Donsol is RP’s Entry to the Oscars

A selection committee headed by the National Artist for Film Eddie Romero picked the Indie film Donsol starring Angel Aquino and Sid Lucero as the country’s entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards otherwise known as the Oscars.

Donsol is a province of Sorsogon where the movie was shot. This is the directorial debut of Adolf Alix, Jr. and has premiered at the 2006 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival where it won Best Cinematography and Best Actress for Angel Aquino. Star Cinema screened the movie last November of 2006.

Donsol was selected because it passed all the requirements asked by the Academy Awards: that the movie should at least be screened in local theaters in 2006, not in the English language and it has a 35mm version (which is rare among digital films). This could be the reason why Kubrador, the most awarded Filipino movie of 2006 in various international film festivals, wasn’t selected because it didn’t pass the pre-requisites.

Donsol tells the story of two people who meet and fall in love at a time when the butanding (whale sharks) visit Sorsogon, which is located at the southeastern part of the Bicol Peninsula.

Last year, a total of 61 countries submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 79th Academy Awards, and our country’s pick was Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros) directed by Auraeus Solito. The popular indie movie was also nominated in the Spirit awards, an award-giving body for independent films which boosted its campaign for the Oscars.

On January 22, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will select the five nominees for the 2008 Foreign Language Oscar. The Academy Awards will be presented February 24, 2008.

Taiwan’s entry directed by Brokeback Mountain and Sense & Sensibility director Ang Lee is considered the “shoo-in” to win the category next year.

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