Streaming Brillante’s flicks

By Nickie Wang

Brillante Mendoza has directed nine films since he started making movies in 2005. Three of these films (Tirador, Foster Child, Masahista) were exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival, and two others (Serbis and Kinatay) were part of the main competition.

To win best director award at Cannes Film Festival, which is considered as one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the world, is not an ordinary achievement. The honor puts his name alongside the best filmmakers in the world like Quentin Tarantino and Ang Lee.

Recently, Brillante’s film Kinatay received two more awards at the Sitges International Film Festival in Spain. The director wanted to receive the Best Director and Best Original Soundtrack trophies but he was in Paris on the day of the awards night. He was having a meeting with a big film outfit that is willing to distribute his film Kinatay commercially.

Up to this day, Brillante’s works still receive mixed reviews. But isn’t it called a success when a film elicited different reactions from critics and viewers because it made them think?

At the moment, Brillante’s goal is to continue making movies that attract viewers. After Lola, a film about two elderly women coping with the harsh realities of life, his next project might be about the Abu Sayyaf.

“What is important for me right now is to generate audience for independent films. We all know that indies have limited audience so my goal is to encourage people to watch them,” Brillante said at the launching of MyDSL Watchpad.

Watchpad, according to PDLT officials, is a broadband innovation that allows MyDSL subscribers to watch some of the hottest channels and TV shows for free, surf the Net, play online games, and update Facebook, Multiply and Twitter accounts, all in one page (without closing any of the applications).

Brillante’s films are highlighted at the launching of the streaming technology featured on Watchpad called myFlicks. Some of the films that are shown on Watchpad are Serbis, Twilight Dancers, Masahista, Manoro and Foster Child.

For the question of censorship, Dan Ibarra, head of retail business group of PLDT, said that these films are shown based on the approval of Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. He added that since Watchpad employs streaming technology, downloading or pirating these featured movies can be prohibited.

Soon, other highly-acclaimed films from more of the country’s premier filmmakers and directors will be featured on Watchpad.

Aside from this streaming feature, there are also about 15 cable channels available on Watchpad. Some of them are MTV, Voom HDTV, Go Channel, PBO, CNBC, CNN, Animax, Cartoon Network, National Geographic, among others. Indeed, there’s something for everyone.

“Watchpad has a very rich content and it marks our entry to the realm of multimedia. We are providing our subscribers access to multimedia because we would like to give them unique experience. And that sets us apart from our competitors. Our vision is to showcase quality works. We are always partner with brilliance,” Ibarra expressed.

Along with the launch of Watchpad, PLDT also announces another news from PLDT Budget Card. Subscribers who use Budget Card can now enjoy reduced call rate to US and Canada. From P3, call rate has been reduced by 50 percent to P1.50 per minute.