Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa competes at Cannes

Brillante Mendoza is set to represent the Philippines anew at the 69^th Cannes Film Festival, set for May 11 – 22.

 

MENDOZA IS AT IT AGAIN as his film Ma’ Rosa was included in the Main Competition of one of the world’s largest film festivals. (Photos courtesy of Festival de Cannes – Page Officielle and Filippinsk Film Festival official page)

 

One of his latest films, Ma’ Rosa, was selected as part of the Main Competition last April 14. Ma’ Rosa stars Jaclyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, and Jomari Angeles.

Ma’ Rosa is about the lives of husband and wife Rosa and Nestor, who use their small community convenience store as a way of peddling Methamphetamines or shabu.

Apart from Mendoza, another Filipino director, Raymund Gutierrez (not the TV host), will be competing in the Short Film Palme d’Or with Imago.

20 films will be competing in the Main Competition, with Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa being one of only two entries from Asia, the other being Park Chan Wook’s Agassi (The Handmaiden).

Gutierrez’s Imago, meanwhile, will be one of ten entries for the Short Film, the only one from Asia.

Ma’ Rosa is Mendoza’s fourth foray at Cannes, joining Serbis (2008), Kinatay (2009), and Taklub (2015). Kinatay gave him the Cannes Best Director award, while Taklub won the Ecumenical Jury Prize-Special Mention.

 

Source: PEP, CNN Philippines, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rappler