Press Release

Two (2) Filipino Films at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival; “Yellow Rose” Wins 2019 Reel Asian Best Feature Film Award

2019-11-21

Consul General Orontes Castro poses with Yellow Rose star-in-attendance at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Ms. Princess Punzalan, and Reel Asian Executive Director Deanna Wong.

Left Photo: Consul General Castro delivers his remarks at the Feature Presentation and Closing Night Gala of Reel Asian. He congratulated the organizers and cited “how the festival has brought together a diverse group of creators, artists and film buffs from the Asian community in North America and from across the globe”. He also mentioned that the inclusion of two (2) Filipino films in Reel Asian is timely because this year the 100 years of Philippine Cinema is being celebrated, as well as the 70 years of bilateral relations between the Philippines and Canada.
Right Photo: Ms. Punzalan thanked Reel Asian for the opportunity to show Yellow Rose at the Closing Night Gala of the festival. She said that the film is “like a love story of how a mother is trying to protect the future of her child”.

At the Q&A after the showing of Yellow Rose, Ms. Punzalan said “This is the first Filipino film that will be distributed worldwide and I am so grateful”.

Dinner hosted by Consul General Orontes Castro, accompanied by Consul Edna May Lazaro, for Ms. Princess Punzalan and the Reel Asian International Film Festival Officers – Mr. Aram Siu Wai Collier (Acting Head of Programming), Mr. Sidney Chiu (Vice-Chair, Board of Directors), and Ms. Deanna Wong (Executive Director). Also joining the dinner were Mr. Kerwin Du and Mr. Ferdinand Roman of ABS-CBN-TFC Canada.

18 November 2019, Toronto, Canada. – Two (2) Filipino films made it to the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, “John Denver Trending” and “Yellow Rose”, which starred Tony-nominated Broadway performer Eva Noblezada, Broadway legend Lea Salonga, veteran Philippine actress Princess Punzalan, Libby Villari, and Dale Watson. Yellow Rose bagged the 2019 Reel Asian Best Feature Film Award, with a $1,000 cash prize.

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival or Reel Asian, held on 7 – 15 November 2019, is now on its 23rd edition. In the words of Executive Director Ms. Deanna Wong, “Reel Asian has continued to build a strong and supportive community that lays the foundation for the current proliferation of Asian-made work to happen… actively pushing newer and more marginalized voices into the centre, as well as continuing to push the boundary edges, to include even more divergent stories.”

At this year’s festival, nearly 60 percent of the works programmed are by women and non-binary artists. The featured films include artists of Korean and Filipino descent, the two (2) countries celebrating 100 years of cinema this year. There were also artists from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, and Canada.

Consul General Orontes Castro, accompanied by Consul Edna May Lazaro, were present during the Opening Night of Reel Asian on 7 November 2019. There was a wide participation of films from Canada and from all over Asia and a huge attendance during the opening night, which signifies that people are in the look-out for Asian content, Asian perspectives and Asian narratives.

At the Closing Night on 15 November 2019, Consul General Castro delivered his remarks to an enthusiastic audience that packed the 566-seat Isabel Bader Theatre. He was extremely proud that a Filipino film, Yellow Rose closed this year’s festival. The Canadian premiere of Yellow Rose by Filipino-American filmmaker Diane Paragas, coincided with the year-long celebration of the centennial year of the Filipino film industry.

Yellow Rose was one of the winners of an original screenplay writing contest sponsored by ABS-CBN-the leading media and entertainment conglomerate in the Philippines. The film won a string of awards within the festival circuit, garnering the Grand Jury Award at three film festivals: the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the Bentonville Film Festival and the CAAMFest37. The star of the film, two-time Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada, also won the Special Jury Prize for Best Breakthrough Performance at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

At the Q & A held after the showing of Yellow Rose, Ms. Punzalan announced that Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has acquired all worldwide rights to Yellow Rose and that the film will be distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures. It is the first Filipino and Filipino American film to be acquired by Sony Pictures for theatrical release in the U.S. In the Philippines, the film will be distributed in theatres by ABS-CBN.

Another Filipino film titled John Denver Trending was shown during this year’s Reel Asian. The film is a 2019 Filipino independent drama film directed and written by Arden Rod Condez. Shot entirely in a small town in the Philippines with a limited budget, the film is about a 14-year old boy who fell prey to cyber bullying. The film portrayed a powerful statement against the dangers of social media. It won the award for Best Feature Film during the Cinemalaya, a Philippine-based festival for independent films and is currently going the rounds of international film festivals.

The success of Yellow Rose and John Denver Trending in the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is an indication that there is a huge market for Asian content. END

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