Himpapawid

Directed by Raymond Red
Official Site - http://www.raymondred.com/Himpapawid.html
Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykDWXwVGaMY
April 24, 2010 – 7PM
Ticket Price: P200


Awards:

• Nominated 2010 Gawad Urian (Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Sound)

CAST

Raul Arellano, John Arcilla, Ronnie Lazaro, Soliman Cruz, Karlo Altomonte, Raul Morit
Sue Prado, Pen Medina, Nonie Buencamino, Archie Adamos, Nanding Josef
Lav Diaz, Tony Mabesa, Mon Confiado, Jess Evardone, Mike Lloren, Flor Salanga
and Ronron Villar

Synopsis

Inspired by a true event, Himpapawid (Manila Skies) tackles the astounding story of a lone deranged hijacker who is pushed to the edge as he struggles with the oppression of surviving in modern Philippine society. The film dwells on the common story of a desperate simple man from the countryside searching for a decent means of living in the big city, Manila


Director’s Bio - Raymond Red

Raymond Red is one of the pioneers of modern Filipino alternative cinema. Having a background in Fine Arts and photography, he began by making numerous experimental and narrative super-8mm and 16mm short films in the 1980s, the tumultuous era that began in the 70s, from which true alternative and independent filmmaking emerged. Red immediately gained recognition by winning awards and citations, both locally and at the international film festivals scene. He had then, at an early age, begun to inspire a new generation of independent filmmakers. He has since become a regular lecturer and instructor in various film workshops and in film, fine arts, and mass communications college programs, mentoring early on quite a number of the prominent Filipino independent filmmakers of today.

In 1990 he was invited to the prestigious DAAD Berlin Artists in Residence program, where he was also awarded a film production grant by ZDF 2nd German Television. He then produced his first full-length feature film “BAYANI” (Heroes, 1992), a low-budget historical bio-pic, it was one of the first truly “alternative” Filipino films released in commercial cinemas and thus considered by some as the indie film that bridged the gap between the alternative and mainstream cinema. He later made two other full length features, “SAKAY” (1993) another historical epic which won awards at the Manila Film Festival, and “KAMADA” (1997) a television feature that won awards from the Philippine Broadcasters Association and the Asian TV Awards.

Red has earned the distinction of being one of the first Filipinos to receive a Rotterdam Hubert Bals Memorial grant, and the first and so far only Filipino to have won the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his short film “ANINO”. Red and his works have been written about in major publications like Cahiers du Cinema - France, Sight and Sound - UK, TimeOut - UK, Variety - USA, Village Voice - USA, and the Oxford History of World Cinema. Red has also been invited as speaker in major institutions like NYU, NY MOMA, Chicago Art Institute, UCLA, UC Berkeley, SF Film Institute, London's ICA, Frankfurt Filmmuseum, Alliance Francaise, Japan Foundation - just to name a few. Red is also now distinguished for his technical expertise, and has served as speaker for new moving image technology launches of companies like Sony and Canon, Kodak and Fuji, and has done demo tests of new ultra high-definition digital cameras like the Red One and the Arriflex D21. He has also already served as juror for both local and international film festivals.

Red has been more active in television commercials and music video production in recent years, though he has also done a few more experimental short works, among them "Melancholy" in 2004, and "Mistulang Kamera Obskura” in 2006. He is finally releasing his new full length feature, entitled "HIMPAPAWID" (Manila Skies), slated for screenings in international film festivals starting last quarter of 2009.