THE BLOSSOMING OF FILIPINO FILMS

ANG PAGDADALAGA NI MAXIMO OLIVEROS I have been following the journey of this Indie Movie to the film festivals and the movie world via Jessica Zafra's blogsite. Recently it gathered awards in the Berlin Festival and gain approval from other film critics. From the time, I read about it and saw ad photos in the website, I have been wishing for a DVD with English sub. I know that this is gonna be interesting. I am just sooooooo excited. Maybe bec i saw myself as a young Maxi and this reminds me of my first crush. Just awhile ago, I saw a movie clip in TFC channel and it seems to be really funny - as in Maximo was cleaning or arranging the "pinagtulugan" (making up the bed of his crush) while acting like a princess. Hmmm, a lot of gay guys could really relate to this. Write up of the film as follows: Gay, pre-teen Maxi is unquestioning and good-naturedly devoted to his family of small-time criminals. He cleans house for them, cooks for them, washes their underwear, mends their tattered jeans, and, if push comes to shove, covers their tracks for them so they wouldn't get caught. His world revolves around them. That is, until he meets Victor, a principled, idealistic and handsome policeman who inspires him to aim for a better life. The purity of first love is pitted against the squalor and corruption found in the slums of Manila, the setting for Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros). Maxi befriends Victor and falls in love with him and in the process starts aspiring for a better life which causes Victor to earn the ire of Maxi's family. In the end, Maxi is caught in a love triangle between his family whom he wants to protect and Victor, his first love who is determined to uphold the law in whatever way he can. In his first ever starring role, Nathan Lopez plays the big hearted Maxi while model turned actor JR Valentin play the role of the honest policeman. Though a new comer in the local movie scene, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros isn’t exactly 14-year old Lopez’s first foray into show biz. He was one of the 25 finalists in the first Star Circle Quest and was recently seen as the deaf and mute kid in the ABS-CBN teleserye “Mga Anghel Na Walang Langit.”Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros was written by Michiko Yamamoto (who wrote the script of the much-awarded Magnifico) and directed by Auraeus Solito. It is the first of two productions from ufo Pictures, a new film company composed of young scriptwriters Yamamoto, Raymond Lee (Milan, Anak), Ned Trespeces (Jologs), Jade Castro (D’Anothers), and Emman dela Cruz (Kailangan Kita and director of the second ufo movie Sarong Banggi due out next year). Even before the movie’s nationwide release, it has already earned acclaim in various film festivals such as Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2005, Jury Prize for Best Picture, Best Actor (Nathan Lopez) plus an award for Best Production Design, Montreal World Film Festival 2005, winning the Golden Zenith Award for Best Picture, imagineNative Film Festival 2005 Toronto, bagging the Best Picture Award and nominations at the Asian Festival of First Films 2005 Singapore, for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Nathan Lopez).Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros is distributed by ABS-CBN Film Productions (Star Cinema) and will be shown nationwide on November 30, 2005.