Indie Film "NAKAW" Makes It To Cannes

We have seen NAKAW's premier last October as it was one of the few films showcased in the 15th Spanish Film Festival. It's the 7 minute short film created by Buzz Productions and Patsy Ferrer's Cut!Print Productions through the direction of Arvin Belarmino and Noel Escondo. They have been asked to represent the country for the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner, enabling them to be shown in Cannes, France from May 22-28, 2017. They will also be having a special screening at Salles Palais F on May 24, 2017 at 4PM. Aside from that, the team will also be participating at the Canne Film Festival Booth come May 17-28 and appear on the Philippine Pavillion on May 23, 2017. It's a remarkable honor bestowed on projects that passes criterion for short films and only a few were able to do this feat in the past. It will be shown together with 3 other short films: Ayo-Ayo by Reena Dunque, Blood and Ink by Jill Damatac and Love Remembers by Ralston Jover.

The film is about a boy who stole a purse and triggers a series of life changing events inside a community. The film stars Kristofer King, Frank Ferguson, Angelo Gammad, Duke San Juan and Sheika Aljunaibi. It's a treat because it's super cool to see how they actually have shot these series of events in just one continous take. The team is also in the works to meet with Producers and Distributors during the special Cloud 21 Panel event at the Eden Hotel on the 22nd of May, to hopefully get more people to watch this short films from the Philippines. 

They have been steadfastly trying to pool funding for their bid to win this for the Philippines and have asked several people and companies for support. Their call has not fallen on deaf ears as they have been supported by the Quezon City Local Government, the French Embassy to the Philippines, Instituto Cervantes Manila, Statement Productions, Got Heart Foundation, The Idea First Company, Rau Atelier De Manila, R2Buds Nail Spa, Chemworld Fragrance Factory, Getz Brothers Philippines, Ripple Events, Aqueous Entertainment and my favorite network Smart Communications all chipped in. They have also been helped by Cine Marcelline, Halikon Films, Mober and GFilmRental during the process of filming, which they are so thankful for!

The 7 minute film has already achieved a lot of impossible things, and now that they've got in the special short film corner, we hope they would make more waves elsewhere. Hopefully, this won't be the last project they'll do. We were just informed, they have a few up their sleeves so let's see how far they'll soar!

KUMAGCOW

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The 'NAKAW' World Premiere - Pelicula/Pelikula, Manila - Spanish Film Festival

This is the first time that BUZZ Productions and Cut!Print is venturing into the independent film business and they've done it in a very opportune time as part of the entries in Pelikula/Pelicula, The Manila-Spanish Film Festival. It has been going on for several years now and for those who adore Spanish, Latin American and Filipino films, this should ALWAYS be in your calendar because this is part of the activities hosted by the Spanish Embassy, Instituto Cervantes and now the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

NAKAW is a short film that tells a story of a boy that triggered a series of life changing events when he stole a woman's purse. It also tells a very realistic situation in the slums of Manila. If you frequent places like it, you'll get to connect real fast. I was a little hesitant to ask about how close this is to extra judicial killings and what we sometimes call "cardboard justice", but it wasn't actually just what they wanted to portray, like a mirror to situations happening now but not entirely. I like the fact that they have also done in in one take, continuously shot as you see one particular scene connect to the other. You'll eventually feel bad about the guy Kristoffer King, but somehow feel sorry because in some way, they are human too and they could have had the chance to defend themselves in real courts rather than just the streets.

The film is written and directed by Noel Escondo and Arvin Kadiboy Belarmino (who's not a stranger to indie films). This is also Produced by Patsy Ferrer. The short film actually only takes 6 minutes and 45 seconds so it's a real challenge to tell a story in that time span. It makes me want to do a short film too LOL.

I really think this film could do well in various film festivals outside the country. It's a complex plot, but told in a manner that could be also easily understood by the normal joe. It's not intended for kids though because there is a little part where some adult scenes were done to tell the story of one of the characters. This film stars Kristoffer King, Frank Ferguson, Angelo Gammad, Duke San Juan and Sheika Aljunaibi. It was also an awesome chance to get to know the plight of films like these through the Film Development of the Philippines chair, Liza Dino - Seguerra. She quips we have a lot of challenges but know how talented Filipinos are in the industry, and she hopes to get the world to see what we do here. NAKAW is just one of them, go check out their pages and see screenings locally. 

Thank you BUZZ Productions for having me!

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