Singh commented, “We are honoured that Cinemanila has acknowledged our work with a retrospective of our films. We are also delighted to be presenting these films which are unique South African stories to the Philippino audience and to share our culture and experiences. We commend the role of the South African Embassy in Manila and ambassador Pieter Vermeulen in particular who have been instrumental in the focus on South African film at Cinemanila.”
Singh has been attending the festival; however, Roodt has been unable to attend due to his film directing commitments in SA.
The Videovision films selected for the festival span a period of more than 15 years and includes films that were made before SA achieved democracy in 1994.
Sarafina! was made during the apartheid years while Cry, The Beloved Country was the first South African film to be made in post-apartheid South Africa. Red Dust is a multi-award winning film that explores the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was set-up to heal the wounds of apartheid and Yesterday, which received SA's first ever Oscar nomination, was the first commercial isiZulu film which dealt with the HIV/AIDS pandemic facing Africa. Faith's Corner explores the issues of poverty and homelessness in SA and is scored by the multi-award winning composer, Philip Glass.
Amable Tikoy R. Aguiluz VI, director of the Cinemanila International Film Festival, commented, “We are very excited to have the films of Anant Singh and Videovision Entertainment participate in our festival. The focus on these films strengthens the ties between SA and the Philippines as they showcase true SA stories and events.”
For more information, go to www.cinemanila.org.ph/2007/.
