GMA News TV presents ‘Indie Kalibre,’ featuring critically-acclaimed and award-winning Filipino independent films every Saturday night, starting May 9 at 10:15 PM.
Missed out on Barber’s Tales, Thy Womb, and Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa in their festival premiere, theatrical release, or even in pop-up screenings? Don’t fret. GMA News TV gives us film aficionados another chance to watch these and six more outstanding home-grown independent movies at the comfort of our own homes.
The weekly series, Indie Kalibre, begins on May 9 with the Philippine television premiere of Barber’s Tales, a front-runner in the shortlist as our nation’s representative for the Best Foreign Language Film Category in the recent Academy Awards. This and more cinematic heavyweights, every Saturday until July 4 at 10:15 PM.
- May 9: Mga Kuwentong Barbero (Barber’s Tales) by Jun Robles Lana [Read our review]
- May 16: Ploning by Dante Nico Garcia
- May 23: Banal by Cesar Apolinario
- May 30: Sinapupunan (Thy Womb) by Brillante Mendoza
- June 6: Condo by Martin Cabrera
- June 13: Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa (The Dance of Two Left Feet) by Alvin Yapan
- June 20: Kubrador (The Bet Collector) by Jeffrey Jeturian
- June 27: Mayohan by Dan Villegas
- July 4: Bwakaw by Jun Robles Lana
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Some of these films might be unfamiliar territory so here are some bits of pertinent information from each film, together with the awards they reaped, as sourced from imdb.com:
MGA KUWENTONG BARBERO (BARBER’S TALES)
[Official FilmPolice review of the film can be read here.]
Direction: Jun Robles Lana
Screenplay: Jun Robles Lana
Story: Peter Ong Lim, Elmer L. Gatchalian, Benedict Mique and Jun Robles Lana
Cast: Eugene Domingo, Eddie Garcia, Iza Calzado, Gladys Reyes, Shamaine Buencamino
Barber’s Tales tells the story of newly widowed Marilou who inherits the town’s only barbershop from her husband- a business that has been passed down by generations of men in her husband’s family. With no other means of support, she musters the courage to run the barbershop. But as to be expected, she fails to attract any customers. But a touching act of kindness she extended to Rosa, a prostitute who works in the town brothel, leads to an unexpected opportunity. Rosa, who now considers Marilou a friend, urges her prostitute friends to pressure their male clientele into patronizing Marilou’s barbershop. The men have no choice but to grudgingly oblige out of fear that Rosa will expose their infidelity to their wives.
Awards
- 3rd Place, Audience Award – Udine Far East Film Festival 2014
- Eugene Domingo, Best Actress – Tokyo International Fim Festival 2013
- Chito Sumera, Indie Movie Production Designer of the Year – Star Awards for Movies 2015
PLONING
Direction: Dante Nico Garcia
Screenplay: Dante Nico Garcia and Benjamin Lingan
Story: Dante Nico Garcia
Cast: Judy Ann Santos, Gina Pareño, Mylene Dizon, Meryll Soriano, Ces Quesada
Ploning is a story of one man’s search for the enigmatic woman who has deeply wounded him in the past. Having grown up in an illegal Taiwanese fishing vessel, Rodrigo (30 years old) returns to the beautiful island of Cuyo and is given from sunrise to sunset to look for his Ploning. In his search, he discovers that the woman he loved and adored as a boy is not the woman he thought he knew. Ploning has displayed her maternal love for Digo (the 6-year old Rodrigo) but is shrouded in her mysterious love and devotion for Tomas, her childhood sweetheart who left her when she was 16. This 30-year-old spinster who has held a special place amongst the people as a dutiful daughter, a devoted friend, a caring sister and a loving maternal figure is slowly unveiled through Rodrigo’s memory and an emotional meeting with Plonings confidante, Seling. Through his search, Ploning will be revealed as the island’s most bittersweet source of selfless love.
