History
The second Cinemanila was held from July 3 to 10, 1999 in Mandaluyong City. It was the first international film festival in the Philippines since the Manila International Film Festival, which had been held in the 1980s. (There is the Metro Manila Film Festival, but it is a national festival screening only Filipino films.) The festival featured a lecture on cinematography by Australian-Hong Kong cinematographer Christopher Doyle.
The festival has typically been a low-key affair in terms of red-carpet visits by foreign celebrities. However in 2003, the festival honored Hollywood stars with Filipino-American roots, and was graced by Lou Diamond Phillips, Tia Carrere, Dean Devlin and Rob Schneider. The same year, the first Lifetime Achievement Award was given, honoring Indonesian actress Christine Hakim.
In 2007, director Quentin Tarantino and Thai director Chatrichalerm Yukol were among the Lifetime Achievement recipients. A retrospective of Tarantino's feature films was shown, from Reservoir Dogs to Kill Bill. He attended the awards ceremony at Malacañan Palace, accepting the award from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Both the president and the honoree were late to ceremony due to being stuck in a traffic jam. Tarantino, accompanied by festival founder Tikoy Aguiluz, took a pedicab to make it to the ceremony, and showed up without leather shoes as required to enter the palace. He was given a new pair of shoes by Aquiliuz.
The festival is closely identified with its founder, filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz, who has a reputation as a maverick. In 2006, he accused the Philippine media of not doing enough to promote the festival and independent films, stating at a news conference: "All I want from you writers are three lines and a picture promoting the festival. Why do you think it's so hard for independent producers to have success here, locally? I haven't seen any support from either broadsheet or tabloids with any story on independent cinema."
Among the world community of film festivals, Cinemanila has gained respectibility with its programming of independent Asian film. Jurors at past festivals have included Christian Jeune, director of the film department of the Cannes Film Festival.
Early incarnations of the festival were held outside of Manila, though still in the Metro Manila area, in Makati City, and for a time was known as the Makati Cinemanila International Film Festival. In 2005, the festival moved to the Manila city limits, with screenings held at SM City Manila and Robinsons Ermita cinemas.
Read more about this topic: Cinemanila International Film Festival
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