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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider Through the lens of Philippine modern cinema

Through the lens of Philippine modern cinema

Published Feb 24, 2022 07:57 am

Historic wins for two Filipino films at 2022 Sundance Film Festival

POINT OF VIEW 2022 Sundance Film Festival Leonor Will Never Die, Special Jury Award winner for Innovative Spirit

In a historic first for the Philippine film industry, two Filipino film entries received praise and won awards at the recently concluded 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the US.

Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer congratulated the filmmakers behind Filipino movies Leonor Will Never Die and The Headhunter’s Daughter, as well as the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), “for representing the best of the Philippines at the largest independent film festival in America.”

Feature film Leonor Will Never Die became the first Filipino recipient of the Sundance Special Jury Award for Innovative Spirit. This comedy-drama movie follows the story of a retired Filipina filmmaker who became an action hero of her own unfinished screenplay.

Jury member La Frances Hui said, “Switching in-between genres, this film within a film follows an ailing screenwriter who enters her unfinished screenplay of a gangster film to experience and edit her own creation. Constantly shifting in tone, the film is a playful display of the love of cinema. Its innovative and risk-taking spirit is especially commendable.”

Leonor Will Never Die competed against nine other film entries from around the globe under the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Category. According to the FDCP, the country’s last participation in the World Cinema Dramatic section was in 2006, with Auraeus Solito’s Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros).

COWBOY The Headhunter’s Daughter, Short Film Grand Jury Prize winner

Meanwhile, The Headhunter’s Daughter became the first Filipino film to bag the Sundance Short Film Grand Jury Prize. In the movie, an aspiring country singer traverses the harrowing roads of the Cordilleran highlands with her trusty brown horse to try her luck in the city.

We were entranced by this poetic and dream-like film, which follows its character’s intimate journey with gorgeous cinematography and direction and acting, capturing a unique sense of place.

Jury member Blackhorse Lowe said, “We were entranced by this poetic and dream-like film, which follows its character’s intimate journey with gorgeous cinematography and direction and acting, capturing a unique sense of place.”

The Headhunter’s Daughter is the second participating Filipino short film entry in Sundance history, following Sonny Calvento’s Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss in 2021. For this year, The Headhunter’s Daughter joined 98 other movies in the Sundance Short Films Program.

The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, Philippine foreign service posts in the US, and Filipino communities in the US Pacific Northwest lent their support to Leonor Will Never Die and The Headhunter’s Daughter through the promotion of the two films.

Film stills from Arkeofilms, Anima, and Prima Materia; photos from SFPCG | www.philippinessanfrancisco.org

POINT OF VIEW These two 2022 Sundance Film Festival Leonor Will Never Die (left), Special Jury Award winner for Innovative Spirit at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and

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