thy womb: hear them hail her

12/11/12

hear them hail her

Adjectives about Ms. Nora Aunor's genius as an actress have rendered it convenient for the country's cinephiles to consider her the greatest performer Philippine cinema has ever produced.

In stark contrast to her diminutive frame is her elevated place in world cinema, entrenched further by her globally acclaimed portrayal as a passionate but barren Bajau midwife in 'Thy Womb.' In competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, her latest film made her the first actress of any nationality to win the Bisato d'Oro (Golden Eel) prize given by an independent group of European critics covering the festival. She made another record when she became the first Filipino to win best actress at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane, Australia where Brillante Mendoza also carved a historic distinction for winning best director.

Considered the Oscars of the Asia Pacific region (covering at least 70 countries), the APSA ceremony solidified her stature in the eyes of international critics. “She’s too gifted as an actress,” exclaimed Hong-Joon Kim, a professor of the Korean National University of Arts who chaired the Nomination Council of the 6th APSA. It was hard "to figure out if Nora was a real actor or just an ordinary Bajau woman because of her intensity and naturalness in the film," explained the professor. (Click the link here to read the full article.)

Fresh from her recent twin triumphs in Venice and Brisbane, hopes are high for her to emerge as the strongest contender at the awarding ceremonies of the 55th Asia Pacific Film Festival in Macau and the 9th Dubai International Film Festival that are both slated this weekend. The hype, after all, has been substantiated with superlatives from no less than Philip Cheah, the programmer of the AsiaAfrica edition of the 9th Dubai International Film Festival, who picked 'Thy Womb' among the choice cuts of the competition. “In a stunning comeback role, Philippine superstar Nora Aunor breathes soul into her character of a lowly wife who is as summarily sacrificed like an animal," Chea lauded. (Click the link here to read the full article.)

Aside from two of Asia's prominent film scholars, an Italian senator and cineaste also waxed profuse over Aunor's magnificence on screen. He compared her to a "great Italian artist...who was able to convey emotions with minimum movements, small gestures." He added, "In acting, the more you scream and shout, the less powerful the scene becomes. Aunor’s strength comes from within. Magnifique!" (Click the link here to read the full article.)

"Nora is an ultimate actress and a real artist. She personifies whatever character is given to her," affirmed Brillante Mendoza, the first Filipino to win the Best Director award at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival, when asked what it was that he discovered about Ms. Nora Aunor while shooting the film. (Click the link here to read the full article.)

Indeed, the consensus about Aunor is all of a piece with the fact that she is the first Filipino leading actress whose films have been showcased in the top three international festivals in Venice, Berlin, and Cannes. Aside from topping the Top 10 Best Asian Actresses at the Green Planet Awards in Hollywood on 2009, she's also the first Filipino hailed as best actress at the Cairo International Film Festival for her performance in the 'Flor Contemplacion Story.'

Check the video below for the latest festival foray of 'Thy Womb.'

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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