from abs-cbn news - R rating for Brillante Mendoza's "Ayos Ka", X-rating for Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Ganito Tayon Ngayon, Paano Na Tayo Bukas?”

MANILA, Philippines - The MTRCB on Monday changed its X-rating of Brillante Mendoza’s film “Ayos Ka” for ANC’s amBisyon2010 to R, but retained its X-rating for Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Ganito Tayon Ngayon, Paano Na Tayo Bukas?”

Jeturian says his film “challenges the administration’s economic claims.” It follows a newspaper printed with the administration’s recent controversial advertisements trumpeting their economic successe—from the time it is delivered to a homeowner, to when it is used to wipe feces from the foot of a cart vendor. The film ends with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s photo on the crumpled newspaper.

The previous MTRCB panel rated the film X because it “tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or the duly-constituted authorities,” and is “defamatory to the good name and reputations of any person.”

At Monday's second review, the new panel added to the decision, claiming that the film "tends to threaten economic and political stability of the state” and "depicts excretory functions in a patently offensive and demeaning manner.”

AmBisyon2010 applied for a cinema permit to air the two films, along with eighteen others, in a one-time theater premiere. The premiere, scheduled for April 6, has since been moved from a Makati cinema to the Cultural Center of the Philippines because of the MTRCB rating.

The CCP is not under the MTRCB's jurisdiction.

The ABS-CBN News Channel is part of the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs Group of ABS-CBN Corporation. abs-cbnNEWS.com is the online news department of ABS-CBN Interactive, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corp.

from abs-cbn.com : Short films critical of GMA rated X by MTRCB

MANILA, Philippines - Two films directed by internationally acclaimed Filipino directors Jeffrey Jeturian and Brillante Mendoza for ABS-CBN's short film project, AmBisyon, were rated X on Thursday (March 25) by the Movie & Television Review & Classification Board (MTRCB).

Jeturian’s film “Ganito tayo ngayon, Paano na tayo bukas?” focused on the state of the economy. His camera follows a newspaper from the time it is delivered to a homeowner to when it is used to wipe feces from a foot of a cart-pushing vendor.

Jeturian uses a newspaper printed with the same controversial advertisement that came out in early January trumpeting the Arroyo administration’s economic successes. The film ends with President Arroyo’s photo on the crumpled newspaper.

The MTRCB said the film was X-rated for “undermining the faith and confidence of the people in government.”

Film on poverty 'injurious' to RP prestige?

Mendoza’s film, “Ayos Ka,” is a music video whose hopeful soundtrack is a stark contrast against images of poverty, prostitution, drugs and murder.

The MTRCB claimed Mendoza’s film is “injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines and its people."

ANC, ABS-CBN's 24-hour news channel, produced the AmBisyon 2010 film series in the name of public interest. It sought to "offer a nation on the verge of a critical election the chance to focus on issues, not personalities."

AmBisyon's goals were shared by the film industry. Twenty big names in Philippine cinema thus offered their talents to each create a short film on a chosen issue.

The films are scheduled to screen at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Pasay City on April 6, and in a 5-episode weekly series over ANC and Studio 23 beginning April 9.

ANC to appeal ruling

In a statement, ANC said it will appeal the ruling.

"We in ANC respect due process, and will be requesting a second review on Monday. We hope the MTRCB will reconsider," the ANC said.

"We support our filmmakers in their decision not to revise their films. While the views of the 20 AmBisyon filmmakers may not necessarily reflect ANC's, we believe that these films are legitimate perspectives of the state of the nation," the ANC added.

"We trust in the public’s capacity to decide whether they will claim these views as their own."

Press alliance hits X-rating

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) expressed "deep concern" over the MTRCB's decision to give the poll-related short films an X-rating, "effectively banning the shows from being broadcast."

"Even as ABS-CBN has vowed to appeal the classification, SEAPA believes MTRCB's rating for the documentaries, and especially its appalling reasoning behind the decision, damages the Philippine environment for free expression and press freedom, ironically at a crucial time when Filipinos would benefit from diverse, frank, and unflinching issues-based discourses relevant to their future," SEAPA said.

"Neither 'faith and confidence of the people in government' nor 'the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines' should be the imposed priority of the Philippine media. In an election period especially, the media's faithfulness should merely be to the many sides of truth to any issue, to its own independence, and to the public that demands, and has a right to, information and free and fair commentary," the group said.

The SEAPA said: "Worse yet, the MTRCB's move could send a chilling effect to all other filmmakers, journalists, and media executives, with its suggestion that negative portrayals of government and the country's social conditions would not be tolerated. SEAPA calls on the MTRCB to entertain ABS-CBN's appeal, and to take the opportunity to reverse itself on an egregious decision that injures Philippine democracy and the very integrity of the coming elections."

SEAPA is a regional organization whose mandate is to promote and protect press freedom in Southeast Asia.

It is composed of the Jakarta-based Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and the Institute for Studies on the Free Flow if Information (ISAI); the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism; the Bangkok-based Thai Journalists Association; and the network's Kuala Lumpur-based associate member, the Centre for Independent Journalism.

auditions for jeffrey jeturian's new film

AUDITIONS FOR CHARACTER ROLES

Auditions for Quantum Films' indie film "PARANGAL," written by Armando "Bing " Lao and Chuck Gutierrez and to be directed by Jeffrey Jeturian, are scheduled on August 23 and 24, 1-7 P.M. at 7 Villanueva Drive, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. If you are coming from Philcoa going towards Fairview, get off at the overpass at Tandang Sora along Commonwealth Ave., cross over to Puregold on the left and walk a few meters towards Grand Terrace and Isuzu. In-between is Villanueva Drive, a dead-end street. For those with cars, turn at the first U-turn after Tandang Sora flyover. If you are coming from Fairview, the venue would be on your right.

