THE ACCIDENTAL ACTOR: SINAG MAYNILA 2016 Opening Night 21APR2016

Solar Entertainment Corporation, through its pioneering head Wilson Tieng and festival director Brillante Mendoza, announced the five official entries for Sinag Maynila 2016. More than 100 entries were submitted and screened but only five qualified and each will receive a grant of P2 million.

Dyamper by Mes de Guzman is about Apeng, Poknat and Tinoy. The trio is known as “dyampers” (robbers) preying on rice delivery trucks along the winding roads of Dalton Pass. In one of their operations, they discover a batch of potentially dangerous and illegal substances being transported in the guise of legitimate merchandise. From crooks, they suddenly transform to a pack of heroes on a dangerous mission.

Expressway by Ato Bautista is a film about Ben, a long-time hand in a big criminal syndicate. He is on a last illicit operation before his retirement from the mob. He is also assigned to mentor his partner Morris, a newbie in the business out to prove his worth as a member. This “mission”, for the both of them, turns out to be a journey of introspection, self-healing and ultimate redemption.

Lila by Gino M. Santos focuses on a young lady at the brink of self-destruction due to a consuming past. She decides to live with an understanding and warm landlady for a chance at a fresh start and atonement for the past. The “house” however has other plans.

MRS by Adolf Alix, Jr. tells of Virginia, an elderly woman of 70 years, living in a house directly on top of an earthquake fault line. When her loyal maid asks for her permission to leave for good, a portrait of human pathos and emotional depth unfolds between a mother and a daughter trying to juggle the unavoidable and sad realities of life.

TPO (Temporary Protection Order) by Joselito Altarejos narrates the story of
Teresa, a battered wife, who attempts to obtain relief from her unbearable circumstances by filing a Temporary Protection Order against her abusive husbad. She unwittingly falls victim again to a corrupt system of the bureaucracy that is full of neglect, indifference and ineptness.

Certain entries to the Sinag Maynila Film Festival have been invited to join international film festivals. Among them are Bambanti (Montreal World Film Festival), in Canada until Sept. 7 under Focus on World Cinema (invited for screening), Imbisibol (Toronto International Film Festival) from Sept. 10 to 20 and also in Canada under Contemporary World Cinema Programme (in competition), and also to the Focus on Asia International Film Festival (Fukuoka, Japan) from Sept.18 to 25 (invited for screening) and SWAP (San Sebastian International Film Festival) in Span from Sept. 18 to 26, Zabalteg! (invited for screening).
The 2nd Sinag Maynila Film Festival will run in April 2016.