Jerrold, Iza Calzado attend Osaka Film Fest

Jerrold Tarog’s highly anticipated, sexuallycharged thriller, “Bliss”, will be competing in the 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival this March. The award-winning director will be in Osaka with lead actress Iza Calzado. “Bliss” will have its World Premiere at the said festival on March 5 and a second screening on March 9.

“Bliss” tells the story of actress Jane Ciego (Calzado). Though successful and desirable to many, Jane, who’s in her 30’s, has become tired of the usual projects she’s been getting. She decides to produce her own film to win respect in the industry. But things do not go as planned. A terrible accident on the set leaves her temporarily crippled, trapped in a house filled with bizarre phenomena, and under the care of her unloving husband and a strange, obsessive nurse. With horrors and madness escalating each day, Jane’s simple dream turns into an endless nightmare.

The film also stars Ian Veneracion, TJ Trinidad, Adrienne Vergara, Michael de Mesa, Shamaine Buencamino, and Audie Gemora.

Aside from “Bliss”, two more movies from TBA (Tuko Film Productions, Buchi Boy Entertainment, Artikulo Uno Productions) will be showcased under the festivals’ New Action! South East Asia Program. These are “Birdshot” by Mikhail Red and “Patintero: Ang Alamat Ni Meng Patalo” by Mihk Vergara.

Birdshot, a mystery thriller about a farm girl who mistakenly shoots and kills a critically endangered and protected Philippine Eagle, won the top prize for the Asian Future section of last year’s 29th Tokyo International Film Festival. Leading the cast of Red’s critically acclaimed movie are Mary Joy Apostol, Arnold Reyes, John Arcilla, and Ku Aquino. Red and producer Pamela Reyes will be in Osaka to represent the film.

Director Mihk Vergara will also be in OAFF 2017 for “Patintero: Ang Alamat Ni Meng Patalo”, a heartwarming comingof-age film about a young girl who assembles an unlikely team of ‘losers’ to compete in the biggest patintero sports fest of their barangay. The film was one of the selections in the 2015 QCinema Film Festival, taking home the prize for “Audience Choice Award” and “Gender Sensitivity Award”. It was also an official selection at the 3rd Silk Road International Film Festival at Xi'an, China last September.

The New Action! South East Asia Program is a “special program [that] features new movements in film, bringing action to art films to heat up Southeast Asian Cinema.”

The 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival will run from March 3-12, 2017.