Kindly bring both a close-up and full body photo. Incidentally, for the hunks roles, kindly bring swimming trunks. We are auditioning for the following character roles:

1) YAYA INDAY

- 60-70 years old
docile, servile, faithful
over-protective of ward
arthritic and has failing eye-sight

2) BEATRIZ MEDINA

- screen age, 45-55 years old
eldest sister
stern-looking, old maid
preferably fair-skinned

3) JOAQUIN MEDINA

- screen age, 45-55 years old
middle brother
corporate guy
chauvinist and homophobic
preferably fair-skinned

4) MILAGROS MEDINA

- screen age, 40-50 years old
youngest sister
affable, loving
balikbayan
preferably fair-skinned

5) LORNA

- screen age, 40-50 years old
Joaquin's wife
typical middle class

6) LORNA'S KIDS

A. TIMMY - 18 years old, nerdy
B. MONICA - 13 years old, giggly
C. RJ - 9 years old, bratty

7) MATRIARCH

- 70-80 years old
family matriarch
senile, sickly

8) ELMER

- screen age, 45-55 years old
music professor
gay, flamboyant, loud

9) NICK

- screen age, 45-55 yeras old
affable, charming
discreet gay

ASSORTED BIT ROLES

A. AMERICAN PRIEST

- can speak fluent Tagalog

B. KOREAN SOPRANO

- female, music student
-can sing Tagalog or Visayan folksong

C. SUSAN

- private nurse, 25-35 years old

D. GIRL VENDOR

- 12 years old

E. SECURITY GUARDS (2)

F. WAITERS (2)

G. MATRON, widow

H. HUSTLER CALLBOY

I. LADY GUARD

J. TECHNICIAN

K. PHOTOGRAPHER

L. DEAN, male

M. ASSORTED MALE AND FEMALE MUSIC STUDENTS

N. ASSORTED GAYS, young and middle-aged

O. ASSORTED GOOD-LOOKING HUNKS

***

Quantum Films' "PARANGAL" Auditions

Auditions for Quantum Films' indie film "PARANGAL," written by Armando "Bing " Lao and Chuck Gutierrez and to be directed by Jeffrey Jeturian, are scheduled on August 23 and 24, 1-7 P.M. at 7 Villanueva Drive, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. If you are coming from Philcoa going towards Fairview, get off at the overpass at Tandang Sora along Commonwealth Ave., cross over to Puregold on the left and walk a few meters towards Grand Terrace and Isuzu. In-between is Villanueva Drive, a dead-end street. For those with cars, turn at the first U-turn after Tandang Sora flyover. If you are coming from Fairview, the venue would be on your right.

AUDITIONS FOR LEAD ROLES (MALE)

We are looking for good-looking, hunky males, ages 18 to 27. We are looking for the following:

1) BRIAN - screen age 15 to 25, good looks and good build

2) JHUN - screen agre 15 to 25, dark-skinned, well-toned body, can pass for a young JULIO DIAZ

3) BENJIE - screen age 15 to 25, fair skinned, well-toned body, can pass for a young RICKY DAVAO

Important: All "auditioners" must be willing to bare & engage in love scenes in the movie. Bring trunks, close-up, and full-body photos.

For further inquiries, you may call Josie at 09174918539 or 4075437 or visit http://parangal.multiply.com.

***

(l-r) at chocolate kiss cafe, with prizewinning film director jeffrey jeturian, u.p. theater professor anril pineda tiatco, u.p. european languages instructor errol john agustin, mercator models founder / CEO jonas gaffud, u.p. music lecturer paul aquino, and u.p. speech communication instructor erica jan valerio

prizewinning screenwriter armando "bing" lao and cinemalaya film festival best picture (for "jay") winner francis pasion

jeffrey jeturian with visual artist / businessman jay lozada

rave reviews of jeffrey jeturian's kubrador in new york and cleveland

MoMA Brings a World of Movies to the City

By BRUCE BENNETT, New York Sun
9 January 2008

For decades, the Philippine Islands have stood in for war-torn Southeast Asia in American-produced movies (most famously and spectacularly in Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now"), as well as real and fictional Latin American and African dictatorships, contested World War II strategic real estate, and nearly anywhere else an American-financed film script has called for palm trees, rice paddies, or cane fields.

In addition to playing host to foreign productions, the Philippine film industry has regularly released homegrown productions into theaters alongside dubbed American films such as "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" that ring up the lion's share of local ticket sales in Manila. But with few exceptions, American audiences rarely get to see them.

Beginning tomorrow, the Museum of Modern Art, in association with the Global Film Initiative, a Bay Area group that supports feature film projects that would otherwise go unmade or unreleased in the American-dominated world film exhibition market, will kick off GFI's annual touring "Global Lens" film survey with a week-long engagement of "Kubrador" ("The Bet Collector"). The 2006 film was written and directed by the Philippine filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian and shot on the streets of Manila.

"Kubrador" is a handheld, digital video slice-of-life bearing a formal resemblance to Nicolas Winding Refn's 1996 gritty festival favorite "The Pusher," and any number of other low-budget, smash-and-grab dramas mixing actors and non-actors in real locations. A naturalistic cobbling of incident and detail, "Kubrador" portrays three days in the life of Amy (Gina Pareño), one of the thousands of anonymous touts working on behalf of Jueteng, an outlawed yet thriving underground lottery whose enormous invisible economy and profit potential attract and enslave criminals, bettors, police, and politicians alike. When not energetically hustling bets, accosting her regulars, suggesting numbers, and wheedling bigger antes per bet, Amy collects donations to offset funeral expenses from the endless parade of tragic deaths that Manila street life ensures. Her existence is almost entirely defined, as a bemused friend observes, by "Jueteng and dead people."

Mr. Jeturian's alternately oblique and intrusive camera is itself quite the hustler. But his jostle-cam immediacy is lent unusual gravity by Ms. Pareño, whose presence in this fascinating, funny, and at times heart-wrenching film makes "Kubrador" something of a torch bearer for the last four decades of Philippine cinema. For nearly half a century, Ms. Pareño has been a mainstay on her country's screens. Now in her 50s, the former bombshell (one of a string of actresses who portrayed native superheroine Darna onscreen in the '60s and '70s) has grown matronly, and her increased girth plays counterpoint to the unflagging intensity with which Amy alternately delivers sales spiels, crass observations, or motherly compassion from behind a ubiquitous dangling cigarette. Her remarkable performance elevates "Kubrador" to a film-going experience that is paradoxically fun and affirming, despite the inevitable onscreen downward spiral guaranteed by a life of offering little more than "grief and death," as Amy philosophizes between puffs.

While this fifth annual edition of Global Lens features eight films made by emerging filmmakers from as far afield as Croatia, Lebanon, and Argentina, MoMA will bring down the curtain on its survey with another week-long engagement of a film from the Pacific Rim. In place of the vérité economy of expression behind "Kubrador," Indonesian director Garin Nugroho's 2006 film "Opera Jawa" (running from January 16–21) offers an explosion of symbolism, surrealism, and spectacle that must be seen to be believed. The film's source material, an ancient Hindu fable called "The Abduction of Sinta," has been interpreted in Javanese dance and puppet theater for centuries. "Opera Jawa," which was commissioned by Peter Sellars in 2005 as part of his New Crowned Hope Festival commemoration of Mozart's 250th birthday, sees Mr. Nugroho give an indigenous folktale the Matthew Barney treatment.

