SINAG MAYNILA Features TALAHIB with Kristof Garcia and Gillian Vicencio

Watched one of the featured films in Sinag Maynila called TALAHIB, a film directed by critically acclaimed director Alvin Yapan and produced by FEAST foundation. It's English title Legend of the Tall Grass tells a lot about where most of the incidents happen since this is a slasher film. 

The elements are there, but since this is an Alvin Yapan film, the story telling felt a lot different from usual. If it were heavily commercial, it could have taken a route of violence all throughout but since it delves more into lore, detective work and their past wrongdoings, you would need to understand more of the conversations in order to decipher it. It did not depend on violence alone, it had elements of mental anguish, ghosts and indestructible beings as villains in the story. 

Alvin Yapan says "I am so nervous about what we will see this afternoon, and at the same time excited that after a long while, we will be finally seeing this with the producers and the audience, and I hope they get to like what they could see in our film. We are planning to have this be shown in other platforms, that's also our goal." 

He adds "This is the first time that the actors will be seeing the film (except playbacks). This is now complete with editing and sound, I hope those who would see this film appreciate the work we put in to hopefully spread the word about TALAHIB. We plan to put this in cinemas too on October for Halloween. This is R13, which we were gunning for. Hopefully we could get everyone to watch it, we didn't want it to be plainly a gorefest. I'd want Gillian to get a Best Actress nomination for her work here. I also gave Kristoff his time to shine in this project, and I've seen how he excellently is making drama executed too. (Spoiler) You'll see a long scene with Gillian showcasing her command on screen. This is an ensemble piece, but they have their own moments, their own spotlights that movie goers should watch out for."  

Kristoff says "Gillian and I are really okay even after the shoot. It's been a year but we still stay in touch. We go out in groups sometimes, to bond over karaoke at times. Even before this project, I've already been able to watch Gillian in films. I know how great she is as an actress. I was really excited to work with her. When I saw her, I didn't know she was going to be that warm in person. She's also very kind, very pretty."

Gillian tells us "Of course I'm so happy to hear that from our director. The chance to work with him was already an honor, getting complements is just extra. I'm excited because this is also my first time to watch it on screen. We can't expect to win awards, so we don't get hurt in the end. I got recommended by Ms. Irma Adlawan and I'd like to thank her for that. We made this last year and we can't wait to see how it pans out on screen. I'm excited about TALAHIB even more because I'm not the one who's scaring people. I'm the one who's getting scared. It was also hard to shoot on location because you'll get to experience the sharp tall grass, it's real and you will experience getting nicked by its sharp blades every now and then."

Here's our video coverage of the premiere:

Congratulations to the Filipino Excellence in the Arts, Sciences and Technologies Foundation and other producers. This film certainly has that Alvin Yapan print on it. This will be shown in Gateway Mall, Robinsons Malls, SM Cinemas, and Market Market. Just check cinema schedules if you're raring to watch it on SINAG MAYNILA.

Film To Rid Thirst for Art: The Revolution Knows No Gender

The Sinag Maynila film festival will happen on March 17-24 this year and yes, there are those who would dare tell the story of Paolo, a filmmaker, social activist cum revolutionary fighter. His roots are filled with his life experiences affected by the current socio-political situation that this country is still under. The film depicts a repressive and oppressive government, and tells of how he as a child, artist, become a seed of his own revolutionary movement. 

This is written and directed by Joselito Altajeros, same director who did movies such as "Ang Lake Sa Parola (2017)", "Ang Lihim Ni Antonio (2008)", "Take of the Lost Boys (2017)", "Gino and Marie (2019)", among others. He wants to pursue films that injects his advocacies. This includes his democratic ideals showcasing the struggles of the masses. This is produced by Harlene Bautista via Likhang Silangan Entertainment and his new group called 2076Kolektib who's aim is to produce content with socially conscious themes. They are also joined by Wilson Tieng (Solar Group) and Director Brillante Mendoza of Cannes fame.

Again Sinag Maynila 2020 will happen on March 17-24, hopefully you can get to catch Walang Kasarian ang Digmang Bayan when it shows during the fest. The film stars prime indie actor Sandino Martin, Arnold Reyes, Rita Avila, Ruby Ruiz, Iana Bernardez, Many Garcia and a lot more.

Stay tuned for updates on their social channels.

 

"Bhoy Intsik" for Sinag Maynila 2017

Just got off the presscon for "BHOY INTSIK" starred by Raymond Francisco, the official entry of Frontrow Entertainment to the Sinag Maynila 2017. He says "I didn't know at first that there are people living in cemeteries, the parallelism of how these things happen in real life is insurmountable. I play a gay character, dresses up to fool people, but I have a soft heart. I worked with Direk Joey in the past and when I got word that I was going to do the lead role, I was nervous, but Direk was precise and we attacked this role differently. I play different roles really, it's my first lead role and my BIGGEST break. To a point this is gay empowerment, I really don't like gay roles where they get ridiculed, kicked, and this is good."

Also included in this film is Ronwaldo Martin, Coco Martin's brother. He's done several indie films already including Cinemalaya entries like "Pamilya Ordinaryo" and his supportive brother has nothing but good words for him. He's playing Marlon, a not so good guy who also happens to be a con man. He lives with "Boy Intsik" and gets into conflicts with him in this project. He wants to later on be paired with Anne Curtis and also get to where Coco Martin is today. He's got a very good disposition, and I could see Coco Martin in him when he was younger. He's not single, unfortunately for you ladies, and he's had his non showbiz GF for a couple of years now. He says "I was hand picked by Direk Joey and being Marlon Pogi I hope the contrast comes through. I live in a bus, live everywhere and the character calls for something raw which was asked for me in the film. I'm excited to see this on screen! He's going to get booked, but wouldn't be romantically involved with a lady in this film."

Direk Joel Lamangan adds "The story is from real life, it's from a depressed area in Cavite. That person is already dead but when he was alive some of the things in this film was patterned with what he did in the past. I knew RS aka Raymond Francisco was fit for the film because I watched his previous stage plays. They were enemies before and they got to know each other later on. I knew they were all veteran actors, I challenged them to do it and they are good. Ronwaldo is super tight lipped but he does the job quite well and observes people so he could adapt to the role. We have full dimentional characters, and they did it with ease. They are the best assets of this film and they see the need for aesthetic quality, they are a very good addition to the industry. I hope people watch this in SM Cinemas, Gateway Mall and other theaters in Metro Manila! It's not done yet with the sub titling but we're sending this also to Hong Kong hopefully soon."

Sinag Maynila 2017 will run from March 9-14, 2017 in selected cinemas in Metro Manila.

KUMAGCOW

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