Monday, September 14, 2009

“Engkwentro” bagged a top award in the 66th Venice Film Festival


“Engkwentro” an independent film by young filmmaker Pepe Diokno won the top award in the Orizzonti (New Horizons), which is a section that provides a spectrum of new trends in cinema, in the 66th Venice Film Festival.

The movie which was also a finalist in the Cinemalaya 2009 was one of only 23 feature movies selected from around the world.

“Engkwentro” tells the tale of two teenage brothers on opposite sides of a gang war. Complications arise at a deadly midnight clash when one is tasked to kill the other. All these happen while the City Death Squad, a band of vigilantes supposedly backed by a Big Brother-type Mayor, is hot on their trail. The two brothers must find a way out of their squalid situation in order to stay alive.

The film was inspired by actual killings in some cities in the Philippines where almost a thousand people have been murdered by hitmen, allegedly sponsored by the state, in the last decade.

Pepe Diokno at age 21 is the youngest Filipino ever to participate in the Venice film festival.


6 comments:

Femmepower said...

Oh, you beat me again.I was thinking of writing this story but obviously,you were quicker hehehe. Ang galing ni Direk Pepe Diokno and the cast! Kudos, it's a big achievement for the Filipino film industry. I hope this will be shown in all big theaters nationwide. Baka in a few selected theaters na naman. I really wanna watch this, I've only seen the trailer and it's really interesting.

Badong said...

I've always had this fantasy of making an aaward-winning indie film. sigh. but anyway, lotsa congratulations to engkwentro!

Ebie said...

Ah, I remember na, you won this blog makeover from Ms Carlota!

betchai said...

thanks for sharing Leomar, I have not seen this movie, I'll see if I can borrow one from here.

Arlyna said...

I am a big fan of indie films regardless which country is producing it. I love the hunger and raw talent it showcases. Hoping more indie films will come out of the Philippines.

http://www.noypf.com said...

salamat po sa post

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin