When: December 5 - 11, 2007 Where: Indie Sine, Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Tickets: P50 only
Kontra Agos: A Resistance Films Festival, celebrates films that go against the current, whether it be of popular cinema, politics or conventional ideas of love, sex and gender. Kontra Agos will present over the course of a week a range of films, past and present, that are politically, historically, and formally subversive.
my short film, "ang bayan kong payapa" is an official selection.
Kontra Agos: A Resistance Films Festival, celebrates films that go against the current, whether it be of popular cinema, politics or conventional ideas of love, sex and gender. Kontra Agos will present over the course of a week a range of films, past and present, that are politically, historically, and formally subversive.
my short film, "ang bayan kong payapa" is an official selection.
Please download festival sked below (see attachment).
Final MTRCB rating of 'ang bayan kong payapa' [Live blogging - Paradise Resort]
I'm blogging from Malolos, Bulacan where the judging for the province-wide photo competition has just ended with a bang (yep, I'm one of the jurors, joining Sir Julius Clar whom I highly respect). While we were doing the rounds of comments from the judges - a la American Idol (and I'm not the Simon Cowell here! hahaha!) - I got dozens of texts about the tension on Makati led by Senator Trillanes. As I blog, the tension's over. And I also got a text from Kiri Dalena (programmer of the Resistance Film Festival at Robinson's Galleria) that my film 'ang bayan kong payapa' was rated PG13 (MTRCB suspected that I'm gonna rally in front of their office so they were kind enough to give me a rating the film deserves. - But here's a rumor: they're subscribers to this blogsite so they gave in to my suggested rating. Hahaha!). It shares the same rating as Beowulf.
So it's a go! You will be able to view the film with the rest of the short films during the festival run starting this December 5, 2007. Festival ends on the 11th.
Meanwhile, I will be staying overnight at the Paradise Resort and will proceed to Pampanga tomorrow at 10:00am for a photo shoot with an upcoming band (yep, I'm doing the shoot!). Tonight the lovely people at the PPAO (Provincial Public Affairs Office of Bulacan) will be treating me to death so I have to declare that my day is just about to start. 'Be back in Manila on Saturday!
'ang bayan kong payapa' officially selected for Kontra-Agos Resistance Film Festival 2007
My four-minuter little film 'ang bayan kong payapa' is an official selection at the Kontra-Agos Resistance Film Festival 2007 running from December 5 to 11, 2007 at the Indie Sine at Robinson's Galleria.
Kontra-Agos Resistance Film Festival 2007 is an initiative of ST Exposure and Digital Cheese in cooperation with UP Sining at Lipunan, Sine Tres Marias and the Independent Filmmakers Cooperative. For more details, please visit: Kontra-Agos official site
ang bayan kong payapa is the "state of our nation cycle". It features Jeralyn Woo, Myk Laurente, Mars Adriano, Reymer Salvador, Eden Valen.
I will be posting schedule here soon or just check out the festival's site. I'm honored to be part of this fest that programs unorthodox, protest and brave cinema!
[Check the cool trailer of the Kontra-Agos Resistance Film Festival below:]
YouTube premiere of Swan Dive's UNTIL music video!
Swan Dive's new music video, "Until" will have its online premiere at YouTube on Monday, November 26, 2007 at 7:00pm (Philippine time). The video stars acclaimed Filipino actress, Ms. Angel Aquino with Paolo Miguel Lopez, Ma. Blesilda Casaje, Harold Abenoja, Ricky Pantaleon, Giselle Nadal, Mary Grace de Belen, Bea Justin Malalad, Anreen Torres. The link to the video shall be posted on the same date or simply type "Swan Dive Until" to search for the video. The alternate version shall be posted the week after. Help us spread the word.
I Remember You performance art artist: Tari Ito (Japan)
* performance about Kim Sundok (Korean comfort woman) video documentation by yours truly
from the exhibit "Trauma Interrupted" curated by Flaudette May Datuin Cultural Center of the Philippines / June 14 - July 29, 2007
Tari Ito's (artist) statement:
This performance is paying humble homage to a Korean woman, Kim Sundok, one of the former "comfort women" or a sex slave of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. This is also an objection against current climatein Japanese society; the nation-state seems preparing for another war in spite of its war-renouncing constitution. As Japanese, I should never forget the sexual violence by the army which totally devastated Sundok's life.
Still now, every Wednesday, there are women standing in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul Korea, asking the Japanese government for apology and compensation to the former "comfort women". Through this performance, I want to jointly struggle for justice.
It is not history but current.
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my personal notes:
To document Tari Ito's performance art is an honor for any filmmaker (on the side, it was also important for me to note that this all-female exhibition with feminist platforms selected a male artist to document this performance). She is one of Japan's noted and respected performance artists. But more than that, her performances are rooted on strong and solid concepts filled with emotional fury. This performance (filled with rage, anger, suppression, longing and hope) affected me so much because Filipino women were also victims of Japanese white slavery. It was not therefore difficult for me to understand the emotional baggages that accompany this performance.
