Originally titled "Palit Ulo," Brillante Mendoza's drama film "Ma' Rosa" is set to hit theaters on July 6 in the Philippines. The film recently made history with its lead star Jaclyn Jose not only beating Academy Award winners Charlize Theron and Marion Cotillard but also becoming the first Southeast Asian actress to win Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Philippines has yet to have an entry accepted in the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category. In a recent interview with Yibada, Mendoza was asked if he feels strongly about "Ma' Rosa" finally ending this drought of Filipino films in the Oscars.
"That's not certain because we do not know if that is going to happen," Mendoza replied with a laugh. "But, well, the most important thing is that the talent was recognized."
Originally, "Ma' Rosa" was set to premiere in December as an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival 2016. Its early premiere, however, makes it more likely to become the entry of the Philippines for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017.
The most recent Philippine entry "Heneral Luna" missed the Oscars shortlist. An indie film like "Ma' Rosa," the historical biopic film is currently the highest grossing Filipino historical film of all time.
Asked if he is expecting "Ma' Rosa" to become as successful as "Heneral Luna" at the box office, Mendoza said, "Well, I hope so. Of course, 'Ma' Rosa' is totally a different story."
"Ma' Rosa" is not historical while "Heneral Luna" used a nationalistic approach, which incited interest from the audience, Mendoza explained. He also pointed out that realistically, moviegoers still prefer to watch commercial films but the fact that Jose won Cannes Film Festival 2016 Best Actress may also incite interest from the audience.
Mendoza already made a history as the first and only Filipino filmmaker to win the Cannes Film Festival Best Director award seven years before Jose's win. In 2009, his drama film "Kinatay" became his second Palme d'Or-nominated film, the 2008 drama film "Serbis" starring Jose, Coco Martin and Mercedes Cabral being his first.
As a filmmaker, Mendoza focuses on social issues. He pointed out that "Ma' Rosa" is not that different from his previous works including 2008 Durban International Film Festival Best Film "Foster Child," 2008 Berlin International Film Festival Caligari Film Award winner "Tirador," 2009 Dubai International Film Festival Best Film "Lola" and the 2015 Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Award nominee "Taklub" starring Nora Aunor, among others.
Produced by Center Stage Productions, "Ma' Rosa" features Troy Espiritu's screenplay, Odyssey Flores's cinematography and Teresa Barrozo's music. Among Jose's co-stars are Cabral, Julio Diaz, Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, Jomari Angeles, Neil Ryan Sese, Baron Geisler, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Mon Confiado, Aaron Rivera, Ruby Ruiz, Maria Isabel Lopez, Kristofer King and John Paul Duray.
Watch the full interview with Mendoza here: