INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S FILMFEST AT UP

The 17th International Women’s Film Festival will be held at the UP Film Institute in Diliman, Quezon City, from March 5 to 8 next week.

The filmfest will include four women-directed feature and documentary films from the Philippines and one each from Spain, the Netherlands and Mexico. Two short films each from the Philippines and Israel and one each from the U.S.A., Serbia-Montenegro and Hungary will also be exhibited during the four-day-filmfest.

The feature films, with screening schedules, are as follows:

--Sevigne, a Spanish film written and directed by Marta Balletbo-Coll. It won the best film, best actress and best actor awards in the Catalan Film Festival and also won honors in the Barcelona Film Festival (2005) and the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (2005). Schedule: 7:30 p.m., Mar. 5 and 9 p.m. Mar. 6.

--Amazones, a film from the Netherlands directed by Esme Lammer Winner in the Emden International Film Festival in Germany (2005). Schedule: 2 p.m. Mar. 6 and 7 p.m. Mar. 7.

--La Pasion de Maria Elena, a Spanish film written and directed by Mercedes Moncada Rodriguez. It was the best documentary winner in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and also won in the Guadalajara and Sao Paulo Film Festivals in 2003. Schedule: 7 p.m. Mar. 6 and 9 p.m. Mar. 7.

--Inang Yaya, written and directed by Veronica Velasco (with Pablo Biglang-awa as co-director). Winner of all major awards in the 2007 Young Critics Circle Film Desk Awards. Schedule: 5 p.m. Mar. 7.

--Rome and Juliet, written and directed by Connie S.A. Macatuno. Winner of best actress (Mylene Dizon) and best production design awards during the 2006 CinemaOne Originals. Schedule: 2 p.m. Mar. 8.

--Mudraks, directed by Margaret Guzman and Arah Jell Badayos. Official selection in the 2006 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. Schedule: 5 p.m. Mar. 8.

--Alyana, A Study of Autism in the Philippines, Written and directed by MiranaMedina. Schedule: 7 p.m. Mar. 8.

Three short films will be shown at 5 p.m. on Mar. 5.These are Mindy (USA), a short fiction by Ai Lene Chor; Visiting Hours (Israel), a short fiction by Maya Dreifuss and Sliding Flora (Israel), written and directed by Talya Lavie.

Three more short films will be shown at 4 p.m. on Mar. 8, namely A Sweet Scent of Mothballs (Serbia-Montenegro), a short fiction by Jelena Tvrdisic, Stones Fall Into a Shallowing Well (Hungary), a short fiction by Anna Kis and Pangarap Ko, Saluhin Mo (Philippines), a short fiction by Wilhelmina Orozco.

On March 8, at 7 p.m., the world premiere of a short Philippine documentary will be held, Breaking Down Barriers by MiranaMedina. All screenings will be held at the UPFI Cine Adarna.

Three Filipina directors will be honored during the 2nd Diwata Awarding Ceremonies for Women in Films. They are Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Laurice Guillen and Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara.