2012 – Page 4 – Peter Solis Nery

Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa

Posted on April 1, 2012

Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa is the first full-length feature film written, produced, and directed by Ilonggo film auteur Peter Solis Nery. Shot on location in Dumangas, Iloilo and Buenavista, Guimaras, this landmark Hiligaynon film is about a struggling musician finding love in the frenzy of a festival created around the myth of the bakunawa sea monster. Filmed in six straight days in April 2012, the movie premiered in Davao City in June and July 2012, and was a finalist at the First Sineng Pambansa National Film Competition (2012) of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Aside from going around the festival circuit in the Philippines including Cinema Rehiyon 5 of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in Los Baños, Laguna; Bacollywood 2013: the 5^th Visayan Film Festival in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Ilonggo Film Festival 2013 in Iloilo City; 6^th Karay-a Arts Festival in San Jose, Antique; and CineKas1manwa: The Panay Islands Film Festival & Ilonggo Filmmakers’ Conference, among others, it was also the Philippine recommended entry to the 2012 Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece. Worldwide, the film has had special screenings in Singapore, California, and Maryland; and will soon be available as video on demand through Amazon.com.

Powerhouse cast sizzles in Ilonggo love story

Posted on March 27, 2012

A powerhouse cast is sizzling in an upcoming major Ilonggo love story movie.

The grandiose production of “Gugma sa Panahon sang Bakunawa (Love in the Time of the Bacunaua) – A Film by Peter Solis Nery” will unfurl in Iloilo after Holy Week with the major players heating up the shooting scenes this summer.

It’s a dramatic love story about a loveless and struggling musician Matt who comes home to Isla Pulang Pasayan to discover that the Bacunaua Festival that his grandmother “invented” may yet provide the background for finding his own success in love and career.

Matt’s role will be played by Ilonggo singer-songwriter and Pinoy Dream Academy (PDA) alumnus Eman Abatayo who might actually come up with an original composition for the movie, Nery disclosed.

The lovelorn Dulce Amor will be played by Ilongga up-and-coming ramp model and TV talent Priscilla Fontana who will have her first screen kiss in this movie, he noted.

The role of mysterious Emilio will be played by gorgeous model actor Jet Alcantara who promises to show more than just beautiful body in this movie, Nery revealed.

Ilongga diva Sheila Barrios is also set to do a cameo.

8finity Events creative director Ronelo Ladiao is the movie’s production manager.

3 Ilonggo filmmakers finalists in 1st Sineng Pambansa

Posted on January 1, 2012

At least three emerging Ilonggo filmmakers made it to the finals of the First Sineng Pambansa National Film Competition of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) slated in Davao City in June 2012.

Peter Solis Nery’s Gugma Sa Panahon Sang Bakunawa, Ronny N. Poblacion’s Beadworks, and John Raymund Macahilas’ Ang Mga Aswang are winners of the Visayas Division for Full-length Feature category.

Nery, an LA-based nurse, poet and author hails from Dumangas while Poblacion is a native of Janiuay and Macahilas is city-based.

This year’s Sineng Pambansa kicks off with 2nd Iloilo International Film Festival and 1st Ilonggo Short Film Festival Jan. 19-21 at SM City Cinema as one of the special events of Dinagyang Festival.

Meanwhile, Lester G. Babiera’s Ginabuhi It Bulig (Binubuhay ng Pagtulong) from Aklan is also a finalist in Documentary’s Visayas Division, together with Cierlito Espejo Tabay’s Walay Tumo’y ng Punterya (No End in Sight) from Cebu.

The finalists will be awarded seed money to finish their films, according to FDCP.

“The region-based filmmakers are now contributing their outstanding talent and creativity to the making of a true Sineng Pambansa or National Cinema,” said FDCP Chairman Santos.

A unique aspect of this competition is that the language of the locality was used in dialogue or narration, in order to underscore the vitality of the country’s indigenous cultural heritage through the medium of film.

The finalists are required to submit pre-production documents including complete list of respective production team with cast and crew; and the proposed calendar of activities for the film’s production in accordance with the timetable set in the guidelines, said Teodoro Granados of Competition Committee of FDCP.

The documents shall be submitted to FDCP and shall constitute the basis for the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) related to the award of the initial and final tranches of seed money, he explained.

The MOA signing and release of initial tranche is scheduled Jan. 6 at FDCP office in Makati.