Now that January is here, that means Sundance is just around the corner. I’ve been lucky enough to have received a press pass this year and I am looking forward to seeing as many films as possible and participating in some of the festivities in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.
The official selection of films was announced in December. Among the 92 films that will be shown during its run from Jan. 18 to 28 is award-winning filmmaker Ramona Diaz’s “And So It Begins,” a documentary on former Vice President Leni Robredo’s 2022 presidential campaign.
“We are Sundance-bound!!!” the filmmaker exclaimed on X (formerly Twitter).
Ramona Diaz is an award-winning Asian-American filmmaker best known for her compelling character-driven documentaries that combine a profound appreciation for cinematic aesthetics and potent storytelling. Her notable works include Imelda (2004), The Learning (2011), Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey (2012), Motherland (2017) and A Thousand Cuts (2020).
“And So It Begins” is set against the backdrop of a “multiverse of disinformation” decades after Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted and forced into exile along with his family during the 1986 People Power Revolution.
In the short film category, 50 projects were selected from a record-breaking 12000+ submissions globally. Among the short films selected are three projects from Filipino filmmakers Alexandra Qin, Carlos A.F. Lopez, and Whammy Alcazaren.
Alexandra Qin’s “Thirstygirl” is an intimate film about sisterhood and addiction, following two mixed-race Asian American women travelling across the American South. It is Alexandra Qin’s first film and the proof-of-concept for her award-winning feature script by the same name.
Carlos A.F. Lopez, who previously produced the winner of the Special Jury Prize for Best US Short Fiction at Sundance Film Festival 2016, is back with “Dream Creep,” a film about a couple that awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice.
Whammy Alcazaren is the director of “Bold Eagle.” The film is an “alter” who after being trapped at home with hallucinogenic drugs and his talking cat, anonymously performs lascivious acts on the Internet, seeking refuge in the strong arms of strange men, and hoping to masturbate his way to true happiness.
Congrats to all the filmmakers! Mabuhay ang talentong Filipino!
