MANILA, Philippines ? Award-winning Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza gets starstruck when he meets international celebrities.

He was flustered, he recalled, when ?Lawrence of Arabia? actor Omar Sharif handed him the Best Film trophy for ?Lola? at the recently concluded 6th Dubai International Film Festival.

He related, ?I also saw Gerard Butler, lead actor in ?300,? at the 20th Century Fox party in the Dubai fest.?

Mendoza, Best Director prize winner in Cannes this year for ?Kinatay,? met backstage the jury head in the Dubai event, Iranian filmmaker Bahman Farmanara.

?He told me that ?Lola? is a great film by a great filmmaker. Then he asked to have a photo taken with me,? the Pinoy filmmaker said.

Mendoza was flattered, but a bigger honor, he said, was meeting Dubai-based Filipinos who lined up at 10:30 p.m. to watch ?Lola,? top-billed by veteran actresses Anita Linda and Rustica Carpio.

?They stayed until 1 a.m. and joined the open forum after the screening,? Mendoza recounted. ?Usually, only foreigners would stay... but the Filipinos were very interested in the filmmaking process. They asked if I found it difficult working with senior stars. I said the shoot was easy, that Anita and Rustica were dedicated to their craft.?

Overseas Filipino workers, who watch Mendoza?s films in international festivals treat him like a rock star. ?They ask for souvenir photos with me, and for my autograph on the movie posters that they download from my web site.?

His previous movies, like ?Kinatay? and ?Kaleldo,? were also made available online to myDSL subscribers through Watchpad?s myFlicks.

?PLDT conducted a survey which revealed that young people, especially students, are interested in independent films. I want my films to be accessible and to reach the widest Filipino audience possible,? he explained.

Hours after arriving from Dubai last week, he was bound for the 53rd Asia Pacific Film Festival, held in Taiwan Dec. 19.

?It?s one of the oldest festivals in Asia,? he said. ?A big event??with 500 delegates from all over the region, including ?Slumdog Millionaire? child stars Azharuddin Ismail Sheikh and Rubina Qureshi.

Lone RP representative

According to an Internet report, 58 films from 14 nations participated in the Taiwan fest. ?I was the only Filipino there,? Mendoza related.

His ?Kinatay? vied for major awards, but Mendoza was asked to present the Best Director prize with Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan. (It went to Taiwan?s Leon Dai for ?No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti.?)

Backstage, Mendoza met Hollywood-based Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement honors. ?He was very nice, accommodating and friendly,? Mendoza said of Woo.

Attending film events allows Mendoza to touch base with colleagues from the international arena.

When he was in Sao Paolo, Brazil, last September for the Indie 2009 World Film Festival, he caught up with French actress Isabelle Huppert, head of the Cannes jury which awarded him Best Director last May.

?We had a long chat in Brazil,? said Mendoza. A retrospective of his movies was held in Sao Paolo, where he met Oscar-nominated Argentinean filmmaker Hector Babenco as well.

Mendoza is currently working on a documentary on a gay Holy Week penitent and a feature film on the Abu Sayyaf, starring Coco Martin.