Urian Best Picture nominees show emergent regional cinema1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE GROWING regionalization of Philippine independent cinema is very evident in the Best Picture nominees of the 34th Gawad Urian, the film critics’ prize for excellence in filmmaking, which will be handed out tomorrow at Marriott Hotel.
Most of the Best Picture nominees are productions from filmmakers based in the regions. They also tackle issues that are germane to the regions.
“Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria” (Creative Programs, Inc., Panumduman Pictures) is set on Olango Island off Mactan in Cebu province. Directed by Cebuano Remton Siega Zuasola, the movie documents the last hours of a Filipina (the Eleuteria in the title) as she prepares to leave her island hometown to get married in Germany.
Technically audacious, it unfolds its tale in one single sweeping shot; the mise en scène hardly falters, impressing the viewer with its faithful unfolding of a small life that embodies the Filipino diaspora.
