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| RAd with Albert Martinez and Lowell Conales |
After
weeks of anticipation, Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now finally opened with style
and most importantly with the weather cooperating. Upon arriving at the
registaration table at the entrance over at Greenbelt 5, I was warmly greeted by Lulu Casas of Rustan’s and was urged to make my way
down the red carpet. I wasn’t sure about doing that since I was still alone at
that time and I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking the red carpet alone. But
Emanuela Adesini, the Cultural Attaché of
the Embassy of Italy asked me to walk with her. Thankfully, we didn’t have to
stop by and pose for the cameras since we’re not celebrities. And I was more
grateful when the walk was over since it felt like a long one.
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| Ina Feleo |
There
were a lot of people inside the pavilion and I admit that it got me a bit
worried since the only ones I recognized upon entering were Ambassador Luca
Fornari and his wife Madame Silvana who were both very busy welcoming guests.
But the two were still able to find the time to greet me and things went well
from there since I started to see many familiar faces. Some of those familiar
faces that I saw were celebrities Albert Martinez, Laurice Guillen, Ina Feleo,
Matteo Guidicelli, Miriam Quiambao, and Maria Isabel Lopez. But I wasn't able to see some expected familiar faces like the nice people from the Philippine-Italian Association. I found out later that they were busy manning the table over at the Greenbelt 3 Cinema lobby.
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| Matteo Guidicelli |
Music
people were also represented since saxophonist Michael Young was also there and
he played a few songs during the cocktails. And there was one other musician
from Italy
Serbis
I
initially wanted to see the film Habemus Papam, but my companion for the night,
actor Lowell Conales from Amok (a film that Emanuela loved) wanted to watch
Serbis. Since he was my guest, I granted his request and watched this film instead. Before the screening, I was able to meet the film’s director,
Brillante Mendoza courtesy of Lowell who seemed to have worked with him before.
The
film is about a family running a dilapidated cinema where people go to not
because of the movies, but because of the sexual services happening in there. Equally
dilapidated are the family members themselves who are all mired in issues
ranging from a boil in the bum to a bigamous husband. I found it very difficult
to get the dialogue since the ambient noise was so loud and the passing
vehicles completely drowned out the voices of the characters. And it didn’t
help that there were no subtitles to some of the dialogue that was in a dialect
that I couldn’t understand. But the noise made me think on how the characters
were able to get some sleep inside their living quarters in the cinema with all
that noise.
I
was asked after if I enjoyed the film and I said without hesitation that it
would be someone with a deranged mind who would really enjoy this kind of film.
Gina Pareño, who played the family’s matriarch, was nonetheless exceptional in
the movie. I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards this film but given the
circumstances, I decided to step out of the box and checked this one out.
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| Ambassador Luca Fornari discusses cinema with Miriam Quiambao and a guest |
Dracula 3D
One
of the most anticipated events in the festival is the screening of the show
reel of Dracula 3D. The film’s director Dario Argento and his daughter, Asia
Argento who stars in this film were originally slated to appear at the festival but many were
disappointed when they failed to make it. Thankfully, actress Marta Gastini who is also featured in this film was
present and she presented the clip to the audience who patiently waited for
this to start since the earlier screenings started late.
As previously
announced, the clip shown was just a show reel clocking less than half an hour
and with the special effects still a work in progress since the film is slated
to be shown commercially in theaters this January 2012. And I bet that some
watched this clip in order to earn the bragging right that comes along with
being among the first in the world to view this clip.
I’ve
recently read the novel by Bram Stoker and also watched Nosferatu so Dracula is
still fresh in my mind and this Dracula 3D’s have some drastic changes in the
plot compared to the source material. There is more action, gore and blood in
this film fully taking advantage of the 3D feature.
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| RAd with Marta Gastini |
Unfortunately,
most of the people from Amok whom I also invited had to back out due to work.
At first, I only planned to attend the opening since I’ve had some other events
to attend in the upcoming days. But my experience during this night led me to
make slight changes and I was able to come back for more.
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