‘Esoterica: Manila’ eyes worldwide release

JUST A THOUGHT: If you want to be loved, be lovable. – Ovid

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‘Esoterica: Manila’ cast and crew (from left) Francis Manalo, Ronnie Liang, guest-host Danielle Page, producer Rex Tiri, director Elwood Perez

ESOTERICA: MANILA TO THE WORLD: If luck holds, “Esoterica: Manila,” which premiered March 24 at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, is on its way to worldwide distribution. A major HK buyer has expressed interest in bringing the film to a much wider international market.

Esoterica, described by a reviewer as a wild, fascinatingly profound joy ride around Manila, had two screenings in Hong Kong last week. The first screening on March 24 started late, at 9:45 p.m. Filmmaker Elwood Perez said he overcame his nervousness upon learning that nobody left the UA Cine Moko in Mongkok district until after the last frame of the film flashed on screen.

At the open forum that followed, Perez thanked the sizeable audience for staying on despite the late-night schedule (it was already close to midnight).

Nonetheless, some members of the audience, most of them film critics, rose to ask him questions.

One said he found Esoterica extremely interesting and honest. “I was alternately thrilled and shocked,” he added.

Another wondered what the image of pork brains being cut up, cleaned and cooked symbolized.

Perez said he was glad the audience understood what he was trying to put across in the independently-produced film. His message? That life, or making it, is a never ending process of learning and re-learning. In fact, Perez likes to call his latest work a film on learning.

The film’s flier describes it thus: “In a voyage of self discovery, the protagonist – alternately ingenous and ingenuous – plunges into the territory of the exalted, the charmed and the bizarre, swimming through the uncharted waters of the unique Filipino experience, emerging from it all as an authentic Manileño, imbued with the thought that tolerance is sophistication.”

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MOST RESPECTED IN ASIA: “Esoterica: Manila” is one of three Filipino films screened recently at the 39th Hong Kong International Film Festival, considered the oldest and most respected film fest in East Asia.

The two other PH films taking part in the fest that runs until April 6 are Kidlat Tahimik’s “Balikbayan #1 (Memories of Overdevelopment Redux III)” and Lav Diaz’s “Mula Sa Kung Ano Ang Noon.”

This year, the festival is screening 260 films from 56 countries, said Dr. Wilfred Wong, chair of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.

Seventy-eight of the films being shown are marking either their world, international or Asian premieres. The films are shown across 12 major cultural venues in HK.

The Philippine delegation led by “Esoterica: Manila” producer Rex A. Tiri of T-rex Productions, director Elwood Perez and lead actor Ronnie Liang did the red carpet at the opening ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. They were joined by two other cast members, Federico Olbes and Francis Manalo.

The 39th HKIFF opened March 23 with screening of Taiwanese film “Murmur Of The Hearts,” directed by actress-writer-producer Sylvia Chang.

“Murmur” is a film about growing up and letting go, according to Chang, who is also a musician.

The HKIFF also welcomed as guests internationally respected filmmakers Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Iran), Peter Greenaway (Britain) and Pedro Costa (Portugal).

‘Esoterica: Manila’ eyes worldwide release

Source: Mb.com.ph (April 02, 2015 at 10:00PM)

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