A love triangle involving Sinta (Artika Sari Devi), her potter husband, Setio (Martinus Miroto), and local butcher hoodlum Ludiro (dancer Eko Supriyanto, who can list work with Julie Taymor and Madonna among his credits) forms the basis for a series of muscular and confrontational seductions and confessions, all sung and danced against real landscapes and interiors dressed and shot with an ingenious eye for the theatrically bizarre. "Nini Thowak, the magic puppet, gives a massage," sings a witness-bearing choir at one point. Whether or not "massage" is a subtitle typo is impossible to sort out as fingers caress, toes curl, and the film's deadly earnest and none too coherent storyline vanishes behind decorative tableaux of exponentially increasing non-specific and nevertheless evocative nuttiness.

"A bird, like a bird, not a bird," the ladies of the chorus opaquely recite. They could very well be singing about "Opera Jawa," a movie musical that's like a stage musical, and yet not really quite like anything else, and a film whose unique regional creative voice would remain silent were it not for production grants and distribution efforts undertaken by the Global Film Initiative.

MoMA's Global Lens program continues through January 24 (11 W. 53rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-708-9400).

***

Direct from the Cleveland Film Festival Review of "The Bet Collector"

Freelance writer, Anne Price is covering the Cleveland International Film Festival this week for About.com Cleveland. She'll be sharing her thoughts and opinions about the festival and the films throughout the next ten days. Below is her first contribution -- a review of the Philippine feature film, The Bet Collector.

Determined, loving, religious Amelita (a tour-de-force performance by Gina Pareno) spends her early mornings praying to the Virgin Mary and her afternoons collecting bets as a jueteng kubrador in her poverty-stricken urban Manila neighborhood in The Bet Collector (Kubrador).

The illegal betting game has captivated the country in recent years, reaching as far up as former Philippine President Joseph Estrado, who was accused with receiving illegal gambling profit in 2000.

Jueteng Fever

Still, nowhere has the jueteng fever spread as fast or as fervently as it has in poor neighborhoods; according to the film, millions in the Philippines rely on the game as a means of income in an increasingly desperate environment.

Amelita is no exception. Sweet-talking her neighbors, showing them seeming benefit and opportunity within each of the challenges they confide to her, she believes wholeheartedly in religion and numerology -- that, and evading the police, pretending she's just collecting alms when they inspect her handbag for signs of scribbled bet numbers.

The betting itself consists of two numbers in a manual lottery pull usually performed by small numbers placed in a bottle, shaken and chosen randomly. For Amelita, the numbers represent each neighbor's challenge or concern and each has specific meaning she explains as she helps neighbors make their choices.

A Mother's Love

It's this willingness to turn adversity into asset that keeps Amelita afloat; with a husband whose primary job appears to be watching game shows; a freeloading, perennially pregnant daughter; and itinerant son-in-law, Amelita knows whatever the family needs she must provide. The character is reminiscent of Penelope Cruz' Raimundo in Almodovar's Volver: nothing is too much to ask a mother when it comes to taking care of those she loves.

Regardless of her own failing health and increased sense of "being bewitched" by the ghost of her deceased soldier son, she wanders amid the squalor and equally intense camaraderie found in the streets of her urban community, certain every event is a sign pointing to a pair of winning numbers.

Not even the death of a promising young neighbor student is without numerical divine intervention; though saddened while comforting the boy's grandfather, Amelita is no less inspired to jot down the betting numbers "13-29" for a future number pull, representing "grief to death."

Though police haul in various kubradors and jueteng participants, including Amelita, after booking said criminals they're not above placing bets themselves. Such is the nature of their daily lives: while illegal, there's something so enticing about the prospect of easy money in a world filled with relatively little worth dreaming about that even those charged with upholding the law cannot keep themselves away from the game.

Filming The Bet Collector

Director Jeffrey Jeturian (Bikini Open and Bridal Shower) is content to leisurely let his camera follow wherever Amelita goes, creating a natural, day-by-day character study of one woman's life during the week leading up to All Saints Day. Not plot-driven nor particularly detailed, the film is nevertheless filled with inspired moments deeper than they appear on the surface. The end result is a captivating composite of the beauty and meaning found within even the most materially impoverished lives and how human beings, regardless of social stature and living conditions, are connected by shared dreams and family ties.

The Bet Collector runs 98 minutes and also features Fonz Deza, Nanding Josef, Johnny Manahan, Jhong Del Rosario and Nico Antonio. An encore presentation of the film will be held on Sunday March 18 at 9:45 p.m.

kubrador is global lens 2008 opening film at the MoMA (new york)

santosh daniel, the global film initiative's director of films, confirmed that jeffrey jeturian's kubrador will be the opening film of the fifth annual global lens on 10 january 2008 at the museum of modern art (moma), new york.

kubrador will have a one-week engagement at the moma. the global film initiative will make appropriate airline arrangements and cover the expense of jeffrey jeturian from the philippines.

immediately after the new york premiere, kubrador will be screened in thirty cities across the united states. aside from kubrador, global lens also selected feature films from argentina, china, croatia, india, indonesia, iran, lebanon, and south africa to headline the 2008 film series.

"the films selected for global lens 2008 are beautiful, powerful stories that represent the best of cinema from around the world-they must be seen and experienced," says susan weeks coulter, board chair of the global film initiative.

for screening dates and locations, please visit: http://www.globalfilm.org/calendar.php

