Paulo Avelino and Mara Lopez in a scene from 'Debosyon'.
Alvin Yapan’s “Debosyon”, an entry in the New Breed section of the 2013 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, recently won Honorable Mention for Outstanding International Feature at the ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto, Canada.
Held last April, the annual film festival was founded by Canadian actress Tonya Lee Williams in 2001 and showcases short and feature length films from Canada and other countries in its desire to bring together multi-racial communities.
Described in the festival as an enigmatic love story between a young man (Paulo Avelino) and a mysterious woman (Mara Lopez) set at the foot of the Mayon Volcano, “Debosyon” debuted to mostly favorable reviews when it first premiered in Cinemalaya last July.
Despite critical acclaim, however, the film failed to take home a single award in Cinemalaya and also did not win in the recent Young Critics Circle awards where it was nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.
With its recognition in Toronto, the film finally earned the recognition that has eluded it in its home country. Outside of the Philippines, the film has been hailed by Variety magazine’s Maggie Lee as one of the “Top 10 of Under the Radar Asian films for its erotic rhapsody on Catholic & Pinoy pagan iconography.”
According to director Yapan, the film was recognized by ReelWorld’s festival jury “for the artistic risks that [the film] took and creative sure-handedness in execution”.
Next stop for “Debosyon” is the ongoing 30th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival which opened this Thursday, May 1, and will run until May 11. The film is one of five entries from the Philippines featured in New Face of Philippine Cinema section together with Borgy Torre’s “Kabisera,” Siege Ledesma’s “Shift,” Miko Livelo’s “Blue Bustamante” and Mikhail Red’s “Rekorder.”
‘Debosyon’ wins honorable mention at ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto
Source: InterAksyon.com (May 01, 2014 at 09:32PM)
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