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Manila Bulletin devider Drive devider Watching Leonor Will Never Die in a town that has no working cinema

Watching Leonor Will Never Die in a town that has no working cinema

Published Jan 6, 2023 09:48 pm

Two Filipino films featured at Blue Chair Film Festival in Luang Prabang

LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE Q&A With the film producers and director (from left) Mario Cornejo, Monster Jimenez, and Martika Escobar, following the film screening at the Sofitel Luang Prabang (Photo courtesy of the Blue Chair Film Festival)

Filipino films Leonor Will Never Die (2022) by Martika Escobar and Whether the Weather is Fine (2021) by Carlo Francisco Manatad were featured in this year’s Blue Chair Film Festival, held early this month in the UNESCO world heritage town of Luang Prabang in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Established in 2009, the Blue Chair Film Festival is an annual festival featuring films from Southeast Asian countries. It aims to connect regional filmmakers while at the same time supporting the Lao domestic film industry. Aside from the free screening of films in the town of Luang Prabang, the festival also operates talent development workshops.

The Blue Chair Film Festival aims to connect regional filmmakers while at the same time supporting the Lao domestic film industry.

For the 2022 edition, 22 films from eight Southeast Asian countries, including five films from Laos, joined the festival.

The festival is named after the iconic blue chairs used in the outdoor film screenings in Luang Prabang, a town that does not have a working cinema.

Other Filipino films screened in previous editions of the festival include Adela and Mater Dolorosa by Adolfo Alix, Jr., Die Beautiful by Jun Robles Lana, Ma’Rosa and Thy Womb by Brillante Mendoza, and The Patriarch by Alfonso Torre.

Philippine Ambassador to Laos Deena Joy Amatong supported the Filipino films participating in this year’s festival by attending the opening night.

The screening of the two Filipino films this year was made possible with the support of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Related Tags

Martika Escobar Blue Chair Film Festival Lao People’s Democratic Republic Panorama Whether the Weather Is Fine film Luang Prabang
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