French Spring 2004

Spring's Here

So according to the Embassy website, the 9th Annual French Film Festival would be from June 4-13. I saw the poster over at Greenbelt 3, so I don't know whether it'll still be free, or they'll be charging Ayala Cinema rates. Now I don't mind paying for my movies, but if it's going to be exorbitant (and being a public school teacher won't exactly help), I'm in deep trouble. I miss the Shang, back when it was the film festival hang out, and movies were free. I don't know when they'll finish renovating their theaters. They have their new cinema seats on display for the longest time now, but still no word when they'll reopen. So now we're marooned to Makati, film festival center by default.

The line up is already out, with a smattering of recent French films, Filipino-French coproductions, and a tribute to Mario O'Hara's Babae Sa Breakwater, which is part of this year's Director's Fortnight in Cannes. Also part of the program is Mariami Tanangco's short film Binyag, which was screened during last year's CineManila, won the Ishmael Bernal Awardee for Young Cinema, and was also an Official Selection of the International Short Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand France. Mariami was a classmate several times over in my handful of film classes, when I still had film school delusions back in my undergrad years. (The delusion resurfaces now and then, but this girl really stuck to the dream and now here she goes.) You can view the schedule here.

I'm also looking forward to Fete de la Musique, which will be held in Eastwood. I suppose they want a bigger crowd to enjoy the music, but I kinda like El Pueblo already. Such a contained space and all the people just jumping up and down. I'm already seeing an Oktoberfest '03 like scenario here: There will be long snaking lines going to the venue, going as far back as Megamall.

French Spring's like a ritual for me and my friends for as long as I can remember. There was no MRT then, but right after classes we'd hop on a bus to the Shang and gouge our eyes out watching movies. Things are different now, but I'm still hoping that I would be able to find the time to actually go out and watch the movies and listen to the music.