08 May 2014 - Director Miguel “Mike” Alcazaren arrived in Brussels to attend the screening of his film “Puti” during the 32nd Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) at the Centre for Fine Arts (Palais des Beaux Arts) on April 9. “PUTI” competed in the 7th Orbit Competition during the Festival.
Speaking before an audience of Filipino and Belgian film enthusiasts before and after the screening, Direk Mike revealed that the movie was actually inspired by Schubert’s Opera The Erlking, that the title is a homage to veteran director Mike de Leon and that he had purposely used the works of Filipino painters, particularly of Geraldine Javier who did “The Erlking’s Cage” – the main work featured in the movie. He also shared that he worked with a very tight budget and relied heavily on favors from friends especially on some technical and logistic requirements to begin production. Direk Mike is also the film’s writer.
During his visit to Belgium, Direk Mike also took the opportunity to discuss the film and current developments in the Philippine cinema scene at a “Kwentuhan sa De Knoop” lecture session in Ghent on April 10 which was organized by Mga Diwata Unlimited and the Philippine Embassy in Brussels.
Direk Mike was also present in several events organized by the BIFFF to provide opportunities for networking and hobnobbing with producers and stalwarts in the European film industry.
Philippine Ambassador Victoria S. Bataclan, who gave her full support to Direk Mike for this endeavor, expressed the hope that more Filipino films will find its way into the European market, starting with festivals of this magnitude.
“Puti” is an art and horror film about Amir, a painter of counterfeit artworks who figures in a freak accident which rendered him color blind. The film has won awards for Best Cinematography (Robert Yniquez), Best Production Design (Rious Caliso) and Best Sound (Mark Laccay) in the PLDT Smart Foundation’s 1st CineFilipino Film Festival held in the Philippines in September 2013. Actor Ian Veneracion plays Amir.
LaPige.be, a website of journalism students from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Free University of Brussels) describes the film as a “very artistic game of color and light.”
Mike Alcazaren is a veteran director who began his career heading the award-winning animation group Alcazaren Bros. He specialized in baby commercial spots and eventually diversified into special effects boards. Mr. Alcazaren is a also a distinguished writer – a 2007 Carlos Palanca Awardee for Literature in the screenplay division. END