The Philippine Embassy is proud to announce that selected Filipino Films will be featured at the 17th Busan Internationl Film Festival from 4 - 13 October 2012. For those interested in watching the films, tickets are available at the website www.biff.kr or they may be bought at the cinemas in Busan where the films will be shown.

One of the Filipino entries to the Festival is the film "Harana", a documentary by Benito Bautista about the Philippines' traditional form of courtship in which men serenaded women by singing underneath her window at night and famous for its set of protocols, a code of conduct and most importantly, a specific style of music.

Below is a press release about "Harana", which includes reviews on the documentary.



HARANA DOCUMENTARY READY TO TAKE ON THE GLOBAL STAGE
AT BUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AND HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

After its critical success at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival in Manila this past July, the highly anticipated documentary HARANA is set to dazzle at two major international film festivals this October.

HARANA makes its international premiere at the 17th Busan International Film Festival, competing in the Wide Angle Documentary section with screenings taking place on October 5th, 7th and 11th. Considered to be one of the most prestigious festivals in Asia, HARANA joins a festival that focuses on introducing a wide array of films from all around Asia.

The Philippines' tradition of harana has been rapidly vanishing in its home country and most people throughout the world are completely unaware of its influential music that for many years had inspired the Philippine country with hope, beauty and love. Harana was a traditional form of courtship in which men serenaded women by singing underneath her window at night. It is famous for its set of protocols, a code of conduct and most importantly, a specific style of music. An important custom of Filipino culture, harana has been teetering on the edge of disappearance for some time, but through the untiring and valiant efforts from a group of filmmakers, harana has been given a chance for survival.

World music guitarist Florante Aguilar along with producer Fides Enriquez and director Benito Bautista have created HARANA, a documentary that captures the search for this musical tradition and its remaining practitioners. Together, they discovered Felipe Alonzo, Celestino Aniel and Romeo Bergunio, three men living simple lives in obscurity in the Philippine countryside but who exemplify the definition of a true harana master. They are plucked from their humble surroundings and thrust into a world where their gifts as haranistas could once again be appreciated for all its worth. Through their remarkable journey, the film is both a celebration and a preservation of a tradition that will once again ignite the passion and treasure that is HARANA.



HARANA MOVIE SCREENING DATES:

17th BUSAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
October 5, 4pm at CGV Centum City 3
October 7, 10am at CGV Centum City 7
October 11, 8PM at CGV Centum Ctiy 6
For tickets go to: www.biff.kr/

For more information:
www.haranathemovie.com
Email: sonia@haranathemovie.com
Phone: 415‐203‐8111
Optional:
https://www.facebook.com/HaranaTheMovie



HARANA REVIEW CAPSULES - July 2012:

"It's a wonderful documentary, both intellectually stimulating and heartwarming. At times the beauty of the music is emotionally overwhelming." - Joel Shepard, San Francisco's Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts' Film Curator (HARANA Stuns Cinemalaya)

Bautista’s Harana is the most honest found story film done. We bear witness to both the finding and the telling of one irresistible story.” - Oggs Cruz (twitchfilm.com)

Harana is the best film in Cinemalaya. And it’s non-competition.” - Don Jaucian (Film Critic, Philippine Star)

Who says that the Festival Pass is not worth its price? The simple search for Haranistas becomes a reliving of a forgotten past. Bautista doesn’t stay contented with what he found; he goes further by bringing his find to places due their talents, assuming a self appointed position of a champion, chronicling a beautiful part of history now gone extinct.” - Lyndon Maburaot (Table Stretcher)

The movie constantly gave me goosebumps, in awe of the guitar players and the serenaders.” - Carl Joseph Papa (Whatever, Carl)

It is an amazing documentary! Instead of crying for the lost art of Harana and dwelling on the problem, it became a very hopeful and thoughtful tribute. A true homage.” - Nico Quejano (Cinephiles)

"The real heart of this documentary lies in the three haranistas' camaraderie as the last bastions of their serenades. They know that their art is becoming irrelevant thanks to the onslaught of modernity. They point to inventions such as the videoke machine and the cellphone as the primary elements that sapped the passion from today's youths. Interestingly, they don't say this with any hostility. They've accepted it as the way things are, that people and communities just
inherently change over time." - Vincenzo Tagle (We Talk About Movies)