There's a whole lot of something Filipino in the entries for this year's Best Foreign Language Film category in the upcoming 86th Academy Awards which will be held on March 2, 2014. Singapore's entry is the movie entitled "Ilo Ilo" is about the relationship between a Singapore family and their newly arrived Filipino maid in the midst of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It is based upon the true-to-life experiences its director Anthony Chen and his family's relationship with a Pinay OFW Nanny from the City of Iloilo. Meanwhile, the UK's entry for the festival is British filmmaker Sean Ellis"Metro Manila" which tells the tale of a poor probinsya family which moved to Metro Manila, only to be stuck on a much darker fate. This has a more bleak and darker tone, closer to crime noir drama.
And from our end, here in the Philippines, our entry is the movie entitled "Transit" which was chosen by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) to be the country’s entry in the best foreign language film category of the Academy Awards in 2014. Directed by Hannah Espia, “Transit” tells the struggles of a Filipino family working in Tel Aviv after the Israeli government passed a law ordering overseas workers’ children below 5 years old to be deported back to their countries. It debuted in the 9th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, where it bagged 10 awards, including best film and best director for Espia. [hit the jump to continue]
