Quentin Tarantino rode the pedicab to cheat traffic en route to Malacañang Palace for the Cinemanila ceremonies last year. What adventure will Mexican actor Diego Luna be willing to do here in Manila? The answer when the 29-year-old star of “Y tu mamá también,” “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights” and “Milk” traverses the streets of Manila this October.

Luna began acting in television, film, and theatre during the early 1990s. His first television role was in the 1991 movie “El Último Fin de Año” before starring in the telenovela “El Abuelo y Yo” (1992) alongside his childhood best friend, Gael García Bernal. His big break came in 2001 when he was cast in the critically acclaimed “Y tu mamá también,” once again alongside García Bernal, as Tenoch Iturbide.

Apart from the mentioned films, Luna starred alongside Bon Jovi in “The Terminal” with Tom Hanks, “Vampires: Los Muertos” (2002) and with Salma Hayek in “Frida” (2002). He most recently appeared as Jack Lira, the lover of Sean Penn’s Harvey Milk in the biopic “Milk.”

Renowned screenwriter-director Paul Schrader (“Taxi Driver,” “The Last Temptation of Christ”) will also be visiting Manila for the said event to be hosted by the City of Taguig from Oct. 15 to Oct. 25 as this year’s Cinemanila features an impressive roster of about 100 international and local films presented in other prestigious festivals like the Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Sundance, and Pusan.

“We will also continue bringing the films to the barangays. Excited kami dun sa barangay outdoor screening. We did a pilot last year pero we did it in Marikina. It was very successful, kasi ang concept nun, yung mga hindi nakakapanood ng indie films, dadalhin mo yung pelikula sa kanila. Kasi you want to develop the audience. And then when they see it, they will realize that Filipino stories are being told. Hindi lang siya pang-CCP. Pwede pala masakyan ng mga tao. So, dadalhin mo sa kanila.

We will make the indie films accessible,” said Festival Director Amable “Tikoy” Aguiluz. “There will also be workshops, seminars and master classes. We would like to bring films closer to people because you’ll never know where you’ll discover passion for films.”

Reigning Cannes Palme d’Or Best Director Brillante Mendoza heads Cinemanila’s Main Competition Jury. “It’s nice to have to sit and view entries this time [as part of the jury]. I’m always happy to see new films and I am grateful to Cinemanila for letting me do this for this year,” Mendoza told the media.

The 11th Cinemanila International Film Festival will also showcase machinima via the launch of the Cinemanila Machinima Film Festival – the first event of its kind in the country. Machinima (machine and cinema) incorporates gaming animation technology into digital filmmaking.

Films at the 11th Cinemanila will be shown at the Market! Market! and Serendra Mall theaters while the culminating awards night happens at the NBC Tent of The Fort on Oct. 23.

A NEW HOME

Expect Cinemanila to reside in Taguig City for a long time, this, according to the first lady of the city Kaye Tinga.

Aguiluz said he is grateful that Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga welcomed his idea of housing the international film festival.

The festival director told the media, “That was my biggest apprehension when we were mulling making Taguig our home. And if mayor did suggest it, he would have had a point. But he did not. Mayor Tinga understands that ‘Manila’ in the festival name is homage to a culture. Now I am sure that we made the right choice in coming to Taguig.”The Mayor was all for embracing the festival. “I immediately had my secretary call up Tikoy to verify if he is serious with the proposal because it’s exactly what we need at this point. It’s not enough that the World Bank named Taguig the most business friendly city in the country. Kahit anong lungsod, pag walang kultura at panay negosyo lang, patay yon.”

The Mayor recalled of how people regarded Taguig back in the days when it was far from the highly-industrialized city that it is today. “Dati, tumitiklop ang mga taga-Taguig kapag natatabi sa mga taga-Makati o Quezon City. Pag sinabing taga-Taguig, walang nakakakilala n’yan. Times have changed. Namumulat ang isipan at pananaw ng ating mga kababayan. A more knowledgeable, a more educated, a more open-minded population makes for a strong country.”

Entries for the various categories – Main Competition (international features), Southeast Competition (features and shorts), Digital Lokal (Philippine full-length digital films), Young Cinema (Philippine short films), Documentary (international) and its newest section, Machinima (international) – may now be submitted. Films that will not make the cut to compete may still be exhibited. Deadline for the Digital Lokal is on Sept. 4 while the other categories should be in on or before Aug. 14. For further queries, e-mail cinemanila.entries@gmail.com and cinemanila@gmail.com or go to www.cinemanila.org.ph.

The 2009 Cinemanila is presented in part by Cinema One, Goethe Institut, World Cinema Fund, Easy Rock, NU 107, 99.5RT and Sprout Magazine.