the global lens 2008 films: · THE BET COLLECTOR (KUBRADOR), dir. Jeffrey Jeturian, Philippines, 2006 A resilient housewife's job of collecting cash bets on the local numbers-game takes a psychological toll on her in the days before All Saint's Day. · ALL FOR FREE (SVE DZABA), dir. Antonio Nuić, Croatia, 2006 Personal tragedy leads a young man to buy a mobile refreshment truck and embark on a darkly humorous and quixotic journey across post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina. · BUNNY CHOW, dir. John Barker, South Africa, 2006 Three up-and-coming comedians head out on a road trip, abandoning rules, reason and girlfriends to find music and the meaning of life in the "new" South Africa. · THE CUSTODIAN (EL CUSTODIO), dir. Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina, 2006 A man's threshold for the mundane is chronicled by the uneventful days of his life as a bodyguard for a high profile politician. · THE FISH FALL IN LOVE (MAHIHA ASHEGH MISHAVAND), dir. Ali Raffi, Iran, 2005 A group of resourceful women use food to convince a stubborn businessman to allow them to continue operating a restaurant in a building he owns. · KEPT & DREAMLESS (LAS MANTENIDAS SIN SUEÑOS), dir. Vera Fogwill and Martín Desalvo, Argentina, 2005 Set during Argentina's economic crisis of the nineties, a drug-addicted mother struggles to keep her life afloat with the aid of her fiercely affectionate nine year-old daughter. · THE KITE (LE CERF-VOLANT), dir. Randa Chahal Sabbag, Lebanon, 2003 On the eve of her marriage, a Lebanese girl realizes she is in love with the Israeli solider guarding the border checkpoint that separates her from her fiancé. · LET THE WIND BLOW (HAVA ANEY DEY) dir. Partho Sen Gupta, India, 2004 At the height of nuclear-tensions between India and Pakistan, a restless group of friends weigh the bitter reality of their lives against fate and the philosophy of a nation. · LUXURY CAR (JIANG CHENG XIA RI), dir. Wang Chao, China, 2006 A man travels to the city to visit his daughter-a karaoke bar escort-hoping to fulfill his wife's last wish of finding their missing son. · OPERA JAWA, dir. Garin Nugroho, Indonesia, 2006 In the lush interior of Java, a potter's wife is seduced into a tragic love triangle in this stylish adaptation of the Hindu epic, The Ramayana. The Global Film Initiative is a U.S.-based, 501(c)3 organization specializing in the acquisition, distribution and support of independent film from the developing world. Founded in 2002 with the mission of promoting cross-cultural understanding through cinema, each year the Initiative awards numerous grants to deserving filmmakers from emerging nations, and supports a touring film series entitled Global Lens. For more information about the Global Lens film series and The Global Film Initiative programs, please visit: http://www.globalfilm.org

leo abaya, jeffrey jeturian and joji alonso at the 2007 gawad urian

jeffrey jeturian and gina pareno in amiens

jeffrey jeturian with french and belgian fans

jeffrey jeturian and gina pareno in brussels

gina pareno with korean fans

jeffrey jeturian in pusan

gina pareno accepts best acress award in new delhi

jeffrey jeturian received best film/director prize in new delhi

jeffrey jeturians receives fipresci prize in moscow

leo abaya, gina pareno and jeffrey jeturian in moscow

leo abaya, joji alonso antonio, gina pareno and jeffrey jeturian in moscow

the visionaries behind kubrador

***

kubrador was accepted and screened by more than fifty international film festivals, including:

1. moscow (russia)
2. new delhi (india)
3. antalya (turkey)
4. toronto (canada)
5. mumbai (india)
6. pusan (korea)
7. vancouver (canada)
8. valladolid (spain)
9. hawaii (u.s.a.)
10. sao paolo (brazil)
11. tokyo (japan)
12. london (england)
13. brussels (belgium)
14. amiens (france)
15. thessaloniki (greece)
16. rome (italy)
17. tallinn (estonia)
18. bratislava (slovak republic)
19. cairo (egypt)
20. dubai (u.a.e.)
21. chennai (india)
22. bangalore (india)
23. bangkok (thailand)
24. palm springs (california, u.s.a.)
25. rotterdam (netherlands)
26. copenhagen (denmark)
27. pan calgary (canada)
28. cleveland (ohio, u.s.a.)
29. belgrade (serbia)
30. cinemanila (philippines)
31. melbourne (australia)
32. friebourg (switzerland)
33. tromso (norway)
34. gotenberg (sweden)
35. guadalajara (mexico)
36. warsaw (poland)
37. vilnius (lithuania)
38. brugge, belgium
39. brisbane (australia)
40. fajr (iran)
41. singapore
42. barcelona (spain)
43. madrid (spain)
44. arizona (u.s.a.)
45. seattle (washington, u.s.a.)
46. red bank (new jersey, u.s.a.)
47. kolkota (india)
48. munich (germany)
49. hong kong
50. vienna (austria)
51. dhaka (bangladesh)
52. new york (u.s.a.)
53. geneva (switzerland)
54. mexico city (mexico)

***

kubrador won many local and international prizes including

1. fipresci prize in moscow
2. best film in new delhi
3. best actress in new delhi
4. fipresci prize in new delhi
5. special jury prize in rome
6. best actress in brussels
7. best actress in amiens
8. lino brocka prize (best picture) in cinemanila
9. citation for best film in valladolid
10.netpac prize in brisbane
11. golden screen awards for best picture - drama
12. golden screen awards for best actress
13. golden screen awards for best director
14. golden screen awards for best sound
15. golden screen awards for best editing
16. golden screen awards for best screenplay
17. rated A by the philippine cinema evaluation board
18. pasado gawad sine award for best picture
19. pasado gawad sine award for best director
20. pasado gawad sine award for best screenplay
21. pasado gawad sine award bituin ng sining citation for best actress
22. gawad tanglaw for best picture
23. gawad tanglaw for best director
24. gawad tanglaw for best actress
25. gawad tanglaw for best screenplay
26. gawad tanglaw for best story
27. gawad tanglaw students' choice award
28. gawad urian for best picture
29. gawad urian for best director
30. gawad urian for best acress
31. gawad urian for best production design
32. gawad urian for best cinematography
33. cmma prize for best picture

***

Jeturian understands the pleasures of melodrama and gives The Bet Collector just enough delicious anguish to satisfy his audience. But his observational style opens up the hothouse atmosphere common to the genre. The film ranges through the streets and homes of working-class Manila, offering an up-to-the-minute portrait of life lived in the hope of one small victory. Jeturian's greatest asset here is Pareño: like Fernanda Montenegro in Central Station, she builds a deeply affecting portrait of a woman governed equally by necessary strength and overpowering emotion. She has a forceful physical presence, but remarkable delicacy and nuance of expression. Her performance is a revelation.
- Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film Festival

Inevitably, this film outshines all the others for its mere as well as rare simplicity. As juries we do get to see various works of craftsmanship but hardly come across such a film which touches the core of everyone's heart in spite of our own cultural limitations. But, shouldn't this be the very essence of every film worth watching? Moreover, the film sincerely shows a lack of budget but the technicalities used reveals the power of digital technology. So, the following is the suggestion for the upcoming new breed of directors: try and use digital media and blow it into 35mm, which has already ushered a revolution in filmmaking. The film wins for its sincerity and, throughout the 98 minutes of projection, it swings and overlaps the reel life with the real ones. The subaltern class, with all its nuances, reigned supreme in this heart-ravaging tale. The film correctly symbolises a universal content and that makes the jury's work easier, as all of us almost unanimously agreed upon its award.
- Rwita Dutta, FIPRESCI 2006 (New Delhi)