Meeting Tari and getting instructions from her was a chance for me to know more about her performance and how she relates this to the over-all tone of the exhibit. She gives minimal instructions and allowed me to document it the way I want it. I could see that she seemed to tell me: "your visual must complement my performance" (I would like to particularly note that Tari was very glad and more assured of a "participative documentation" when she knew that we both belong to one community). And so I did just that. After the performance, the video will immediately be played, unedited, as a one-channel video for the exhibition.
The video during the documentation of her live performance was not just a machine or a tool for recording. I thought it was apt to allow it to breathe and complement Tari's performance. In many parts, the movement of the video camera (and the moving images it documents) reacts to the actions of Tari. The camera glides (like another entity observing the turmoil of the performer), moves forward (like getting nearer the action), shakes (like reacting to the emphasis on movement); and even falls (like being caught off guard). The camera here is not a passive observer. It wants to participate by reacting (through camera movements) to the performance. The video images don't want to simply recall history. They are current.
[note: 56 photos out of 1,578 photos - so expect more albums to come!]
* all photos by TIN YUMUL [with a few shots from Orville Chua & Rosswil Hilario]
UNTIL music artist: SWAN DIVE producer & director : Elvert de la Cruz Bañares producer : Cheng Peria-Curameng & Milos Curameng
cast: Ms. Angel Aquino
with Paolo Miguel Lopez Ma. Blesilda Casaje Harold Abenoja Ricky Pantaleon Giselle Nadal Mary Grace de Belen Bea Justin Malalad Anreen Torres
assistant director & production manager : Rosswil Hilario costume designer (Ms. Angel Aquino’s wardrobe) : Veejay Floresca production coordinator (off-set) / stills (main) : Tin Yumul costume designer (set costumes) : Francis Jove de la Cruz on-set production coordinators : Noel Domdom, Dickson Comia, Marvie Luz Castilla, Giorgio Amista production coordinator (off-set) : Orville Chua additional stills (documentation) : Jenn Cabrerra additional stills (behind-the-scenes) : Marjorie Romero make-up : Kenneth Cobarrubias & Tony Parcon filmmaking facilities & equipment : Balicas Grip production coordinator & assistant to Ms. Aquino: Cheska Calayag director of photography & editor : Elvert de la Cruz Bañares
other talents Titus Gregory Angelo Almonte Cheska Calayag Csharlotte Tan Angelica Amor Lawrence Nicodemus Raquel Eribe Greg Señorin Leonard Corcuera Russel Banawa
Photos are owned by Ex Ventures Unlimited. Posting, distribution or recopying in any media (unless for promotional purposes) is not allowed without written permission from producers. You can e-mail us at i@elvertb.com - cast and crew members are allowed to post in their own individual blog and network sites.
End Frame Video Art Project II * This press release was forwarded by visualpond@gmail.com
End Frame Video Art Project II: Daily Disclosures, a Philippine video art festival, takes place on 12 – 16 October 2007 at The Fifth, 5F, Shangri-la Plaza, EDSA corner Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong. Presented by Visual Pond, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Listening in Style, Shangri-la Plaza and Rodriguez de Alba Foundation for Creative Advocacy in partnership with Pablo, Festival do Minuto, The One Minutes and Metro Home magazine and with support by the Ateneo Art Gallery, End Frame Video Art Project aims to call attention to and create discussion on video art done by Filipino artists and experimental filmmakers, both here and abroad.
The theme of this year's video art festival Daily Disclosures calls attention to art in the everyday, particularly the increasing relevance of video art in the face of the constant bombardment of heightened technology in people's daily activities. Adding an international dimension to the project is the collaboration with The One Minutes, an organization based in the Netherlands that collects one minute video artworks all over the world. As the Philippine partner, Visual Pond is collecting Philippine one minutes through End Frame to enter in The One Minutes Awards in November 2007. All one minutes entered in End Frame will also be eligible for a screening of Philippine one minutes for the Olympic One Minutes exhibit to take place in Beijing in 2008 right before the Summer Olympics. End Frame is also partnering with Festival do Minuto in Brazil where the Philippine one minutes submissions for this year's festival will be exhibited in December.
54 video works answered the call for entries last August and were screened by a selection committee composed of Peque Gallaga, Fatima Lasay, Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, Jun Sabayton and Kidlat Tahimik.
The exhibition will show 33 video artworks by the following artists/experimental filmmakers: Ivy Baldoza Elvert de la Cruz Bañares Romeo Candido Antonni Cuesta Ivan Despi Tad Ermitaño Nelson Florentino Mitch Garcia Gabriel Gomez Lea Lim Ian Madrigal Jemille Maog James Mayo J. Pacena Jet Pascua Claudine Rodriguez Dohna Sarmiento Rosevie Sevilla Christina Tulay Josemaria Lorenzo Valdez Leo Valencia Pauline Vicencio JJ Christine Villamarin Mannet Villariba Jevijoe Vitug Angelo Suarez & Costantino Zicarelli
Some works by international video artists will be on view at the Listening in Style store, also on the fifth floor of Shangri-la Plaza, during the festival period.