Awards
- Dante Nico Garcia, Swarovski Trophy for Best Director – Asian First Film Festival 2008
- Charlie, Peralta, Best Cinematography; Albert Michael Idioma, Best Sound – Golden Screen Awards, Philippines 2009
- Jessie Lasetan, Best Musical Score; Optimal Digital, Best Visual Effects – FAMAS Awards 2009
- Jessie Lasetan, Movie Musical Scorer of the Year – Star Awards for Movies 2009
BANAL
Direction: Cesar Apolinario
Screenplay: Cris Lim and Cesar Apolinario
Story: Cesar Apolinario and Mac Cruz
Cast: Christopher de Leon, Paolo Contis, Alfred Vargas, Cassandra Ponti, Paolo Paraiso, Pepe Smith
Cris and Jason are two policemen with two opposite personalities and philosophies-Cris is the epitome of the rare, near-extinct breed of honest cops while Jason is the basurero, the legman/front man who does the dirty work of his district’s high officials. Despite their contrasting natures, the two forge an unlikely friendship during their Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) training, a friendship borne from conflict and competition, and bordering on brotherhood. The unlikely architect of their friendship is Major Sagala, their SWAT trainer. An alcoholic and once a basurero himself, Sagala sees in the two young cops the raw talent and skill that could make them the best the force he had ever seen. A loner and an outcast, and despite his rough and tough exterior, Sagala finds the sons he never had in Jason and Cris. Five years later, Cris is transferred from Cotabato to Jason’s SWAT unit in Manila. His mother is in need of operation unavailable in the province, prompting him to make the request. It is only then that Jason finds out that he is the godfather to Cris’s son, and that the boy is also named after him. For the first time in his life, Jason feels the warmth of a family. But Cris is a changed man. An encounter with a local politician in Cotabato has left him scarred physically and emotionally. His faith in the system he lived for has been replaced by a cynical hatred for the world. As the visit of the pope to the country draws near, Jason and Cris uncover a plot to assassinate the Pontiff. For Jason, cracking this case would mean his ascension from a basurero to legitimate police official. Until he finds out that the seemingly holy Cris is involved in this plot to kill the holiest man in Catholicism. As a bomb ticks its way to an explosive ending, the two men must confront each other in a deadly role reversal that will test their friendship. Banal explores the unseen side of police work, stabs at the unscrupulous behavior of the media in everyday events, and shows an uncompromising picture of Philippine society. In today’s day and age, angels can become demons, and sinners can become saints.
Awards
- Paolo Contis, Best Actor, Film Academy of the Philippines Awards 2008
- Cesar Apolinario, Best Director, Best Original Story; Danny Añonuevo, Best Editing – Metro Manila Film Festival 2007
- Paolo Contis, Movie Actor of the Year – Star Awards for Movies 2008
SINAPUPUNAN (THY WOMB)
Direction: Brillante Mendoza
Screenplay: Henry Burgos
Cast: Nora Aunor, Bembol Roco, Lovi Poe, Mercedes Cabral
An infertile midwife and her husband find a surrogate mother so that they can have a child.
Awards
- Nora Aunor, Bisato d’Oro; Brillante Mendoza, La Navicella Venezia Cinema Award, Nazareno Taddei Award – Venice Film Festival 2012
- Brillante Mendoza, Achievement in Directing; Nora Aunor, Best Performance by an Actress – Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2012
- Nora Aunor, Best Actress – Asian Film Awards 2013
- Brillante Mendoza, Special Jury Mention (for offering images of a largely inaccesible world and its rituals) – Granda Film Festival Cines del Sur 2013
- Nora Aunor, Best Actress – Sakhalin International Film Festival 2013
- Nora Aunor, Best Performance– Young Critics Circle, Philippines 2013
- Brillante Mendoza, Best Director; Nora Aunor, Best Actress; Henry Burgos, Best Story; Odyssey Flores, Best Cinematographer; Brillante Mendoza, Best Production Design – Metro Manila Film Festival 2012
- Brillante Mendoza, Best Production Design; Nora Aunor, Best Actress – Gawad Urian Awards 2013
- Odyssey Flores, Indie Movie Cinematographer of the Year; Brillante Mendoza, Indie Movie Production Designer of the Year – Star Awards for Movies 2013
CONDO
Direction: Martin Cabrera
Screenplay: Aloy Adlawan
Cast: Coco Martin
Condo is the story of Benjie (Coco Martin), a security guard assigned to his new post- a condominium. Left on his own with no family to lean on, and his girlfriend jilting him for another man, Benjie requests the building administration to let him stay in the guard’s quarters. Benjie encounters a whole new universe of people in his new post. It is a condominium after all, a small community of neighbors and strangers all under one roof. But to Benjie, everyone’s just faces attached to door numbers, doors which are always closed and are rarely open. No one really cares about him. And Benjie only cares about his job even if it is the same tired routine. The building and the job have become the perfect refuge. But when a mysterious intruder and a phone call coming from an empty unit begin taunting him, Benjie fears for the perfectly lonely world he’s built around himself. In the end, he discovers that the answer to the mystery lies not very far from his own shadow. Will he embrace it? Or will the mystery be lost on him forever?