The FIPRESCI jury in Moscow wasted little time in voting unanimously for the Filippino film The Bet Collector (Kubrador). True, its director, Jeffrey Jeturian, is not a new talent - this is his seventh feature - nor, at 47, a young one. But The Bet Collector has urgency, freshness and hidden depths; to paraphrase the poet Walt Whitman, it may not be a large film, but it contains multitudes within its rough-edged simplicity. It's also a most welcome sign of life from the Filippino cinema, from which not much has been heard on the international scene since the death of Lino Brocka fifteen years ago. In short, despite the dearth of other strong candidates for the prize, a very deserving winner.
- Sheila Johnston, FIPRESCI 2006 (Moscow)

The desperation, the repetitive quality of this life at the bottom of the totem pole of illegal organized gambling here in our country, is what the film focuses on and it’s a searing indictment of the "quality of life" much of our countrymen have to endure and take for granted as their plight in life.
- Philip Cu-Unjieng, Philippine Star
15 July 2006

LOCAL viewers today go only for feel-good romantic films (“All About Love”, “Moments of Love”) or horror films (“White Lady”, “Sukob”). That is why Director Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Kubrador” is the most daring local film we’ve seen in years. It’s not only politically brave, but also very daring on the part of producer Atty. Joji Alonso to produce a film that has very little commercial consideration....Kubrador is (Jeturian's) most thought-provoking work so far. The truth is it’s really more scary than “Sukob” or any other horror film, simply because it is REAL and we shudder at the thought of how the likes of Amy and the rest of our other marginalized countrymen are trapped in a society where the rich and the powerful continue to exploit them.
- Mario Bautista, People's Journal and Malaya
6 August 2006 and 12 August 2006

DIRECTOR Jeffrey Jeturian has always been a skilled cinematic storyteller. Even his sex romps, such as “Bridal Shower” and “Bikini Open,” proceed smoothly and contain biting social commentary that is worked in subtly and not pummeled into the viewer....But in “Kubrador,” he has shown the maturity of his gifts. Using naturalistic camera movements and working with live sound, he gives the film a documentary feel. He brings the audience into the seamy streets and dark alleys of a slum, neither disguising nor exploiting the squalor and the poverty.
- Rina Jimenez David, Philippine Daily Inquirer
6 August 2006

Rising action is not what makes the film engaging, in fact, even riveting. It is the film’s visual and aural textures that tell all in several levels, from the micro-story of a lowly slum-dweller valiantly struggling for survival, or of a bereaved family lamenting the senseless death of their recent college graduate, their only hope to lead them in their escape from a life of wretchedness, to the macro-tale of a society steep in corruption and injustice, where superstition is the people’s only cling to sanity and salvation. The film is replete with subtle potshots at foibles every ordinary Filipino is familiar with.
- Joven Velasco, Philippine Star
8 August 2006

We already have a best picture for 2006. And the winner is – drum roll – Kubrador!
- Butch Francisco, Philippine Star
10 August 2006

“Kubrador” is the kind of movie you watch and get lost in. That is what makes it brilliant. You become unaware that you’re watching a film—you feel like you’re watching the life of Amelita. And in the end, that is what filmmakers should do. It’s easy to call attention to one’s self, it’s effing hard to let go of your ego and realize it’s not all about you.
- Pepe Diokno, Philippine Daily Inquirer
11 August 2006

In Kubrador, (Jeturian) outdoes himself.
- Atty. Billy Balbastro, Abante
11 August 2006

Kubrador is not a film of sudden miracles and instantaneous changes, but of grim realism.
-Oggs Cruz, http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com
16 August 2006

An intelligent and insightful commentary on the realities of our society, Kubrador is a brave attempt not only in experimental cinema -- having been shot entirely with a digital camera and straying away from the standards of Philippine moviemaking -- but also in conveying hard but honest messages that need to be heard.
-Jet Damaso, BusinessWorld Weekender
18-19 August 2006

Filipino wrong-side-of-the-tracks meller "The Bet Collector" (Kubrador) collected some heavy winnings Sunday at the closing ceremony of Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema here. Pic, which revolves around a housewife who sells tickets for a numbers racket in Manila's slums, won best film awards from both the Asian Competition and Fipresci juries at the fest's eighth edition.
- Russell Edwards, Variety (Hollywood)

Here was a work which took you walking through the streets of the city, introduced you to its people in flesh and blood, and showcased the evils of an omnipresent but banned betting game, with collectors to regulate it in underground channels....unabashed by raids, threats, capture and crackdown....(Jeturian's) film showed humour, fellow feeling, compassion, and an endearing cock-a-hoop spirit in the midst of squalor.
-Gowri Ramnarayan, Frontline: India's National Magazine
Volume 23 Issue 16, 12-25 August 2006

Far from being a very typical Filipino film, Kubrador may be easily overlooked by someone who is looking for pure entertainment. Bleak but humane, it shows three days in the life of aging bet collector Amelita (brilliantly played by Gina Pareno) who goes around her povertystricken neighborhood convincing people to entrust their hard-earned pesos to luck – jueteng, a popular numbers game first introduced by Chinese traders to colonial Manila. Although illegal on paper, everyone plays it, even policemen who detain Amelita in order to place bets a huis clos. Day after day, year after year, Amelita wanders around the maze of her shanty town, the maze of her life – not in search of happiness (she has long forgotten what it is), but in search of more numbers which remain her Ariadne's thread.
- Passport Magazine (Moscow)

Amelita, known as Amy, is the family breadwinner. While her disabled husband watches TV all day, Amy tramps the alleys of their slum neighbourhood, in all weathers, taking small cash bets on the local underground jueteng game, a lucky-numbers draw. Her good heart, and the fact that everyone knows her, makes her also an ideal alms collector; whenever someone dies, she cajoles people into contributing to the cost of the funeral. The nearly plotless film follows Amy across three typical days, evading the cops, picking up and passing on local gossip - and narrowly avoiding stray bullets. Played by the great Gina Pareño, Amy is an indelible creation: religious, superstitious, deeply fallible and given to reading everything she sees and hears about as a numerological tip. Watched over by her late son, a soldier who died young, she's a one-woman spot-sample of resilience in very adverse circumstances. Already a prize winner at festivals in Moscow and Delhi, Jeturian's powerful film both reflects and boosts a sudden creative resurgence in Filipino film culture.
-Tony Rayns, 50th London International Film Festival (18 October-2 November 2006)

Jeturian avoids offering probing philosophical or psychological formulations that might serve to buttress Amelita during her journey through a few days in her life. This leaves her clinging to her faith (she is a devout Catholic), her sanity and her obligations as powerful, though perhaps inadequate, weapons with which she defends herself against the cruel and unreasoning ways of fate...Jeturian's masterful direction and the subtle but profound depth of Pareno's performance have made “Kubrador” a favorite on the international film festival circuit this year.
-Joseph Badtke-Berkow, 19th Tokyo International Film Festival (21-29 October 2006)