As part of the festival's activities, talks will be held at the Home Theater of Listening in Style. On 13 October, Saturday, 4:30 PM, Atty. Louie Calvario of Intellectual Property-Philippines discusses copyright issues of the video art form while 16 October, Tuesday, 4:30 PM is an open forum on video art, particularly in the Philippine context. Reservations are encouraged due to the limited seating capacity.
ang bayan kong payapa- officially selected for End Frame II Video Art Festival 2007
Today, I received an e-mail from Visual Pond (organizers and major sponsors of the festival) informing me that my short film "ang bayan kong payapa" (originally conceived as a two-channel video for the CCP-exhibit "Pasang Masid" curated by Karen Ocampo Flores & Noel Soler Cuizon) was officially selected for End Frame Video Art Project II: Daily Disclosures video art festival.
The festival takes place at The Fifth (area fronting Bench), 5th Floor, Shangri-la Plaza, EDSA cor. Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City from 12 - 16 October 2007 with an opening on 12 October at 7:00pm.
The End Frame II jury is composed of:
Peque Gallaga, Director and experimental filmmaker
Fatima Lasay, visual artist and independent curator
Eileen Legaspi-Ramirez, Curatorial Consultant, Lopez Memorial Museum
Jun Sabayton, Visual artist and curator, Jumpcut 2 video art exhibition
'ang bayan kong payapa' is a protest piece (not subversive, as one audience from mag:net commented) starring Jeralyn Woo, Eden Grace Valen, Michael Laurente, Reymer Salvador, Mars Adriano. ang bayan kong payapa's synopsis: This is our state of the nation cycle.
CMC Radio Lab, College of Mass Communication, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Intramuros, Manila
"THE WIND WILL CARRY US" Film Screening with Lecture Presentation
Sept 27, 2007 / 9:00am to 11:30am CMC Radio Lab, College of Mass Communication Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Intramuros, Manila
FREE ADMISSION!
order of the program: - main feature: "Bad ma ra khahad bord" (The Wind Will Carry Us) by Abbas Kiarostami (1999, Iran) - a discussion about the film and a brief introduction to Iranian Cinema follows - 7 short films by student-directors - screening of Joven Velasco's short documentary - open forum
Resource person: Filmmaker Elvert de la Cruz Bañares
* Joven Velasco's film courtesy of the Cinema Program, NCCA
**This academic event is sponsored by Film Aesthetics classes of the College of Mass Communication of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
*** The Wind Will Carry Us (Bād mā rā khāhad bord) is a 1999 Iranian film by Abbas Kiarostami.The title is a reference to a poem written by Iranian famous modern female poet Forough Farrokhzad.In 1999, the movie was nominated for Golden Lion of Venice Film Festival. It won Grand Special Jury Prize (Silver Lion), FIPRESCI Prize and CinemAvvenire award in this festival. It received numerous other nominations and awards as well.
synopsis: A group of journalists and production engineers arrive in a Kurdish village to document the locals' mourning rituals anticipating the death of an elderly woman, but she remains alive. The main engineer is forced to slow down and appreciate the lifestyle of the village.
Film Aesthetics Classes of the Pamantasang ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Mass Communication
presents
CINEMA OF THE BRAVE
A Lecture Presentation by filmmaker Elvert de la Cruz Bañares
with screenings of 10 short films from around the world and a special screening of BATTLE IN HEAVEN by Carlos Reygadas
SEPT. 28, 2007 [FRI] 2:00pm - 5:00pm CMC Radio Lab
Topics covered: - exploring the underground cinema - understanding the avant-garde and experimental films - midnight movies - counter-culture & cult cinemas - banned films & film censorship
FREE ADMISSION! Open to the public
* The Exterminator is Special Senior Lecturer of the College of Mass Communication of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and handles Film Aesthetics, Film Production and Desktop Publishing.
THE WIND WILL CARRY US Film Screening with Lecture Presentation
Sept 27, 2007 / 9:00am to 11:30pm CMC Radio Lab, College of Mass Communication Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Intramuros, Manila
FREE ADMISSION!
order of the program: - main feature: "Bad ma ra khahad bord" (The Wind Will Carry Us) by Abbas Kiarostami (1999, Iran) - a discussion about the film and a brief introduction to Iranian Cinema follows - 7 short films by student-directors - screening of Joven Velasco's short documentary - open forum
Resource person: Filmmaker Elvert de la Cruz Bañares
* Joven Velasco's film courtesy of the Cinema Program, NCCA
**This academic event is sponsored by Film Aesthetics classes of the College of Mass Communication of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
*** The Wind Will Carry Us (Bād mā rā khāhad bord) is a 1999 Iranian film by Abbas Kiarostami.The title is a reference to a poem written by Iranian famous modern female poet Forough Farrokhzad.In 1999, the movie was nominated for Golden Lion of Venice Film Festival. It won Grand Special Jury Prize (Silver Lion), FIPRESCI Prize and CinemAvvenire award in this festival. It received numerous other nominations and awards as well.
synopsis: A group of journalists and production engineers arrive in a Kurdish village to document the locals' mourning rituals anticipating the death of an elderly woman, but she remains alive. The main engineer is forced to slow down and appreciate the lifestyle of the village.
