By Neil Ramos
“Nervous Translation,” a film by Shireen Seno, received rave reviews from jurors and critics alike at the 7th Olhar de Cinema Curitiba International Film Festival in Paraná, Brazil, on its way to capturing the Abraccine or Critics’ Prize.
Starring young actor Jana Agoncillo, the Cinema One Originals film follows the life of a young girl who spends most of her days by her lonesome.
It is said to have been inspired by Seno’s memories growing up as a child born and raised in Japan by OFW parents.
Producer John Torres, also an offspring of OFWs, was quoted as saying in a previous interview with Balitang Global that “The 8-year old girl (in the film) is coming to grips with how she sees (life), how she processed them, what she thinks and the logic that we don’t see any more as adults because we’ve forgotten them or we have removed them from our consciousness.”
Prior, the film won the Netpac Award at this year’s Rotterdam Film Festival where it was hailed for beautifully capturing “a unique view of world that is full of contradictory interaction, introspection, social and political dissonance, and dispute, successfully creating an unforgettable cinematic universe.”
Agoncillo also earned a Best Actress nomination for her performance in the film at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival.
The Curitiba jury also commended the actress for her “touching” turn in the film.
Seno started out in film shooting stills for Lav Diaz before going on to direct her feature debut, “Big Boy” in 2012.
“Nervous Translation” is her second feature film.