The surprise from the Philippines...
-Thessaloniki International Film Festival, 17-26 November 2006

Thanks to an extraordinary performance from Pareno...the robust and multi-layered Amy takes on extraordinary life and keeps the viewer totally absorbed...Experienced Filipino director Jeffrey Jeturian has made a film that remarkably combines the intensity of a melodrama with a completely convincing realism.
-Dubai International Film Festival, 10-17 December 2006

A captivating film that is on a triumphant tour of international film festivals. A small film with a big heart. The film is carried – and this is no empty statement – by Gina Pareño. Pareño is a Mama Manila the way Anna Magnani was Mama Roma...This is the seventh film by Jeturian and so he is certainly not a debutant. Yet The Bet Collector has the freshness of a debut. After several more commercial and industrially produced films, Jeturian has now made a small film on digital video and that pays for itself with its great authenticity. Jeturian has already been described as the new Lino Brocka. That may be exaggerating, but it just goes to show how much people have been impressed by this warm and original film.
-Gertjan Zuilhof, Programmer, International FIlm Festival Rotterdam (24 January-4 February 2007)

***

notes on kubrador and global lens 2008 at the MoMA

The films presented in this annual collaboration, now in its fifth year, are part of the touring film exhibition Global Lens, a project conceived by The Global Film Initiative (GFI) to encourage filmmaking in countries with developing film communities. Developed with seed money from GFI, this year's eight films, representing eight different countries, constitute a concise survey of contemporary filmmaking from areas where local economic realities make such expensive and technology-driven endeavors a challenge. Accomplished, entertaining, and thought-provoking, the films are also deeply rooted in the social and political realities of the countries where their talented and resourceful makers live and set their stories. Two films in the exhibition, The Bet Collector (2006, Philippines), and Opera Jawa (2006, Indonesia) will have weeklong runs, allowing them to build an audience and attract critical attention. Several films are part of an educational project between GFI and MoMA's Department of Education, and will be screened separately for participating educational institutions and schools in the New York area.

Kubrador (The Bet Collector). 2006. Philippines. Directed by Jeffrey Jeturian. With Gina Pareño, Fonz Deza, Soliman Cruz. Amy, the family matriarch, makes ends meet by running a small convenience store out of her home, but she is forced to supplement her income by working for an illegal numbers game. Her days follow a stressful routine of dodging the police, and her nights are filled with anxiety over the survival of her family, as she counts her meager commissions. The director's brilliant shots of the narrow, crowded streets become part of the psychological portrait of a once-proud woman reduced to working as a petty criminal. Anchoring the film is a luminous, emphatic performance by veteran actress Pareño, who makes vivid not only the daily struggle faced by the Filipino underclass, but also the humor, wit, and charisma her character applies to her unstable profession. The Bet Collector will also shown on Monday, January 14, as part of Modern Mondays. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 98 min.

Thursday, January 10, 2008, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
(Introduced by Jeturian; cast and crew present)
Friday, January 11, 2008, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Saturday, January 12, 2008, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Sunday, January 13, 2008, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 8:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2

***

after new york, kubrador will be screened at the festival
internacional de cine contemporaneo de la ciudad de mexico (FICCiudad de Mexico) from 19 february to 2 march 2008.

kubrador goes to moma, new york

santosh daniel, the global film initiative's director of films, confirmed last thursday that jeffrey jeturian's kubrador will be the opening film of the fifth annual global lens on 10 january 2008 at the museum of modern art (moma), new york.

kubrador will have a one-week engagement at the moma. the global film initiative will make appropriate airline arrangements and cover the expense of jeffrey jeturian from the philippines.

immediately after the new york premiere, kubrador will be screened in thirty cities across the united states. aside from kubrador, global lens also selected feature films from argentina, china, croatia, india, indonesia, iran, lebanon, and south africa to headline the 2008 film series.

"the films selected for global lens 2008 are beautiful, powerful stories that represent the best of cinema from around the world-they must be seen and experienced," says susan weeks coulter, board chair of the global film initiative.

for screening dates and locations, please visit: http://www.globalfilm.org/calendar.php

the global lens 2008 films: · THE BET COLLECTOR (KUBRADOR), dir. Jeffrey Jeturian, Philippines, 2006 A resilient housewife's job of collecting cash bets on the local numbers-game takes a psychological toll on her in the days before All Saint's Day. · ALL FOR FREE (SVE DZABA), dir. Antonio Nuić, Croatia, 2006 Personal tragedy leads a young man to buy a mobile refreshment truck and embark on a darkly humorous and quixotic journey across post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina. · BUNNY CHOW, dir. John Barker, South Africa, 2006 Three up-and-coming comedians head out on a road trip, abandoning rules, reason and girlfriends to find music and the meaning of life in the "new" South Africa. · THE CUSTODIAN (EL CUSTODIO), dir. Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina, 2006 A man's threshold for the mundane is chronicled by the uneventful days of his life as a bodyguard for a high profile politician. · THE FISH FALL IN LOVE (MAHIHA ASHEGH MISHAVAND), dir. Ali Raffi, Iran, 2005 A group of resourceful women use food to convince a stubborn businessman to allow them to continue operating a restaurant in a building he owns. · KEPT & DREAMLESS (LAS MANTENIDAS SIN SUEÑOS), dir. Vera Fogwill and Martín Desalvo, Argentina, 2005 Set during Argentina's economic crisis of the nineties, a drug-addicted mother struggles to keep her life afloat with the aid of her fiercely affectionate nine year-old daughter. · THE KITE (LE CERF-VOLANT), dir. Randa Chahal Sabbag, Lebanon, 2003 On the eve of her marriage, a Lebanese girl realizes she is in love with the Israeli solider guarding the border checkpoint that separates her from her fiancé. · LET THE WIND BLOW (HAVA ANEY DEY) dir. Partho Sen Gupta, India, 2004 At the height of nuclear-tensions between India and Pakistan, a restless group of friends weigh the bitter reality of their lives against fate and the philosophy of a nation. · LUXURY CAR (JIANG CHENG XIA RI), dir. Wang Chao, China, 2006 A man travels to the city to visit his daughter-a karaoke bar escort-hoping to fulfill his wife's last wish of finding their missing son. · OPERA JAWA, dir. Garin Nugroho, Indonesia, 2006 In the lush interior of Java, a potter's wife is seduced into a tragic love triangle in this stylish adaptation of the Hindu epic, The Ramayana. The Global Film Initiative is a U.S.-based, 501(c)3 organization specializing in the acquisition, distribution and support of independent film from the developing world. Founded in 2002 with the mission of promoting cross-cultural understanding through cinema, each year the Initiative awards numerous grants to deserving filmmakers from emerging nations, and supports a touring film series entitled Global Lens. For more information about the Global Lens film series and The Global Film Initiative programs, please visit: http://www.globalfilm.org

leo abaya, jeffrey jeturian and joji alonso at the 2007 gawad urian

jeffrey jeturian and gina pareno in amiens

jeffrey jeturian with french and belgian fans

jeffrey jeturian and gina pareno in brussels

gina pareno with korean fans

jeffrey jeturian in pusan

gina pareno accepts best acress award in new delhi

jeffrey jeturian received best film/director prize in new delhi

jeffrey jeturians receives fipresci prize in moscow

leo abaya, gina pareno and jeffrey jeturian in moscow

leo abaya, joji alonso antonio, gina pareno and jeffrey jeturian in moscow

the visionaries behind kubrador

***

kubrador was accepted and screened by more than fifty international film festivals, including:

