After winning four awards at the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, “BRUTUS, ang Paglalakbay”  will try its luck at the 44th Chicago International Film Festival.  

BRUTUS is a film about two Mangyan kids who decided to haul illegal logs, using a bamboo raft,  from the mountains to the lowlands, in order to help their families earn a living. As they go on their journey they meet friends and foes, deal with mother nature,death,and failure. Inspite of all these they manage to hang on to the innocence of their culture. 

I’d like to invite you to watch the screening if you live in Chicago.  Here are the two play dates below:

Date: October 24, 2008

Time: 8:15 PM

Place: AMC River East 21

Date: October 26, 2008

Time: 2:30 PM

Place: AMC River East 21

We’re going to Brussels, woohooo!  We’re going to Brussels, woohoooooooo!

Actually I’m not going to Brussels, but my sister is. I just feel like I’m going, too. I’m just a cheerleader at the sidelines. My sister’s independent film, BRUTUS,  won four awards last July at the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.( I feel like it’s my film too because I had wheedled my husband into becoming one of its executive producers. ) Her film has been chosen to participate at the Brussels International Film Festival. I think it’s a great honor.  Below is a copy of an article about it from PEP:

Brutus tells the tale of two Mangyan children hired by illegal loggers to smuggle wood from the mountains to the lowlands. In the process, they discover a world run by the greed of men, a world governed by ideologies that bring about the armed conflict in the Mindoro highlands. InBrutus, Adag (Tim Mabalot) and Payang (Rhea Medina) travel the Lisap River in Oriental Mindoro with their newfound friend Carlito (played by Yul Servo). 

Robert Malengreau, general director of the Festival, personally met up with the director and Brutus producer Fiona Borres to invite their film into the competition. A strong supporter of Filipino films, Mr. Malengreau has been bringing Filipino movies to his native country, Belgium, since 1987—from alternative films by Nick Deocampo, Raya Martin and Raymond Red to more mainstream fare from Joel Lamangan and Chito Roño. 

For this year’s competition, Mr. Malengreau chose only two films from the Philippines, the other being Torotot, directed by Maryo J. Delos Reyes, and starring Baron Geisler, Yul Servo, Maui Taylor, and Precious Adona. 

Produced by Bonfire Productions and Cinemalaya Foundation, with the support of the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation (PTFCF), Brutus garnered three other awards—Best Music for Mr. Joey Ayala, Best Supporting Actor for Yul Servo and Best Cinematography for Emilio “Jay” Abello. 

Brutus director Tara Illenberger will be presenting her film with lead actors Mr. Ronnie Lazaro and Manila District Councilor Yul Servo at the festival.

Brutus, the full length film directed by Tara Illenberger (my sister) and executive produced by Ronel Baylon (my husband) reaped 4 awards at the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. I feel myself puffing up with pride.  My gosh! My mother will be strutting like a peacock again. Yeheeeyy!  Yeheeey!

Here’s the list of awards: Jury Prize , Brutus by Tara Illenberger; Best Musical Score , Joey Ayala for Brutus; Best Supporting Actor , Yul Servo for Brutus; Best Cinematography ,  Jay Abello for Brutus.

For a film that almost never made it to its gala screening, getting four awards is not that bad. Not that bad at all. Just weeks before the film fest, a certain Non-Government Organization, upon the urging of a former American Peace Corps(who has no business meddling in Philippine affairs), threatened CCP with a Temporary Restraining Order. They didn’t want the film to be shown because of certain legal reasons that I cannot fully comprehend.  So my sister had to hire a lawyer to settle things  just a week before the opening of the festival. She said that she felt so tired and was ready to give up.  She told the Mangyans, whom she worked with and whose story she was telling, that she didn’t care about the festival anymore but if they wanted her to fight for the film then she would.  

I told my sister that her movie has a story that is worth telling. It is an honor that the Mangyan people have trusted her enough to allow her to tell the world of their plight. That thought should be enough to give her the  strength to fight for her film. It seemed that things got ironed out somehow and she was able to present her work to the public.

I haven’t seen it myself. I wish I could.   Still waiting to get a copy. In the meantime I just go to their website to find out what’s new.  If you’re curious you can click on this link: http://brutusthemovie.com/blog/?page_id=6

Dear friends,

Finally, the official schedule for the 2008 Cinemalaya Film screenings is out!

I am inviting you all to watch my film “Brutus”.

It will be shown on these dates at the Cultural Center of the Philippines:

June 13/Sun    9:00pm   MKP Hall

July 15/Tues   9:00pm   Huseng Batute

July 16/Wed    3:30pm  Main Theatre

July 18/Fri       9:00pm  MKP Hall

July 19/Sat      6:15pm   Main Theatre

July 20/Sun     3:30pm Little Theatre

The GALA SCREENING of “Brutus” will be on July 19, Saturday at the CCP Main Theatre.  Please come early for the cockltails 

My short film “Durog” will also be shown at the CCP Silangan Hall on July 20, Sunday 3:30 pm.

Hope to see you there! Bring your kids.

Tara 

P.S.  Tickets are regularly at 100 pesos each. Contact me two days beforehand to avail of discounted bulk purchases 

That’s a just one picture from Brutus, a full length film entry to the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.  My sister, Tara Illenberger,  wrote and directed it. This year I’m praying that she wins an award at the competition. Last year she had a short film entry entitled Durog.

This is also my husband’s first ever foray into the world of showbiz.   He’s one of the producers.  He’s an overworked nurse, sick of his job sometimes,  and had been thinking of other fields of endeavor.  Then my sister’s project  came along….Actually he could have been one of the actors if he hadn’t chickened out at the last minute.   So now he has to be content with simply seeing his name on the opening credits. 

Anyway, if you’re in Manila and have nothing better to do, drop by the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) on July 11-20. For ticket info call 5517930 or 8321125 local 1800.

To find out more about Brutus and watch videos, please click on the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H02c9MZ1Nbc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F1Yek0yiZE

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/101419/PEP-Cinemalaya-2008-screens-10-films-July-11-20