Headlined by "Ma' Rosa" director Brillante Mendoza, the P-Noise Filipino Film Festival will start on Nov. 18 at the Club de l'Etolle in Paris, France. This is one of the events included in a project of Caffe Veloce Production in the Philippines and France.
The P-Noise Filipino Film Festival 2016 will be bannered by a masterclass to be conducted by Mendoza. The event will also mark the Avant Premiere of "Ma' Rosa," the official entry of the Philippines to the Best Foreign Film category of the 2017 Academy Awards.
In a press conference at Filmfest Café and Restaurant in Mandaluyong City, Philippines, Mendoza and Caffe Veloce Production founder Stephane Triffault talked about the collaborative project. The latter, who is of French and Vietnamese descent, expressed his interest in supporting films by Mendoza.
Answering questions from reporters, Mendoza pointed out that viewers in general prefer to watch mainstream films both in France and in the Philippines, just like in any other country. However, there is a core audience for alternative films in France, which does not exist yet in the Philippines, the filmmaker said.
Yibada asked Mendoza what he thought needs to be done to fill the lack of core audience for alternative films in the Philippines. He acknowledged that there are indeed a lot of things that need to be done.
Mendoza said what he can do as a filmmaker is to expose his films over and over again to the young audience, not to the mainstream audience who will always patronize the mainstream movies. He noted that the minds of the young audience are still open to appreciating a different kind of cinema.
In addition, the filmmaker pointed out that cinema is not just about entertainment. He explained that a core audience for alternative films is being created to enlarge the alternative cinema and have more people like Triffault who support it.
The Caffe Veloce Production founder has yet to see the entire "Ma' Rosa" film. In May, the film won Jaclyn Jose the 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award.
Watch the interview with Mendoza and Triffault here:
