Showcasing a Filipino superstar in Europe

No doubt about her world-class artistry. Nora Aunor--widely considered as the greatest actress in the history of Philippine cinema and popularly known as the Superstar with her multi-media reign (music, television, cinema, and theater)--could be the closest to Meryl Streep and Barbra Streisand combined in terms of iconic cultural impact.

At the 69th Venice International Film Festival (29 August - 8 September 2012), the diminutive Aunor will stand one of the tallest as the spotlight of the world's oldest film festival beams up at two of her works. Her new film Thy Womb, directed by Brillante Mendoza (the best director awardee at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival) has been officially selected at Venezia's competition section. Moreover, the digitally restored version of her 1982 film Himala (Miracle), awarded as the CNN Viewers' Choice for Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time, has been chosen for Venezia's section of rediscovered world classics along with the works of European and American masters like Ingmar Bergman, Roberto Rossellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Orson Welles, Michael Cimino, etc.

Aunor, who has won best actress awards from various international festivals, holds the distinction as the first Filipino actor and one of only a few Asians  whose films have been featured in three of the top-tier international festivals--Cannes (1981) for Lino Brocka's Bona, Berlin (1983) for Ishmael Bernal's Himala (Miracle), and Venice (2012) for Mendoza's Thy Womb. Affirming her preeminence, she topped the list of the 10 Best Asian Actresses of the Decade at the 2010 Green Planet Movie Awards (Los Angeles, California) along with China's Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Maggie Cheung as well as celebrities from South Korea and Japan.

At 59, Aunor continues to reaffirm her royalty long after she sang her way to national fame out of poverty (she used to sell bottled water at the train station in her hometown). Since she became a singing champion at the age of 16 (think of American Idol circa the late 60s), the "little dark girl" has ensconced herself as the showbiz queen, reconfiguring the face of Philippine entertainment where the colonial standard of beauty--fair-skinned mestizas--used to reign. Cited for her pioneering efforts in producing independent films that have been considered among the classics in Philippine and world cinema, she has been a recipient of several lifetime awards. Her globally viable gifts as an artist will be up for a reaffirmation as she makes her presence felt in Europe once again.

Below is a video of a CNN feature on Himala (Miracle) with interviews of Aunor as well as the film's scriptwriter and producer:

Vying for the top prize at Venice

It takes three filmmakers from Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines to prove to the world that Asian cinema can not to be trifled with. Though only three from Asia have made the cut in a field of 18 films selected officially for competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival (29 August – 8 September 2012), the creative wattage of Japan's Takeshi Kitano, South Korea's Kim Ki-Duk, and the Philippines's Brillante Mendoza are more than enough to light up the festival's line-up that counts the latest work from heralded American filmmakers Terrence Malick and Bryan de Palma along with European celluloid visionaries vying for the top prize at the world's oldest film festival.

KIM KI-DUK made history in 2004 when he won
best director at the film festivals in Berlin and
Venice in the same year for two different films. 

Kitano, Ki-Duk, and Mendoza are among the most internationally acclaimed auteurs whose works were selected to compete in the previous editions of the Venice film fests as well as in Cannes, Berlin, and the rest of showcases for global cinema. Though Ki-Duk’s Pieta marks the first time in seven years a Korean movie has entered the competition section of the festival since Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance in 2005, he earlier competed in Venice with The Isle (2000) and 3-Iron (2004) for which he won Best Director. Mendoza, who returns to Venice with his new film Thy Womb, earlier made his mark in Venice’s competition section with Lola (Grandmother) in 2010.

  

BRILLANTE MENDOZA made history in 2009 as the first Filipino filmmaker
to win the best director award at the Cannes International Film Festival

For his part, Kitano's new film Outrage Beyond marks his return to Venice where his films have been hailed with multiple awards. Here's a sneak a peek of Kitano's two films--Zatoichi and Hana-bi (Fireworks)-- that once wowed the critics and audiences at Venice: