PPP at four: Bigger, brighter

BY NEIL RAMOS

This year’s Pista ng Peli­kulang Pilipino (PPP), slated from Oct. 31 to Nov. 15, is to once again celebrate all things Pinoy, featuring some 145 original titles, including 67 full-length films and 78 short films.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) recently unveiled the poster for the festival, which has 14 sections: PPP Short Films, Romance, Youth & Fam­ily, Classics, PH Oscar Entries, Genre, Bahaghari, Tribute, From the Regions, Documen­taries, PPP Retro, Special Screenings, CineMarya, and PPP Premium Selection.

Films that have never been released locally or have at least enjoyed limited release, comprise the Premium Selec­tion section.

National Artist for Film Kid­lat Tahimik leads the Premium Selection roster with “Ang Lakaran ni Kabunyan: Kabu­nyan’s Journey to Liwanag.”

Two classic ‘80s films are part of the pack: “Batch ‘81” by Mike de Leon, which had the late Marichu Vera-Perez Mace­da as executive producer and the late Mark Gil as the lead actor; and the restored version of “Brutal” by the late Marilou Diaz-Abaya, starring Amy Aus­tria, Charo Santos-Concio, Gina Alajar along with the late Johnny Delgado and Jay Ilagan.

“The Helper” by Joanna Bowers is a documentary on Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong while “Itoshi No Irene (Come On, Irene)” by Keisuke Yoshida is a live action manga series adaptation starring Ken Yasuda and Nats Sitoy that had an international premiere at the 2018 Busan International Film Festival.

Also included are Glenn Barit’s “Cleaners,” the Best Film in the Asian New Wave Competition of the 2019 QCinema International Film Festival, and Vincent Sober­ano’s “Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids,” the 2019 Urban Action Showcase International Action Film Festival Best Action Film and Best Martial Arts Film.

Three entries to the 2020 Si­nag Maynila Film Festival round up the Premium section list: “He Who Is Without Sin” by Ja­son Paul Laxamana, “Kintsugi” by Lawrence Fajardo, and “The Highest Peak” by Arbi Barba­rona.

Another special PPP4 section is the CineMarya Women’s Film Festival, an initiative of the FDCP in partnership with the Philip­pine Commission on Women (PCW), Quezon City Film Develop­ment Council, and Department of the Interior and Local Gov­ernment (DILG), the 12 finalists of which each received seed money worth P100,000.

In the PPP Short Films sec­tion, audiences will be treated to 66 free titles from the FDCP’s Sine Kabataan Short Film Com­petition and 21 regional film festivals.

Note all proceeds from the sales of PPP Festival Passes will go to the film producers involved.

“This year’s PPP may be dif­ferent, but I assure that it will continue to celebrate the heritage and potential of our film industry by spreading the love for Philippine Cinema. The festival will also promote soli­darity because ultimately, PPP 4 is one way to help sustain the Filipino film industry in light of the pandemic’s devastating ef­fects,” stated FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

PPP4 will stream via FDCP­channel.ph.