Updated 11:02pm (Mla time) July 29, 2004
By Seymour Barros Sanchez
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page C1 of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
NEWCOMER Katherine Luna, crowned best actress in the recent 6th Makati Cinemanila International Film Festival for her performance in Mario O'Hara's "Babae sa Breakwater," won another acting award in the 6th Festival of Asian Cinema in India.
Katherine previously tied for the Cinemanila acting award with Marina Golbahari ("Osama") of Afghanistan. The O'Hara film revolves around the lives of poverty-stricken Filipinos living near the breakwater of Manila Bay.
Katherine recently received her latest best actress award at Siri Fort I in New Delhi. She was accompanied in India by producer Arlene Aguas of Entertainment Warehouse.
It is Katherine's third acting trophy for the same performance. The Young Critics Circle (YCC) Film Desk earlier picked her best actress, too.
After New Delhi, "Babae sa Breakwater" will go to eight more international film festivals this year including those in Vladivostok, Russia; Hamburg, Germany; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Vancouver, Canada;
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Pusan, South Korea; London, England; Tokyo, Japan; and Dubai, Saudi Arabia.
It will also be screened in Buenos Aires, Argentina next year.
"Babae sa Breakwater" competed with 13 other entries: Nonzee Nimibutr's "Baytong," Thailand; Anurag Kashyap's "Black Friday," India; Lee Kang-Sheng's "Bu Jian" (The Missing), Taiwan; U Wei Bin Haajisaari's "Buai Laju Laju" (Swing My Swing High, My Darling), Malaysia; Makarand Deshpande's "Danav" (Demon), India; Ahmad Reza Motamedi's "Divane Az Ghafas Parid" (The Insane Flew Away), Iran; Atiq Rahimi's "Khakestar-O-Khak" (Earth and Ashes), Afghanistan/ France; Kim Ki-Duk's "Samaria" (Samaritan Girl), Republic of Korea; James Lee's "The Beautiful Washing Machine," Malaysia; William Kwok's "You Gou" (Darkness Bride), Hong Kong; Zhu Wen's "Yun De Nan Fang" (South of the Clouds), China; Amer Alwan's "Zaman, L'Homme des Roseaux" (Zaman, Man of the Reeds), France; and Takeshi Kitano's "Zatoichi," Japan.
"Bu Jian" (The Missing), which tells the story of the disappearance of two unrelated people, and "Khakestar-O-Khak" (Earth and Ashes), a fable of devastating loss, redemption, and the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of the atrocities of war, shared the best film honors.
Abdul Ghani won as best actor for his role as the Afghan grandfather on a journey to see his son.
The competition jury was chaired by internationally acclaimed Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi. The members were Makati Cinemanila International Film Festival director and filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz VI, Pusan International Film Festival director Kim Dong-Ho, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Syrian filmmaker Oussama Mohammad, Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight artistic director Olivier Pere, and Indian director-actress Aparna Sen.
Sen had won the best screenplay award in last year's Cinemanila for "Mr. & Mrs. Iyer" and the grand prize at the Manila International Film Festival for "36 Chowringhee Lane."
Another Philippine entry, Jeffrey Jeturian's "Bridal Shower," competed for the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac) Award with 11 other films. Abdullatif Abdulhamid's "Ma Yatlouboh Al Mostameoun" (Listener's Choice) from Syria, which deals with love, friendship, and listening to broadcasting programs in a remote countryside, won the Netpac prize.
Sandip Ray's "Bombayier Bombete" (Gangsters of Bombay) won the Audience Award.
Aguiluz was ecstatic about Luna's victory in the festival. "Luna's award gives a much-needed boost to her young acting career," he said.
"They should have also given an award to the festival viewers for the great turnout throughout the festival," Aguiluz added.
Eminent Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle graced the festival on behalf of Wong Kar-Wai, the maverick filmmaker from Hong Kong, with whom he has collaborated.
A tribute was presented in honor of the amazing Makhmalbafs of Iran, perhaps the only family in the world where all five members are recognized filmmakers.