“Leonor Will Never Die” is at eighth while “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” is at third
Two Pinoy films are part of the Top 10 Asian Best Films for 2022 by the international website NME, in article that was released on December 22, 2022. The two films are “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether The Weather Is Fine)” and “Leonor Will Never Die,” both produced by ANIMA (formerly Globe Studios).
Leonor Will Never Die
“Leonor Will Never Die,” which was headlined by Sheila Francisco in the title role, makes it to top eight. NME describes the movie as a “kookily meta love letter to the cheesy Filipino B-action flicks of the 1980s. Directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar, it tells the story of Leonor, a retired action filmmaker in Manila who gets into a coma after an accident, which transports her into the world her unfinished screenplay.” NME also says that the film is a “hilarious and heartfelt head trip brimming with corny melodrama, kickass fight scenes and self-reflexive humor.”
“Leonor Will Never Die” has won numerous awards in different film festivals outside the Philippines, including Special Jury Mention – Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Amplify Voice Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the World Cinema Dramatic Competition Special Jury Prize: Innovative Spirit at the Sundance Film Festival. It was also the opening film for the 2022 Cinemalaya Film Festival.
Kun Maupay Man It Panahon
Meanwhile, Metro Manila Film Festival 2021 second Best Picture, “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon,” ranks number three on NME’s list. The movie is headlined by Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol, and Charo Santos Concio and is the film debut of Carlo Francisco Manatad. A co-production of ANIMA, Black Sheep, and Dreamscape Entertainment, it tells the story of a mother and son struggling to search for their missing loved ones after the devastating tragedy left by Typhoon Haiyan.
NME says that the movie “perfectly captures the dreamlike state that victims of disaster find themselves in.” The film also maintained a “sense of magical realism,” given that the lead characters have confronted “unexpected absurdities and look for meaning in the madness.”
Before being part of MMFF 2021, “Kun Maupay It Panahon” had a world premiere on August 9, 2021 at the 74th Locarno Film Festival, where it also received the Cinema e Gioventù Prize. It also had a screening at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival in the Contemporary World Cinema section and at the Chicago International Film Festival.
NME is a reputable pop culture website in Asia, Australia, and United Kingdom, which describes itself as “the world’s defining voice in music and pop culture: breaking what’s new and what’s next since 1952.”
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