As I write (Sept 13, 12:45 am), I feel my cheeks damp. Am crying? Quietly, yes. I feel so grateful for the kindness and support of everyone. Our org, The Sinè Institute, will need you all the way as we encourage you to appreciate the Filipino culture and examine the Film industry as a potential career for a lot of Filipino creatives in North America.
Last night’s launching at Film School paid homage to all the Pinoy entries (led by ANAK KA NG INA MO/known also as Your Mother’s Son with subtitles, and short-film Primetime Mother) to Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) making us proud of our very own talents.
Re Sinè, I consider myself fortunate to be working with an impressive assemble of names known in their varied fields of leadership: Michael Masangkay (outstanding educator at The FILM SCHOOL), Rosary Escano of Kre8, Francis Rementilla, Loretta Levinson, Kim Villafuerte, Rhia Alcantara, Ed Joaquin, Agnes Miranda (Chairman) and Danilo Orbilio. Now preparing a drive-in theater event this October. Will announce later.
Ferdy Lapuz/DIREK JUN LANA
Attended the preem showing of ANAK KA NG INAK MO at the ScotiaBank Theatre directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jun Lana. We were warned by our close friends in the industry about the ending, that it might shock us…
Let me tell you first about Direk JUN.
Born Rodolfo Lana Jr. in Makati, he was interested in writing from an early age, he began to write and submit plays in Filipino language to competitions. He has adopted Jun Lana as his pen name. At age 19, he received an “Honorable Mention” citation in the 1991 Palanca Awards in the category Dulang May Isang Yugto (One-Act Play in Filipino), for his play Eksodo.
The following year, Lana won Third Prize in the same category for Churchill. In the next eight years, Lana won nine more Palanca Awards for his Filipino-language screenplays and teleplays, including First Prizes for the screenplays Karinyo-Brutal (1995) and Mga Bangka sa Tag-araw (1996); and for the teleplays Sa Daigdig ng mga Taksil (1995), and together with Peter Ong Lim, for Pula (1997).
In 2006, Lana’s teleplay Milagrosa won his fifth First Prize Palanca Award and his 11th overall. With his fifth First Prize, Lana was inducted into the Palanca Hall of Fame.
Since 1998, Lana has written screenplays for such directors as Marilou Diaz-Abaya Mel Chionglo and Maryo J. de los Reyes. His screenplay for Diaz-Abaya’s Sa Pusod ng Dagat (1998) won Lana the Best Screenplay award from the Brussels European Film Festival|Brussels International Film Festival in 1998.
He has won two FAMAS Best Screenplay awards — in 1998 for Jose Rizal (shared with Ricky Lee and Peter Ong Lim) and in 1999 for Soltera (shared with Jerry Lopez Sineneng). His screenplay for Jose Rizal also won awards from the Metro Manila Film Festival and the Star Awards for Movies. In 2005,
Lana’s Palanca-award-winning play Mga Estranghero at ang Gabi (1994) was adapted for film by Rody Vera. Renamed Pusang Gala and directed by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil, the film was nominated for several FAMAS awards, including a Best Story nomination for Lana.
In 2012 his film Bwakaw was selected as the Filipino entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards. In 2014, Lana and frequent filmmaking partner, Perci Intalan, established The IdeaFirst Company, a company for creative content creation and consultancy. The company has produced many films of which has been awarded in numerous screenings in the Philippines and overseas.
In the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival, his 2016 film Die Beautiful won the festival’s Audience Choice Award, and also the Best Actor award for Paolo Ballesteros. In 2019 he won the Best Director Award for his feature film Kalel, 15 at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The film had its world premiere in the Estonian capital where it was screened in the official selection.
Regarding his current fillm Anak Ka ng Ina Mo, Direk Lana said they started making the film two years ago at the height of the pandemic, a time when Duterte [Philippines’ former president] was still very much in power “and it was a horrific time for everybody. You’d wake up every day to news of people dying of Covid, but also people being shot in the streets because of Duterte’s drugs war. We were asking ourselves – where is the tipping point? Because it was obvious something’s wrong and yet we’d become complacent.”
So, continuing on in his recent interview with an Asian journalist, Direk added that he started working on this story, which alludes to what was happening, “because I wanted to portray a society that’s immoral – we’re living in a time where what is wrong has been accepted as normal. I’m also trying to make sense of this really complex relationship we have with our abusers – because in the Philippines we were colonised by Spain for 300 years, we were under American rule for 40 years, Japanese rule for three years, we were under martial law for 21 years during the time of Ferdinand Marcos, and then we had six horrific years of Duterte’s drugs war. And yet we love our abusers, we put them in positions of power.
So basically, I’m just trying to make sense of this really complicated and long, deep history of oppression.”
During the Q and A after the screening, Direk Lana mentioned that the film plays out as an allegory. “Many Filipino films have tackled the drugs war and yet we’ve still become complacent to it…”
The producer, Ferdy Lapuz, who is from Mississagua but now residing in Pinas is also in town. Lapuz has been given a lifetime achievement award at the recently concluded 2023 Fantasporto International Film Festival (IFF) in Porto, Portugal, where he was also honored with a retrospective of some of the most celebrated films he helped produce.
Among his projects include “Ekstra,” starring Vilma Santos and Dementia with Nora Aunor. Lapuz hopes our industry will reap an Oscar award soon. “I really thought we’d finally have one through Dolly (de Leon, best known for her roles in the films Verdict and Historya ni Ha, and gained international recognition for the Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness. We still cannot disregard what she did for the industry. She helped make people know about the Filipino talent, as well as opened so many doors for us.”
On the personal side of things, Ferdy approached us at the Film School event – spotting some members of the media and asked about the revered publisher/editor Ruben Cusipag and informed him about his passing and that his widow, Ms Tess C, has taken the reins…
Meryll/Joey Reyes
Meryll Soriano, the main star of PrimeTime Mother has gained new friends here in Toronto. “She is so down to earth! Hindi fake!” was the instant remark of majority.
Meryll, whose Mom is sister to Maricel Soriano and whose Dad is Willie Revillame, invited us to the
screening of her TIFF film and we’re on the way to watch it. That means we will have enough time to interview her. PROMISE!
Also happy to reunite with Direk Joey Reyes of Film Development Council of the Philippines. Before he and his staff left, he found time to meet with Michael Masangkay about Sine’s coming film festival in early 2024.
Direk Joey also disclosed “The meaning of absolute joy: seeing my former students now in various careers in filmmaking here in Toronto and finding their own corners of the sky. Only a fellow teacher will understand the happiness of seeing Ralph, KP and MJ and sharing memories as well as discussing the exciting prospects of their future in an upcoming exciting new world for them. My heart is overflowing with pride and happiness. The children have indeed left the coop and flew high on their own. “
See you in 2 weeks.