1. moscow (russia)
2. new delhi (india)
3. antalya (turkey)
4. toronto (canada)
5. mumbai (india)
6. pusan (korea)
7. vancouver (canada)
8. valladolid (spain)
9. hawaii (u.s.a.)
10. sao paolo (brazil)
11. tokyo (japan)
12. london (england)
13. brussels (belgium)
14. amiens (france)
15. thessaloniki (greece)
16. rome (italy)
17. tallinn (estonia)
18. bratislava (slovak republic)
19. cairo (egypt)
20. dubai (u.a.e.)
21. chennai (india)
22. bangalore (india)
23. bangkok (thailand)
24. palm springs (california, u.s.a.)
25. rotterdam (netherlands)
26. copenhagen (denmark)
27. pan calgary (canada)
28. cleveland (ohio, u.s.a.)
29. belgrade (serbia)
30. cinemanila (philippines)
31. melbourne (australia)
32. friebourg (switzerland)
33. tromso (norway)
34. gotenberg (sweden)
35. guadalajara (mexico)
36. warsaw (poland)
37. vilnius (lithuania)
38. brugge, belgium
39. brisbane (australia)
40. fajr (iran)
41. singapore
42. barcelona (spain)
43. madrid (spain)
44. arizona (u.s.a.)
45. seattle (washington, u.s.a.)
46. red bank (new jersey, u.s.a.)
47. kolkota (india)
48. munich (germany)
49. hong kong
50. vienna (austria)
51. dhaka (bangladesh)
52. new york (u.s.a.)
53. geneva (switzerland)

***

kubrador won many local and international prizes including

1. fipresci prize in moscow
2. best film in new delhi
3. best actress in new delhi
4. fipresci prize in new delhi
5. special jury prize in rome
6. best actress in brussels
7. best actress in amiens
8. lino brocka prize (best picture) in cinemanila
9. citation for best film in valladolid
10.netpac prize in brisbane
11. golden screen awards for best picture - drama
12. golden screen awards for best actress
13. golden screen awards for best director
14. golden screen awards for best sound
15. golden screen awards for best editing
16. golden screen awards for best screenplay
17. rated A by the philippine cinema evaluation board
18. pasado gawad sine award for best picture
19. pasado gawad sine award for best director
20. pasado gawad sine award for best screenplay
21. pasado gawad sine award bituin ng sining citation for best actress
22. gawad tanglaw for best picture
23. gawad tanglaw for best director
24. gawad tanglaw for best actress
25. gawad tanglaw for best screenplay
26. gawad tanglaw for best story
27. gawad tanglaw students' choice award
28. gawad urian for best picture
29. gawad urian for best director
30. gawad urian for best acress
31. gawad urian for best production design
32. gawad urian for best cinematography
33. cmma prize for best picture

***

Jeturian understands the pleasures of melodrama and gives The Bet Collector just enough delicious anguish to satisfy his audience. But his observational style opens up the hothouse atmosphere common to the genre. The film ranges through the streets and homes of working-class Manila, offering an up-to-the-minute portrait of life lived in the hope of one small victory. Jeturian's greatest asset here is Pareño: like Fernanda Montenegro in Central Station, she builds a deeply affecting portrait of a woman governed equally by necessary strength and overpowering emotion. She has a forceful physical presence, but remarkable delicacy and nuance of expression. Her performance is a revelation.
- Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film Festival

Inevitably, this film outshines all the others for its mere as well as rare simplicity. As juries we do get to see various works of craftsmanship but hardly come across such a film which touches the core of everyone's heart in spite of our own cultural limitations. But, shouldn't this be the very essence of every film worth watching? Moreover, the film sincerely shows a lack of budget but the technicalities used reveals the power of digital technology. So, the following is the suggestion for the upcoming new breed of directors: try and use digital media and blow it into 35mm, which has already ushered a revolution in filmmaking. The film wins for its sincerity and, throughout the 98 minutes of projection, it swings and overlaps the reel life with the real ones. The subaltern class, with all its nuances, reigned supreme in this heart-ravaging tale. The film correctly symbolises a universal content and that makes the jury's work easier, as all of us almost unanimously agreed upon its award.
- Rwita Dutta, FIPRESCI 2006 (New Delhi)

The FIPRESCI jury in Moscow wasted little time in voting unanimously for the Filippino film The Bet Collector (Kubrador). True, its director, Jeffrey Jeturian, is not a new talent - this is his seventh feature - nor, at 47, a young one. But The Bet Collector has urgency, freshness and hidden depths; to paraphrase the poet Walt Whitman, it may not be a large film, but it contains multitudes within its rough-edged simplicity. It's also a most welcome sign of life from the Filippino cinema, from which not much has been heard on the international scene since the death of Lino Brocka fifteen years ago. In short, despite the dearth of other strong candidates for the prize, a very deserving winner.
- Sheila Johnston, FIPRESCI 2006 (Moscow)

The desperation, the repetitive quality of this life at the bottom of the totem pole of illegal organized gambling here in our country, is what the film focuses on and it’s a searing indictment of the "quality of life" much of our countrymen have to endure and take for granted as their plight in life.
- Philip Cu-Unjieng, Philippine Star
15 July 2006

LOCAL viewers today go only for feel-good romantic films (“All About Love”, “Moments of Love”) or horror films (“White Lady”, “Sukob”). That is why Director Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Kubrador” is the most daring local film we’ve seen in years. It’s not only politically brave, but also very daring on the part of producer Atty. Joji Alonso to produce a film that has very little commercial consideration....Kubrador is (Jeturian's) most thought-provoking work so far. The truth is it’s really more scary than “Sukob” or any other horror film, simply because it is REAL and we shudder at the thought of how the likes of Amy and the rest of our other marginalized countrymen are trapped in a society where the rich and the powerful continue to exploit them.
- Mario Bautista, People's Journal and Malaya
6 August 2006 and 12 August 2006

