Cine de Barrio

Negros has contributed significantly to the development of alternative cinema in the Philippines and has become one of the fertile training grounds that produced a lot of filmmakers and films from the regions. It has become a venue for discourse and creative learning and one of its major components, in preparation for Bacollywood:Cinema Rehiyon 2012, is Cine de Barrio which will make the films accessible to the larger public through screenings in public viewing venues of key barangays in the city.

Cine de Barrio has already held screenings in Barangays 19, Villamonte, Estefania, Tangub, Alijis and at the 6th Negros Island Organic Farmers' Festival, and it features the following films produced in Negros by our local filmmakers through the years:

· PAGHIGUGMA SA KADASIGON SANG KASANAG (2010)

Directed by: Jo Macasa & Cindy Ballesteros

Synopsis: Except for her science class, Julie’s grades are close to failing. Every time her science teacher walks in the room and discusses a lesson, her eyes are all on him, eager to learn and excel in the subject. One day, she meets an alleged time traveler and he helps her find a way to go back decades earlier. Julie runs into her science teacher, now a young student at the university, and the two of them fall in-love. As their friendship grows strong, Julie has to make a decision whether to leave her family behind at present or stay with her paramour in the past.

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· PANGANOD (2007)

Directed by: Paolo Lindaya

A series of ambiguous and seemingly unrelated images quietly and slowly flash across the screen. Then a man walks into a picturesque garden. Here, a small girl asks the man to stay. He says no and walks away. The same man walks into a hall of mirrors. Here, a beautiful woman tells him that he is in the wrong place and that he is being expected on the other side. Once again, he says no and walks away. We see the same images at the start of the film. But now we see how they come together. It is the site of a car accident. The man we saw earlier is near death. What flashes through a man’s mind when he is at death’s door? What does he remember? What does he think of? What does he dream of?

“Panganod” explores these themes in a quiet and lyrical fashion and in the process takes us on a poetic trip that leaves us in contemplation and wonder.

· ROGER (2011)

Directed by: Karl Samson, Jimbot Flores

Synopsis: Story of Butoy, a 13 year-old boy living in a slum with his parents who are both jobless. His father is a gambler and a drunkard. Butoy’s only “companion” is is BMX bicycle that he uses every day. Whenever his parents fight, the only person who consoles him is his grandfather, lolo Roger. One day Butoy loses his bike, and after several days of looking for it, he falls ill and gets hospitalized.

· IMPERFECT BLEND (2011)

Directed by: Julius Dela Peña

Synopsis: Story of Andre with his intimacy in a coffee shop in relation with his personal interests in life.

· MISSING CHAPTERS (2009)

Directed by: Michael Varca

Synopsis: Two friends lose an I-pod at a wild party. Both have no memory whatsoever as to what occured the night before. They try to patch up events by recalling the skimpy details of the eventful night.

· ANG PAO (2009)

Directed by: Lawrence Fajardo

Synopsis: A hired assassin prepares for his final job. Inside a restaurant, a typical mix of Filipino Chinese bystanders languidly kills time. Soon enough, the assassin finds himself right at the restaurant doorstep. He wastes no time. What transpires next is an exhilarating turn of events that proves once more that there is more than meets the eye.

· NOCHE BUENA (1997)

Directed by: Barney Molina

Synopsis: A story of family set in that one night when Filipinos anticipate the coming of Christmas day by partaking of a meal with all our loved ones gathered in the ancestral home –the noche Buena. Mama now alone in her house reminisces a time when the joy of Christmas filled her home, but the years have not been kind and she now finds herself alone with her memories. Will the spirit of Christmas this time once again visit and mend her broken home?

Cine de Barrio will this time feature regional films not only from Bacolod, but from Luzon, Visayas & Mindanao for Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012 on February 8 (Luzon Films) - Brgy. 19, February 9 (Visayan Films) - Brgy. Villamonte, and February 10 (Mindanao Films) - Brgy. Pta. Taytay with a Video Art exhibition "Gilubong Ang Akong Pusod Sa Dagat" by Martha Atienza.

More films coming from the different regions are already lined-up for Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012 National Film Festival on February 8-11, 2012 at Robinsons Movieworld Cinema 6. Please contact the secretariat at 09162173010 for FREE TICKETS.