After getting violent reactions from his last year's film in Cannes, Serbis, Brillante Mendoza bested the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Pedro Almodovar in this year's competition at the most prestigious film festival in the world. 3 other Filipino films were invited and screened in Cannes - proof that the Independent Cinema in the Philippines is one of the most vibrant if not the hottest in Asia and a force to be reckoned with in the world.
Mendoza wins best director award at Cannes
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 03:24:00 05/25/2009
CANNES -- Brillante Mendoza of the Philippines on Sunday picked up the best director prize at the Cannes film festival for his dark movie "Kinatay".
"Kinatay" (meaning "massacre") notably features corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces with blunt kitchen knives.
Mendoza, at Cannes for the second year running, again split the critics, drawing both hisses and applause for "Kinatay".
Last year's "Serbis" was set in a Manila porn-theatre with long close-ups of festering boils and overflowing toilets, as well as the poverty and distress on the streets.
Still determined to portray the social reality around him, Mendoza in "Kinatay" traces 24 hours in the day of a trainee policeman, happily beginning with his wedding in the morning to close with the young man's first outing at night with a band of corrupt colleagues.
To his surprise, fear and anguish, they pick up a prostitute accused of betrayal and wind up torturing, raping, killing and hacking her before disposing of the body parts across Manila.
"This is not just entertainment, these kinds of stories are real," Mendoza said at Cannes.
Last year was the first time since 1984 the Philippines had a film competing for the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d'Or.
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20090525-206946/Mendoza-wins-best-director-award-at-Cannes
The Cannes 2009 Winners
CANNES, France -- Awards presented Sunday at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, chosen by a jury headed by French Actress Isabelle Huppert:
• Palme d'Or (Golden Palm): "The White Ribbon," by Michael Haneke (Austria)
• Grand Prize: "A Prophet," by Jacques Audiard (France)
• Jury Prize: "Fish Tank," by Andrea Arnold (Britain) and "Thirst," By Park Chan-wook (South Korea)
• Special Prize: Alain Resnais
• Best Director: Brillante Mendoza, "Kinatay" (Philippines)
• Best Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds" (United States)
• Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg, "Antichrist" (Denmark)
• Best Screenplay: Feng Mei, "Spring Fever" (China)
• Camera d'Or (first-time director): "Samson and Delilah," by Warwick Thornton (Australia)
• Best short film: "Arena," by Joao Salaviza (Portugal)
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20090525-206956/Cannes-Film-Festival-prize-winners