DIRECTOR Jeffrey Jeturian has always been a skilled cinematic storyteller. Even his sex romps, such as “Bridal Shower” and “Bikini Open,” proceed smoothly and contain biting social commentary that is worked in subtly and not pummeled into the viewer....But in “Kubrador,” he has shown the maturity of his gifts. Using naturalistic camera movements and working with live sound, he gives the film a documentary feel. He brings the audience into the seamy streets and dark alleys of a slum, neither disguising nor exploiting the squalor and the poverty.
- Rina Jimenez David, Philippine Daily Inquirer
6 August 2006

Rising action is not what makes the film engaging, in fact, even riveting. It is the film’s visual and aural textures that tell all in several levels, from the micro-story of a lowly slum-dweller valiantly struggling for survival, or of a bereaved family lamenting the senseless death of their recent college graduate, their only hope to lead them in their escape from a life of wretchedness, to the macro-tale of a society steep in corruption and injustice, where superstition is the people’s only cling to sanity and salvation. The film is replete with subtle potshots at foibles every ordinary Filipino is familiar with.
- Joven Velasco, Philippine Star
8 August 2006

We already have a best picture for 2006. And the winner is – drum roll – Kubrador!
- Butch Francisco, Philippine Star
10 August 2006

“Kubrador” is the kind of movie you watch and get lost in. That is what makes it brilliant. You become unaware that you’re watching a film—you feel like you’re watching the life of Amelita. And in the end, that is what filmmakers should do. It’s easy to call attention to one’s self, it’s effing hard to let go of your ego and realize it’s not all about you.
- Pepe Diokno, Philippine Daily Inquirer
11 August 2006

In Kubrador, (Jeturian) outdoes himself.
- Atty. Billy Balbastro, Abante
11 August 2006

Kubrador is not a film of sudden miracles and instantaneous changes, but of grim realism.
-Oggs Cruz, http://oggsmoggs.blogspot.com
16 August 2006

An intelligent and insightful commentary on the realities of our society, Kubrador is a brave attempt not only in experimental cinema -- having been shot entirely with a digital camera and straying away from the standards of Philippine moviemaking -- but also in conveying hard but honest messages that need to be heard.
-Jet Damaso, BusinessWorld Weekender
18-19 August 2006

Filipino wrong-side-of-the-tracks meller "The Bet Collector" (Kubrador) collected some heavy winnings Sunday at the closing ceremony of Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema here. Pic, which revolves around a housewife who sells tickets for a numbers racket in Manila's slums, won best film awards from both the Asian Competition and Fipresci juries at the fest's eighth edition.
- Russell Edwards, Variety (Hollywood)

Here was a work which took you walking through the streets of the city, introduced you to its people in flesh and blood, and showcased the evils of an omnipresent but banned betting game, with collectors to regulate it in underground channels....unabashed by raids, threats, capture and crackdown....(Jeturian's) film showed humour, fellow feeling, compassion, and an endearing cock-a-hoop spirit in the midst of squalor.
-Gowri Ramnarayan, Frontline: India's National Magazine
Volume 23 Issue 16, 12-25 August 2006

Far from being a very typical Filipino film, Kubrador may be easily overlooked by someone who is looking for pure entertainment. Bleak but humane, it shows three days in the life of aging bet collector Amelita (brilliantly played by Gina Pareno) who goes around her povertystricken neighborhood convincing people to entrust their hard-earned pesos to luck – jueteng, a popular numbers game first introduced by Chinese traders to colonial Manila. Although illegal on paper, everyone plays it, even policemen who detain Amelita in order to place bets a huis clos. Day after day, year after year, Amelita wanders around the maze of her shanty town, the maze of her life – not in search of happiness (she has long forgotten what it is), but in search of more numbers which remain her Ariadne's thread.
- Passport Magazine (Moscow)

Amelita, known as Amy, is the family breadwinner. While her disabled husband watches TV all day, Amy tramps the alleys of their slum neighbourhood, in all weathers, taking small cash bets on the local underground jueteng game, a lucky-numbers draw. Her good heart, and the fact that everyone knows her, makes her also an ideal alms collector; whenever someone dies, she cajoles people into contributing to the cost of the funeral. The nearly plotless film follows Amy across three typical days, evading the cops, picking up and passing on local gossip - and narrowly avoiding stray bullets. Played by the great Gina Pareño, Amy is an indelible creation: religious, superstitious, deeply fallible and given to reading everything she sees and hears about as a numerological tip. Watched over by her late son, a soldier who died young, she's a one-woman spot-sample of resilience in very adverse circumstances. Already a prize winner at festivals in Moscow and Delhi, Jeturian's powerful film both reflects and boosts a sudden creative resurgence in Filipino film culture.
-Tony Rayns, 50th London International Film Festival (18 October-2 November 2006)

Jeturian avoids offering probing philosophical or psychological formulations that might serve to buttress Amelita during her journey through a few days in her life. This leaves her clinging to her faith (she is a devout Catholic), her sanity and her obligations as powerful, though perhaps inadequate, weapons with which she defends herself against the cruel and unreasoning ways of fate...Jeturian's masterful direction and the subtle but profound depth of Pareno's performance have made “Kubrador” a favorite on the international film festival circuit this year.
-Joseph Badtke-Berkow, 19th Tokyo International Film Festival (21-29 October 2006)

The surprise from the Philippines...
-Thessaloniki International Film Festival, 17-26 November 2006

Thanks to an extraordinary performance from Pareno...the robust and multi-layered Amy takes on extraordinary life and keeps the viewer totally absorbed...Experienced Filipino director Jeffrey Jeturian has made a film that remarkably combines the intensity of a melodrama with a completely convincing realism.
-Dubai International Film Festival, 10-17 December 2006

A captivating film that is on a triumphant tour of international film festivals. A small film with a big heart. The film is carried – and this is no empty statement – by Gina Pareño. Pareño is a Mama Manila the way Anna Magnani was Mama Roma...This is the seventh film by Jeturian and so he is certainly not a debutant. Yet The Bet Collector has the freshness of a debut. After several more commercial and industrially produced films, Jeturian has now made a small film on digital video and that pays for itself with its great authenticity. Jeturian has already been described as the new Lino Brocka. That may be exaggerating, but it just goes to show how much people have been impressed by this warm and original film.
-Gertjan Zuilhof, Programmer, International FIlm Festival Rotterdam (24 January-4 February 2007)