The Embassy’s outdoor screening of Ma’ Rosa (2016) on 26 April. (Inset) Amb. Ignacio introduces the film and welcomes guests.
NEW DELHI, 26 April 2024 – The Philippine Embassy’s Sine Embahada series went from strength to strength with the outdoor screening of Ma’ Rosa, the second film of the initiative, at the Embassy grounds on 26 April.
The screening of Director Brillante Mendoza’s gritty, critically acclaimed 2016 opus was organized with the valuable support of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
The tale of a mother negotiating her way out of a police drug bust, Ma’ Rosa debuted at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or. Protagonist Ms. Jaclyn Jose – whose passing last month was a big loss to Philippine film -- played the eponymous Rosa Reyes, for which she copped the Best Actress award at the festival.
The Sine Embahada series seeks to gain exposure for notable Philippine films across various genres, styles and traditions in India, a country with an even more vibrant film industry.
Ma Rosa was featured as an example of Filipino social realist filmmaking, coming on the heels of the Embassy’s screening in March of a Filipino exemplar of the “third cinema” movement and magical realism, National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik’s Perfumed Nightmare.
Trooping to the screening was a diverse audience of diplomats, New Delhi-based Filipinos, local film enthusiasts and other Embassy partners.
“Film artistry and cinephilia are further common ground for Filipinos and Indians upon which bilateral relations can thrive”, said Ambassador Josel F. Ignacio. “The Embassy invites the public to watch out for future screenings of the finest of Filipino cinema and our wealth of filmmaking and thespian talents”. END
(Clockwise from top) Ma’ Rosa holds audience in rapt attention; FDCP and Embassy promotional post; Filipino and expat audience members in fellowship before the screening; Amb. Ignacio welcomes Seychellois High Commissioner Harisoa Lalatiana Accouche.
