviegoing and this is how the numbers stack up:

Total films, 335 (271 features and 64 shorts); 242 features that are world, international or North American premieres; 3,000 submissions; 64 countries represented; the use of 32 screens scattered throughout the city; 25,791 minutes of film; and 470,000-plus admissions annually, both public and industry.

The list of filmmaker guests -- directors, actors, producers and others -- has more than 500 names, most recognizable.

Clooney, who arrived in Venice by speedboat Monday night with Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis in tow, is scheduled to promote a pair of movies, the madcap "Men Who Stare at Goats" and an adaptation of "Up in the Air" in which he plays a corporate downsizing expert.

Michael Moore is bringing "Capitalism: A Love Story" to Canada while the Coen brothers return with "A Serious Man." Actor Matt Damon will talk about playing "The Informant!" and actresses Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried and writer Diablo Cody will promote "Jennifer's Body."

Cruz will chat up the newest Pedro Almodovar picture, "Broken Embraces," Michael Cera will carry the flag for "Youth in Revolt" and Mortensen and Smit-McPhee will walk down "The Road."

Clive Owen will show his tender side as a widower in "The Boys Are Back," while Jane Campion is back with "Bright Star," a drama about doomed poet John Keats. Emily Blunt will get the royal treatment for "The Young Victoria," as in Queen Victoria.

Drew Barrymore will support her directorial debut, "Whip It," and fest favorite Colin Firth has two movies, "A Single Man," about a British college professor who loses his longtime partner in 1962 L.A., and "Dorian Gray" also starring Ben Barnes.

The first splashy premiere will be for "Creation" starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as Charles Darwin and his wife. Galas also will be devoted to pictures with Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington, among many others.

The festival generates an annual economic impact of $135 million in Canadian dollars, employs more than 100 full-time staffers, 500 part-time and seasonal workers and relies upon more than 2,000 volunteers.

Post-Gazette movie editor Barbara Vancheri can be reached at bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. She will blog from Toronto at Mad About the Movies at post-gazette.com/movies. First published on September 10, 2009 at 12:00 am

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09253/996751-60.stm#ixzz0QhM4WlM3