Friday, November 9, 2012

"Champoy" cast reunites in "Huling Biyahe" film



Noel Trinidad, Tessie Tomas, Mitch (Maya) Valdes, Gary Lising, Ronnie Lazaro, Joel Torre, and Jun Urbano, all part of the now-defunct 80's gag show "Champoy," return to the big screen via "Huling Biyahe" (Last Reel), a new film about an aging couple who work in the Filipino film industry.

"Huling Biyahe," written and co-directed by Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez with wife Racquel Zaballero-Sanchez, is one of the recipients of a film grant from the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), which will stage the Ikalawang Yugto of its Sineng Pambansa National Film Festival from November 22 to 25 in Davao City, this time at the SM Lanang Premier Mall, the SM group's second and largest mall in the city.

The full-length feature is about a linear editor (Trinidad) and his wife, an ex-dubber (Tomas), who, at the twilight of their lives, decide to part ways to know what is missing in their lives. They both explore things they have not explored before as they both undergo a sexual awakening in their lives. The wife finds comfort in a local school janitor (Lazaro) whom she sees as having a slight parallelism with her life. On the other hand, the husband gets enamored by a shy barrio lass whose face elicit the same weakness he has for women – chinita eyes.

Barros-Sanchez also enlisted the services of actors he has worked with in his previous films, Dwight Gaston, Raul Morit, Bombi Plata, Hector Macaso, and Ping Medina. The film also stars Therese Carlos, Bor Ocampo, Avi Siwa, and introduces newcomer Debbie Victa, a granddaughter of veteran actor Augusto Victa.

"It is our tribute to these fabulous comedians and also to the post-production people who have worked behind the scenes during the glory days of celluloid cinema. It will also feature the extreme talents of young and seasoned actors in the industry," said Barros-Sanchez, who directed FDCP's first Sineng Pambansa grand prize winner "Ang Mga Kidnaper ni Ronnie Lazaro."

Barros-Sanchez is an Urian-nominated filmmaker, a scriptwriter for film and TV, an advertising director, and an awarded music video director. His third full-length feature "Tsardyer," produced through a Cinema One Originals film grant, earned nominations from the Manunuris in the 34th Gawad Urian, namely for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Musical Score, and Best Supporting Actor.

Aside from "Ang Mga Kidnaper ni Ronnie Lazaro" and "Tsardyer," he has completed three other full-length films, namely "Lasponggols" for the first Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, "Ang Anak ni Brocka" for Cinema One Originals, and "In Bangka Ha Ut Sin Duwa Sapah" (The Boat Between Two Rivers) for the first Sineng Pambansa.

Sineng Pambansa is FDCP's flagship program. With the same mission of developing and empowering filmmakers in the regions, the Ikalawang Yugto, a follow-up to the successful staging of the first leg of the festival last June, will feature winning finalists from Luzon and Mindanao – each presenting unique stories and the distinct vision of the participating filmmakers – in these categories: Full-Length, Documentary and Animation. For more information, visit www.fdcp.ph.

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