16 November 2012 – The Philippine Embassy in Madrid reported that the critically-acclaimed Babae sa Septic Tank by Marlon Rivera opened the 22nd edition of the Semana de Cine Experimental de Madrid yesterday, 15 November 2012, at the Cineteca Matadero de Madrid.
The opening night program began with an energetic dance performance by the Madrid Sinulog Dancers and was followed by speeches from the organizers and Philippine Ambassador to Spain H.E. Carlos C. Salinas.
In his remarks, Ambassador to Spain Carlos C. Salinas noted that the Filipino films that form part of the Festival are testimonies of the artistic talents of the Filipino people and reflect the culture and the story of the Filipino people.
Philippine Ambassador Salinas took the opportunity to read part of the remarks of Mr. Briccio Santos, Chairman of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), who was the Embassy´s key partner in this initiative.
In his prepared remarks, Mr. Santos noted that the first moving images that were projected in the Philippines in 01 January 1897 comprised of a man with hat, a boxing match, a Japanese dance, and a plaza outside a Parisian opera house. These images were courtesy of Spanish man named Francisco Pertierra who lived in the walled city of Intramuros.
Babae sa Septic Tank is one of the 20 Philippine films that will be featured during the Festival which will run from 16-28 November 2012. The selection of films for the Festival include classic Filipino films from Lino Brocka and Mike De Leon, movies by current established Philippines directors such as Lav Diaz, Chito Roño, and Joel Lamangan, and films by upcoming directors Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Remton Siega Zuasola, Alvin Yapan among others.
The Festival also features a short-film competition, retrospectives, roundtable discussions, and workshops. Among the 36 films shortlisted to compete in the short-film competition is an entry entitled Gurgulis Ed Banua by Filipino filmmaker Christopher Gozum.
The Semana de Cine Experimental de Madrid is organized by the Asociación de Amigos del Cine Experimental de Madrid annually, in collaboration with various public and private cultural institutions in Madrid, to promote cinematographic research and to provide a platform for people who are devoted to independent films.
For more information on the Philippine films featured in the Festival, interested parties may visit the Festival website at www.semanacineexperimentalmadrid.com.