Art Events in Manila and Beyond

Tenth Anniversary of Jose Rizal Film

In celebration of the tenth anniversay of the award-winning Jose Rizal film (by Marilou Diaz-Abaya, 1998), the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center (MDAFI) will screen the movie at the Main Studio of MDAFI, Beverly Hills Subdivision, Antipolo City.

If you want to attend this event, please send an email to RJ Torres at rjtorres@k2ia. com or call/text 09163916089.

(You can also reply to this email)

After the screening of Jose Rizal, several short films by the students and alumni of MDAFI will be featured. They are listed as follows:

“The Threshold” by Mik Red (Official Entry to the Hannover International Film Festival)
“Day Dream” by Nick Olanka
“Bugaw” by Arah-Jell Badayos
“Memento” by Francis Concio
“Retokado” by Pablo Biglang-awa
“Mooncakes” by Dom Nuesa
“Pagtatapos” by Biboy Belarmino
“Opo Ma’am” by Javier Abola (35mm).

Jose Rizal Film in Retrospect

Jose Rizal is everywhere. He’s in the cover of safety matches and on the most numerous Philippine coin–one peso. His monuments gaze upon the schools and municipal halls of almost every town in the Philippines. No College student can graduate without encountering his life and his works.

His life, his writings, his friends, and even the women associated with him have inspired volumes upon volumes of books and reflections. I remember my Rizal class at UP Diliman and wondered at how one small Filipino (yes, he’s a small guy with a height of five feet) could achieve immortality in the psyche and history of a nation. He is, after all, the Philippine National Hero.

Such is the fate of national heroes.

They become larger than life.

Thankfully, there are those, who, through their creative vision and a keen sense of nationalism and history, can take the life of a hero. Dissect it. Study it. Capture it on books. Or film!

This is what Marilou Diaz-Abaya did with Jose Rizal. In 1998, she worked with GMA Films on an 80-million-peso budget to bring the life of the national hero on the big screen! It was a big risk because at that time, movies on heroes were big flops.

The year 1998, however, was a year of boon for Director Marilou. The Philippines celebrated the Centennial of its Independence from Spain. Nationalist fervor was high and the pool of actors and actresses who supported the Director’s vision.

The investment of GMA Films blended with the film-making prowess of Director Diaz-Abaya paid off. The film won 16 awards from the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival. Another eleven awards from 1999 FAMAS Awards, 6 from the 1999 Gawad Urian Awards, another 8 from the 1999 Star Awards for Movies. Add to that the awards given by the Toronto and Berlin International Film Festivals. For a complete list of awards received by the Jose Rizal movie, please visithttp://www.gmarecor ds.com.ph/ video-jose- rizal.html.
You can also visit Jose Rizal at Wikipedia.org.

Director Diaz-Abaya drew upon the assistance of Prof. Bienvenido Lumbera from the Ateneo De Manila University together with Asst. Prof. Danton Remoto and Prof. Randy David from the University of the Philippines to make help ensure the historicity of the film. The performance of Cesar Montano was also amazing! He even underwent training in the languages spoken and skills displayed by Jose Rizal so he can effectively portray the role!

Ten years since it’s first screening, the Jose Rizal film is Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s offering to the history and national consciousness of the nation!

Promoting Film and Art in the Philippines

Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center

In her desire to promote film and art in the Philippines, Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya established the Marilou Diaz-Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center (MDAFI) in January 2007. With the emergence of YouTube, Web 2.0 and the proliferation of consumer electronics and cameras, she wants Filipino filmmakers to use these technologies for the promotion of Film and Arts.

Consistent with our advocacy for quality film education, and, in particular, from an Asian perspective, the new Institute is established to empower new filmmakers to meet the demands of new times. That cinema is better learned and taught in the greater context of the arts and humanities is the concept upon which we anchor our core curriculum. Thus, we offer a well-rounded program to obtain for our students a deeper understanding of the dynamic rapport between cinema and life.

The science, art, and business of filmmaking constitute our three-point agenda of learning, with the end in view for our students to make Asian films for the world. We are primarily a school for future WRITER-PRODUCER- DIRECTORS who will devote two years to academic and field training in film production, and who, in the process, will hopefully develop their own community of filmmakers with whom they can share lasting careers in motion pictures.

This is the mission of MDAFI. By engaging filmmakers and equipping them with the skills they need, the Philippines will never lack for talented filmmakers that could document the unfolding drama of the lives of Filipinos, their role in the world, and how they view their struggles and conflicts in this contemporary world.