thy womb: along with the world's best

10/29/12

along with the world's best

Reaffirming itself as the year's most internationally acclaimed Filipino film, "Sinapupunan" (Thy Womb) will soon be shown in Poland for the 8th Cinema Festival World Edition as one of the selected movies from Latin America, Asia, and Africa that have had their world premieres at major international film festivals. It will be held in five major Polish cities--Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan, & Wroclaw--from November 22 to December 3, 2012.

Unofficial Fan Poster: BERNIE PLACIDO

The announcement from Poland came in the heels of an official news from the 9th Dubai International Film Festival where Brillante Mendoza's film is set to compete for major awards. (Click for the link to the news.)

Also scoring historic nominations for best actress (Nora Aunor) and best director (Mendoza) at the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), the film about the Bajau sea gypsies in southern Philippines has been officially selected either in competition or exhibition at various international film festivals in Venice, Toronto, Busan, Bologna, Vienna as well as in Brisbane and in the Indian city of Goa (official news to be announced soon).

Meanwhile, the European tour of the Aunor-Mendoza collaboration continues in Slovakia for the 14th International Film Festival of Bratislava. More invitations to other international filmfests to be announced soon.

2 comments:

MichaelOctober 29, 2012 at 6:00 AM
Good day po Mr. Michael, excellent blog, very high quality and well researched... maraming salamat po! It's a pleasure to read it and a great source of pride for all Filipinos around the world. I shared the link of your blog with my friends, all whom have agreed to support this beautiful film when it plays in their respective cities around the world.

I would also like to share another excellent review from ARTE TV for "Thy Womb":

http://www.arte.tv/fr/sinapupunan-thy-womb-de-brillante-ma-mendoza/6892880,CmC=6915708.html

"Dans un cadre de traditions et de culture extrêmement présent, le film touche à vif lorsqu’il évoque le drame intime de cette femme, interprétée par une star du cinéma philippin, Nora Aunor. Dirigée par Mendoza, elle se fond dans un cadre à la portée quasi anthropologique, et au réalisme documentaire."

("In a setting of traditions and an extremely present culture, the film hits sharply when it evokes the intimate drama of this woman, interpreted by a star of Philippine cinema, Nora Aunor. Directed by Mendoza, she surrenders herself within a framework of quasi-anthropological dimensions and documentary-like realism.")
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www.francistanseco.comNovember 3, 2012 at 5:10 PM
Wow, this is a beautiful blog on "Thy Womb" and there is only one thing I can say to you - Maraming salamat po for this piece and for sharing your gift of writing too. Keep it up.
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A STORY AS DEEP AS THE SEA

“I am making a film about the Bajaus, with the aim to celebrate a nonviolent people amidst a very violent world. It’s an intriguing premise about a particular people of peace living in a place of endemic violence.

One of the most interesting peoples in southern Philippines, the Bajaus are native sea-dwellers that are also found in the neigh-boring Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. They are the so-called sea gypsies who are skilled in building various types of boats, and widely known as fishermen, pearl divers and mat weavers.

As a film, Thy Womb examines the opposing natures of two women (Nora Aunor/Shaleha’s sterility against Lovi Poe/ Mersila’s fertility) to reflect the prevailing condition in Tawi-Tawi, a place endowed with natural beauty and rich resources but mired in economic and socio-political crises. A quiet hell of a paradise, Thy Womb’s “birth place” and its environs are constant reminders of yesterday’s conflict that has remained unresolved up to the present.

The Bajaus are considered to be the most primitive and oppressed among several ethnic groups in the region; and they assume a subordinate status in their diverse and divided community, which includes the Samal and the Tausug, among others. But in spite of this, the Bajaus are generally perceived to be non-confrontational, forgiving, seemingly contented and happy people.

When wronged, it is said that the Bajaus would simply move to another place, bringing their houseboats (lepa-lepa), constantly roving, living in harmony with nature. To this day, they are mostly looked down, degraded and much maligned by their ethnic neighbors and others, thus rendering them harmless, helpless and almost powerless.

But in their heart of hearts, are they really so, or is it just another way of life merely misunderstood by those inured to violence? With this thought and theme, and my curiosity further piqued, the narrative voice of the film has emerged loud and clear.

With intensive research and truthful depiction of certain characters and their circumstances, as articulated in the poignant tale of an aging, childless couple who resolve to find the mother of their much-wanted child, I hope Thy Womb would show a slice of life in the best possible light."

– BRILLANTE MENDOZA