 |
Sidhi |
Thursday 21st Jan |
|
Sidhi |
Thursday 21st Jan |
 |
Sidhi movie launch press conferences |
  |
I
attended two press conferences connected with the movie Sidhi on successive days. The
first one was tha actual movie launch, and the movie trailer was one of the most powerful
I've seen. Nora Aunor has long been a respected actress in the Philippines, and the
glimpses of her performance here suggest that this can only enhance her reputation.
As often happened at these press conferences I only had a brief introduction to Nora, and
never had a good chance to take a photo. It was one of those occasions where I was happier
living the moment than being lumbered with a big camera round my neck.
The interview being done by Pilar for Showbiz Lingo Plus
was with Glydel Mercado, the supporting actress of the movie. Glydel is every bit as
attractive in real life as she appears on screen, and the sort of person that leaves me
wondering how well she would do in movies if she wasn't so good-looking. Having had no
exposure to her acting talents other than her brief appearance in the movie trailer I
can't answer that one, but hopefully the movie will do well enough for me to find out. Glydel is another actress for whom it is almost useless to try searching for links on the internet. A number of sex sites list her name with promises of nude pictures, and much of the questioning from the press seemed to centre around her various sex scenes in movies. The following evening we attended a press conference held by the producer of the movie. This was the first I had attended that was actually held at someone's home. There was an excellent buffet provided in the open air, and the atmosphere was a strange combination of relaxed professionalism. Almost all the questions and answers were in Tagalog, which was often the case with the press conferences I attended, but even more than usual I found it difficult to follow the line of questioning, so just tried to look interested, take the occasional photo, and re-read the press release ;)
The movie itself was due to appear in the Berlin Film Festival, and everyone involved with the movie and even the press were full of optimism and respect for the movie and it's chances of international success. There seemed to be a general mood that the Philippine movie industry could move into the international mainstream with movies such as Sidhi, and 1998's Rizal. I have to admit that were it not for my particular interest in the Philippines I would have been unable to name any movie, actress, or any kind of artist from the Philippines. Maybe the tide is turning at last. To the left is the promotional poster for the movie. Click on this to see a larger image
|
All the people being interviewed had been in the
business a long time and had obviously built up a repuation of great respect from the
press. All too often I detected undertones that members of the press didn't really like
some of the stars they were having to write about, but I felt none of that here.
