‘Blue Room’ hailed best foreign film at La Femme

The acclaimed 2022 Cinemalaya movie Blue Room won Best Foreign Film at La Femme International Film Festival on 22 October in Los Angeles.

It was the first time the Philippines won in the festival's foreign feature category, with Leslie LaPage, LAFIFF's president and festival director, hailing the Philippine entry thus: "It was the deep dive into the treatment of youth in the Philippines that stood out in Blue Room."

Blue Room, the feature directing debut of Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan, is a film inspired by real events, about an indie-rock band, Rebel Rebel, that gets arrested for drug possession and brought into a detention center called "Blue Room."

It featured a stellar lineup of rising and veteran actors in the Filipino film industry, including Elijah Canlas, Juan Karlos Labajo, Harvey Bautista, Keoni Jin, Nour Hooshmand, Soliman Cruz and Bombi Plata.

The film garnered five awards at the Cinemalaya Film Festival in August last year, including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and the Special Jury Prize (Main Competition).

The film also bagged two nominations in the most recent Soho International Film Festival, including Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role — World Feature for Hooshmand and Cruz, and Best World Showcase Feature Film.

Asuncion-Dagñalan revealed in her speech that she had written the film 10 years ago, but its concerns remain relevant even at this time.

"Filmmaking, just like any art, is important in relaying messages and educating individuals, so use it responsibly and properly. Use it to expose the truth. So no to historical revisionism, no to propaganda and no to fake news," she stressed.

She also expressed her gratitude to her husband Michael Angelo Dagñalan, a fellow filmmaker who directed the films River of Dreams (2009), Layang Bilanggo (2010) and Paglaya sa Tanikala (2012).

"I am lucky to have a very supportive and understanding husband. He was the one who encouraged me to study scriptwriting and cinematography," she said.

LAFIFF is a film festival focused on "celebrating, supporting and advancing content creation by Women Producers, Writers and Directors from around the world."