latest achievements of LYA:
1. SFLV wins in Cinemanila fest
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 10:52pm (Mla time) 11/12/2006
THE PHILIPPINES’ “Kubrador,” directed by Jeffrey Jeturian and produced by MLR Films, topped the World Cinema section at the ongoing 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival.
The film won the Lino Brocka Award during ceremonies held Saturday at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in attendance.
“I am greatly honored, considering it’s the Brocka award, the first time for the country to win this honor,” Jeturian said via SMS from Belgium, where “Kubrador” is competing at the 33rd Brussels International Festival of Independent Film.
“Representing the country in Cinemanila is an honor in itself,” MLR executive producer Joji Alonso told the Inquirer. “Winning an international award in one’s own country is an even greater honor.”
Alonso said this year’s competition was stiff. “It was to die for. The other entries were all winners in different international festivals. We were up against the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes (British filmmaker Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley”). We couldn’t be happier.”
Palme d’Or (“Golden Palm”) is the highest prize given to a film at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Kubrador,” which recounts three days in the life of a jueteng (illegal numbers game) bet collector, has been earning awards and accolades abroad, including best film and best actress (for star Gina Pareño) at the Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema held in July in New Delhi, India.
The digital movie has so far participated in 25 festivals.
Other winners in the World Cinema section were: Jury Prize, Stanley Kwan’s “Everlasting Regret” from Hong Kong; Best Actor, Alexei Chadov, “9th Company” from Russia;
and Best Actress, Lee Yeong-Ae, “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” from Korea. 2.
Lee Young-Ae Elementary School, whose building was reconstructed thanks to Lee Young-Ae's donation of USD 50,000 back in March, finally reopened.
Since the construction took longer than expected, the opening was slightly delayed, but the newly built school looks flawless, totally unlike the old building 7 months ago which had walls made of mud that could fall down whenever it rained.
According to a local official, currently there are 60 students of 2 classes, but the school being the only one in an isolated region, more and more students from poor families are registering for the school.
On the day of entrance ceremony, the students were presented gifts carrying Lee Young-Ae's autograph that flew all the way from Korea.
Originally named Qibao Elementary School, it's located in Langchuan, a town that can be only reached by 3 hours of ship ride and another half an hour of drive through winding mountain road. The school was facing closure due to its aged facilities, which would have forced more than 100 students to transfer to another school over 10 kilometers away. However, Lee Young-Ae's help enabled the school to continue its existence.
Lee Young-Ae Elementary School became the forerunner of subsequent charity activities to help students in poor areas. The movement continued through Beijing and Shanghai, providing 1,500 students a chance to study at school.
Written by Jeon Hwa-Young from Taiwan, jeon@gonews.co.kr
3.
Lee Young-Ae was voted the most audience-drawing actress in a poll conducted by the public opinion research center RealMeter on a joint request by SBS 'NewsNJoy' and the movie portal 'Cinetizen'.
Lee ranked first with a support from 21.5% of the participants, followed by Moon Geun-Young (18.2%) and Kim Hye-Soo (17%). Also in the list were Jeon Ji-Hyeon (11.6%), Jeon Do-Yeon (9.7%) and Sohn Ye-Jin (6.8%).
Lee received the most support from both male (18.9%) and female (24.0%) participants. Moon also received stronger support from female (20.0%) than male (16.4%) participants. On the contrary, Jeon Ji-Hyeon was more popular among males than females.
The poll was carried out over the telephone with a randonly selected group of males and females over 19 years of age across the nation on November 9. The margin of error was 3.68% at 95% level of confidence.
Written by Cha Hee-Yeon, enter@gonews.co.kr
credits:
www.leeyoungae.net/bbs/view.php?id=news_eng&no=77