Philippine director/screenwriter Dante Nico Garcia is getting his shot at the big time thanks to the special committee of the Film Academy of the Philippines which has chosen his first film Ploning to be the island nation’s official entry into the running for the Academy Awards Best Foreign Picture award. (Source: Variety)
From the very long-winded synopsis on the movie’s official website, it looks to be one of those very quaint and somewhat mystical films about a small community that’s tied together by a mysterious beautiful woman — like Chocolat, but on the Pacific Rim. Inspired by a folk song by the same name, the movie is an homage to the women in Garcia’s life, “his mother, his grand mother, his surrogate mother in the island, and his best friend [lead actor] Judy Ann Santos.” For a more detailed look and review of the movie, check out the last entry in the official production blog, written on May 31 after the press screening:
It was [during a pivotal scene] that the rest of the movie had blurred for me. I could no longer see through my tears, I was racked with emotions swirling inside me and around me, and I was so thankful I was beloved of God that I was being paid to watch this movie and He gave me two Krispy Kremes to boot.
This message has been brought to you by the only U.S.-based movie blog written by entirely by two people of Filipino descent.