Seeing Filipino stars in Paris
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:17:00 07/07/2008
PARIS—The cocktail party held in honor of the Philippine delegation at the Paris Cinema International Film Festival was held at La Monnaie hotel near the Notre Dame Cathedral on Friday night.
Described as “elegant and historic,” La Monnaie, according to Lali Suzara, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) executive director, is one of the hardest to book in all of France. “We were told it could take months,” Suzara said. “Monnaie literally means money.”
Two of the country’s most bankable stars—Sharon Cuneta and Judy Ann Santos—were the main attractions at the Philippine reception. Judai’s fiancé, Ryan Agoncillo, was also present. Needless to say, the trio kept snapshot hunters and other Pinoy fans busy.
Other homegrown celebrities at La Monnaie were: Boots Anson-Roa, Fanny Serrano, Chito Rońo, Mark Meily, Olive Lamasan, Malou Santos, Imee Marcos, Bessie Badilla, plus the young independent filmmakers invited to the “Paris Project.”
Welcome remarks were delivered by the heads of the different agencies—Nes Jardin of the Cultural Center of the Philippines; Jacky Atienza of FDCP; Amb. Jose A. Zaide of the Philippine embassy in France—that made the Philippine participation in the French fest possible.
Later that evening, the gala screening of Rońo’s “Caregiver” was held at the posh MK2 Bibliotheque cinema. The 650-capacity theater was packed with Filipinos—some coming from as far as Brussels, Belgium.
The French organizers, led by festival director Aude Hesbert and programming consultant Jeremy Segay, were “overwhelmed’ by the turnout, said Suzara.
Camera-toting fans snapped pics of the stars in their ternos—Sharon’s by Fanny Serrano; Judai’s by Paul Cabral and Boots’ by Eddie Baddeo.
“Initially, there was only one security man for Sharon, Judai and Ryan,” Susara said. “Fortunately, they sent more. We heard that a French actress attended the screening of her film the other night but wasn’t mobbed. Jeremy said he hadn’t witnessed anything like this in the festival’s six-year history.”
Retrospective
While the “Caregiver” screening was filled with Pinoys, the screening of Joey Gosiengfiao’s cult classic “Temptation Island” was packed with foreigners that same night, in a smaller cinema at the MK2.
A retrospective of other films (“Katorse,” “Bomba Star” and “Underage”) by Gosiengfiao is being held at the festival. Regal’s Lily Monteverde, producer of the Gosiengfiao films, attended the “Temptation” screening—punctuated with hearty laughter and capped with spontaneous ovation
from the predominantly foreign audience.
Viewers from Romania and Italy congratulated Mother Lily. The Romanian cineastes asked her, “Where are the stars of ‘Tempation’ now? Are all your films this crazy?”
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