SAYAW NG DALAWANG KALIWANG PAA (DANCE OF THE TWO LEFT FEET)
Direction and Screenplay: Alvin Yapan
Cast: Paulo Avelino, Rocco Nacino and Jean Garcia
Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa explores the intersection and divergence between feminist and gay concerns in the third world context, as it features the poetry of Merlinda Bobis, Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Joi Barrios, Rebecca Anonuevo, Benilda Santos and Ophelia Dimalanta. When Marlon, a college student, stalks Karen, his literature professor, he finds out that she moonlights as a choreographer and dance teacher in a dance studio. Frustrated over his performance in her literature class, he plans to impress her instead by learning to poeticize his body movements and enroll in her dance class. He hires his classmate to teach him the basics of dancing. As Dennis, his tutor, teaches him how his body should move, Marlon begins to understand the intersections between the art of poetry and dance. This opens up his world to new insights about the life of Karen as s single woman who chose to live the life of an artist in a third world setting. Marlon begins to understand how the poems being discussed by Karen in class are testaments to her choice to stand by her art. Karen eventually finds out, through Dennis, that Marlon only enrolled in her class to be near her. She confronts Marlon about this and wishes that his interest for dance would survive his infatuation for her. Marlon feels betrayed over Dennis telling Karen. But it is also this sense of betrayal that tells him that he has already become close to Dennis, whom he now considers a friend. Up until then, Marlon and Dennis have become inseparable as they both tackled the complexities of poetry and dance. Sensing the coldness between the two, Karen set them up to help her train a group of dancers for a cotillion dance. Eventually, Karen trains both Marlon and Dennis to star in her dance adaptation of the epic Humadapnon, when she bags a grant. Marlon will play the lead role of Humadapnon, who becomes trapped in a cave full of women. Dennis’ character now has to rescue Marlon from the women, as he plays the role of Sunmasakay, the male incarnation of the goddess Nagmalitong Yawa. On the eve of their performance, in a drunken conversation, Marlon confronts Karen how he could not understand her poetry. Karen, in response, assures Marlon that he does understand her poetry. His mind is just unwilling to, unlike his body which already understands. Karen invites Marlon to dance with her, but in the middle of her dance, she passes him onto Dennis. Their drunken dance culminates with Marlon and Dennis taking on the roles of Humadapnon and Sunmasakay on stage.
Awards
- Alvin Yapan, Bronze Precolumbian Circle – Bogota Film Festival 2011
- Arvin Viola, Best Cinematography; Christine Muyco and Jema Pamintuan, Best Musical Score – Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2011
- Arnold Reodica, Christine Muyco and Jema Pamintuan, Best Achievement in Sound and Aural Orchestration – Young Critics Circle, Philippines 2012
- Best Picture; Alvin Yapan, Best Direction and Best Screenplay; Paulo Avelino, Best Actor; Jean Garcia, Best Supporting Actress; Christine Muyco and Jema Pamintuan, Best Music; Arvin Viola, Best Cinematography – Gawad Urian Awards 2012
- Jean Garcia, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Drama Role; Rocco Nacino, Breakthrough Performance by an Actor – Golden Screen Awards, Philippines 2012
- Rocco Nacino, New Movie Actor of the Year – Star Awards for Movies 2012
KUBRADOR (THE BET COLLECTOR)
Direction: Jeffrey Jeturian
Screenplay and Story: Ralston Jover
Screenplay Supervision: Armando Lao
Cast: Gina Pareño, Fonz Deza, Nanding Josef
In this starkly realistic narrative, director Jeffrey Jeturian presents a captivating portrait of a once-proud woman, haunted by memories of a dead son and hounded by the police, and her fragile and lonely life as a “kubrador”.
Awards
- Netpac Award (for its extraordinary story of the Filipino poor through the gambling game jueteng, where the visuals project a powerful sense of place and unravel the character’s inner worlds, life stories and social milieu) – Brisbane Film Festival 2007
- Gina Pareño, Best Actress – Amiens International Film Festival 2006
- Gina Pareño, Best Actress – Brussels International Independent Film Festival 2006
- FIPRESCI Prize; Best Film; Gina Pareño, Best Actress – Cinefan – Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema 2006
- Jeffrey Jeturian, Lino Brocka Award – Cinemanila International Film Festival 2006
- FIPRESCI Prize – Moscow International Film Festival 2006
- Youth Jury Award – Valladolid International Film Festial 2006
- Best Film of the Decade – Gawad Urian Awards 2011
- Best Picture; Jeffrey Jeturian, Best Direction; Gina Pareño, Best Actress; Boy Yniguez, Best Cinematography; Leo Abaya, Best Production Design – Gawad Urian Awards 2007
- MLR Films Inc., Best Drama Motion Picture; Jeffrey Jeturian, Best Director; Ralston Jover, Best Original Screenplay; Gina Pareño, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Dramatic Role; Jay Halili, Best Editing; Ditoy Aguila, Best Sound – Golden Screen Awards, Philippines 2007
MAYOHAN
Direction: Dan Villegas
Screenplay: Paul Sta. Ana
Cast: Lovi Poe, Elijah Castillo, Ping Medina
May is the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. In Infanta, Quezon, locals turn each of the 31 days of May into a charming honor not only to celebrate good harvest in their agricultural setting, but also to pay tribute to the virginal virtues of the Mayohan. Every month of May, a padasal or series of novenas commences to mark the beginning of Mayohan. This will culminate in a Pasayaw or Tapusan in every purok of each barangay. A system of ambagan or donation ensues for the festivities to take place. In the hopes of keeping a tradition alive, the elders support its continued celebration; through the years, however, decadence has long taken over the Tapusan. Proud beauty queens, town officials, curious participants and passersby, intoxicated men with carnal needs all play roles in the midst of a spiritual undertaking. Some have unwittingly tarnished the event’s reputation and essence. Underlying values and tokens are lost in the turning over of tradition.
