Brillante Mendoza is proud to represent the country at the Berlinale (Photo from his official website)

MANILA, Philippines - Some 30 years after Ishmael Bernal's "Himala," another Filipino film has made it anew to the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival's main competition section: Brillante Mendoza's "Captive."

The film, which vies for the Golden Bear (the highest prize at the Berlinale) among other nominations, recently held its red carpet premiere in Berlin, Germany.

Award-winning director Mendoza, already a veteran in foreign film festivals, feels proud to represent the Philippines at the 62nd Berlinale.

"As a Filipino filmmaker, I bring with me along our culture, our country, our people," he told "TV Patrol" on Feb. 14.

Although "Captive" deals with a sensitive subject—the Dos Palmas kidnapping instigated by the Abu Sayyaf group back in 2001—Mendoza sees the bigger picture that the film offers its audience.

"It's not about the issues, it's not about the unresolved issues and conflicts in Manila. But I think when you talk about humanity, it's something we can all believe in and do something about... so this is what the film is all about," he related in a separate report on "24 Oras."

Mendoza, as well as his cast led by French actress Isabelle Huppert and Filipino actor Sid Lucero, graciously responded to queries at a press conference also held in Berlin.

The director of award-winning films "Lola," "Kinatay," and "Serbis," shared his principle when it comes to making movies.

"As a filmmaker one should never take sides, one should show what's really happening," said Mendoza.

Huppert, who, in her decades-spanning career, has been recognized at the Cesar Awards and the Cannes Film Festival, admitted that she was immensely challenged by her role in "Captive."

"It was beyond what you expect in a movie usually… he (Mendoza) manages to make everybody on the set forget that you are doing a movie," said she.

In another footage shown on "24 Oras," Huppert noted, "It was the most incredible and extreme experience… in my life as an actress because it was so far from everything I've been through before."

Lucero, meanwhile, made the press laugh when he declared, "This is the most orgasmic film I have done in my life."

Other Filipino films in competition at the Berlinale are Marlon Rivera's "Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank," Khavn dela Cruz's "PUSONG WAZAK! Isa Na Namang Kuwento Ng Pag-Ibig Sa Pagitan Ng Isang Kriminal At Isang Puta," and Rommel Tolentino's "Nono."