Filipino Filmmaker Dante Mendoza’s ‘Serbis’ is included in prestigious Cannes Film Festival competition in France with stars veteran, multi-awarded actress Gina Pareño and talented newcomer Coco Martin. Mendoza’s films has been chosen for several international filmfests this year but this is something no other has done. The first and only time a Filipino director had a film including in the competition category of the Cannes was in 1984, when late great National Artist for Film (posthumous) Lino Brocka’s opus “Orapronobis” was accepted. Now, after 24 years, Mendoza’s film “Serbis” has been included for competition. The film chronicles the struggles of a rural family that decides to run a prostitute service based in a fake theater.
List of film contenders and directors competing for the prestigious Palme d’Or award closing the event, May 14-25.
“Uc Maymun” (The Three Monkeys) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey)
“Le Silence De Lorna” (The Silence of Lorna) by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium)
“Un Conte de Noel” (A Christmas Tale) by Arnaud Desplechin (France)
“Changeling” by Clint Eastwood (United States)
“Adoration” by Atom Egoyan (Canada)
“Waltz With Bashir” by Ari Folman (Israel)
“La Frontiere De l’Aube” (The Frontier Of Dawn) by Philippe Garrel (France)
“Gomorra” by Matteo Garrone (Italy)
“24 City” by Jia Zhangke (China)
“Synecdoche, New York” by Charlie Kaufman (United States)
“My Magic” by Eric Khoo (Singapore)
“La Mujer Sin Cabeza” (Woman Without A Head) by Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)
“Serbis” by Brillante Mendoza (Philippines)
“Delta” by Kornel Mundruczo (Hungary)
“Linha de Passe” (Line of Passage) by Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas (Brazil)
“Che” by Steven Soderbergh (United States)
“Il Divo” by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy)
“Leonera” by Pablo Trapero (Argentina)
“The Palermo Shooting” by Wim Wenders (Germany)