Amidst the festivities, a 15-year old young outsider becomes the focal point in the preparation that the Pasayaw entails. As this grieving young man comes of age and deals with the recent loss of both parents, his attention shifts to Lilibeth, a 19-year old provincial lass, the elected presidenta of the pasayaw’s pamunuan, who, herself gets lost in the hoopla and hullabaloo that transpire before May ends. As the event underscores gender lines, generation differences, and class issues, they become entangled in an unlikely partnership, in their own search for growth and acceptance
Awards
- Paul Sta. Ana, Best Screenplay; Dan Villegas, Best Cinematography; Lovi Poe, Best Actress; Emerzon Texon, Best Musical Score – Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival New Breed Full Length Feature 2010
- Lovi Poe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Dramatic Role – Golden Screen Awards, Philippines 2011
BWAKAW
Direction, Story and Screenplay: Jun Robles Lana
Cast: Eddie Garcia, Princess, Rez Cortez
Bwakaw is a drama-comedy about growing old, and everyones fear of growing old alone. Rene is a gay man who came out of the closet at age 70. Ailing in his twilight years, he thinks it is now too late for love, even companionship, and that all there is to look forward to is Death. He has made a will, bequeathing his few possessions to his even fewer friends. Everything is packed and labeled, ready for distribution. He has even paid for a coffin, taking advantage of a funeral homes Summer Sale. Nowadays the only companion Rene has is Bwakaw, a stray dog that hangs around his house and follows him wherever he goes. As Rene waits for the day of his death, he gets the surprise of his life when it is Bwakaw who suddenly falls ill and is diagnosed with cancer. Rene is surprisingly affected, and he realizes that he values Bwakaw more than he thinks. In his struggle to get Bwakaw cured, Rene finds comfort in the most unlikely person: Sol, a tricycle driver who helps him bring Bwakaw to the vet and befriends him. Buoyed by Sols friendship, Rene starts living. Little by little he discovers simple joys. To the surprise of his friends, he even has his hair dyed to look younger. One day, he finally decides to make a move on Sol. The revelation that Rene is gay and has feelings for him surprises and disgusts Sol. He rejects Rene and leaves in anger. In the meantime, Bwakaws condition gets worse. Not even Renes ancient Santo Entierro (a supposedly miraculous statue of Jesus Christ) can save Bwakaw. Bwakaw dies, and Renes neighbors help him bury the faithful dog. But Bwakaws death, even while it was still only imminent, has made a difference. Rene has found a new appreciation for life and what is most important. He decides to unpack the things that he has already willed to other people and make his house more inhabitable. He is, after all, still alive.
Awards
- Eddie Garcia, Best Actor – Asia-Pacific Film Festival2012
- Eddie Garcia, Best Actor, People’s Choice Award – Asian Film Awards 2013
- Jun Lana, Special Mention, Asian Film Award – Tokyo International Film Festival 2012
- Emile Guimet Award (For its humanist and sensitive background, its surprising intense characters with rich and unique personalities. A film where death itself is a reminder of life); Grand Prize of the International Jury (For its bravery and accuracy of subject matter, its simple and complex acting and delicate expressions of humanity, friendship, love and loneliness); High Schools Award – Vesoul Asian Film Festival 2013
- Audience Award; NETPAC Award; Eddie Garcia, Best Actor – Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival Directors’ Showcase 2012
- Best Motion Picture (Drama); Jun Lana, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Story; Eddie Garcia, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Dramatic Role; Carlo Mendoza, Best Cinematography – Golden Screen Awards, Philippines 2013
