Isa na namang Filipina ang gumagawa ng pangalan sa ibang bansa na dapat ika-proud ng mga Filipino. Siya si Janice Villarosa, director ng award-winning documentary film na “Shunned” na ilang beses nang nagwagi sa iba’t ibang film festival sa abroad.
Si Janine ay tubong Cebu at nag-aral sa IAFT sa nasabing probinsiya, at ngayon ay naka-base na sa Los Angeles, California, USA.
Ayon nga kay Direk Janice, “Shunned is about the journey of transgender women in the Philippines. It is an anti-discrimination film and really resonates with the LGBT community worldwide.
“It’s a documentary about the trauma and struggles faced by a group of Trans women in the Philippines as they compete in a pageant and find strength in their convictions and one other.
“I started this project over three years ago, not knowing anything about transsexualism. I did not know how to react towards transsexual women.
“I had that negative reaction and I wanted to change it. The only way I knew how was to enlighten.
“It is currently nominated for the Best of 2015 at Newfilmmakersla (a monthly film festival). So, I am honored that it is 1 out of 5 docs selected for the whole year and out of all these submissions. Hopefully manalo tayo kasi sa Saturday na (June 18 , 2016) ang awards night.
“Mimi Juareza is also one of the cast of ‘Shunned ‘. I know she did some movies in the Philippines also. Another cast of Shunned is Fiona Solis. She is now in Thailand.
“It was in 2 film festivals in the Philippines, one is in Cebu International Film Festival and Quezon City Pink Film Festival. I am currently looking for distribution for ‘Shunned’.”
Lahat nga raw ng karangalang nakukuha ni Direk Janice sa mga obra maestrang pelikulang kanyang ginagawa ay inaalay niya sa kanyang bansang sinilangan, ang Pilipinas.
John’s Point
by John Fontanilla
