Aparisyon

Aparisyon
Official poster
Directed byIsabel Sandoval[a]
Screenplay byIsabel Sandoval[a]
Story by
  • Isabel Sandoval[a]
  • Jerry Gracio
Produced by
  • Jerome Kerkman
  • Jhun 'McHertz' Macias
  • Merrick Clint Goho
  • Markane Earle Goho
Starring
CinematographyJay Abello
Edited by
Music byTeresa Barrozo
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • July 21, 2012 (2012-07-21) (Philippine Independent Film Festival)
  • March 20, 2013 (2013-03-20) (Philippines)
  • April 21, 2021 (2021-04-21) (North America)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryPhilippines
Language
  • Filipino

Aparisyon (transl. Apparition) is a 2012 Philippine psychological drama film[1] written and directed by Isabel Sandoval.[a] Set in early 1970s, where the story about the nuns in the period immediately preceding the declaration of martial law by Ferdinand Marcos.[2] It is one of the official entries for the New Breed Full Length Feature Category in Cinemalaya 2012.[3]

Aparisyon was invited to film festivals around the world, including Deauville Asian Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.[4] At the Hawaii International Film Festival, the film won the NETPAC Award "for its courageous exploration of religious faith, guilt and forgiveness through masterful storytelling and visual imagery".[5] The film was also nominated for the New Currents Award at the 2012 Busan International Film Festival.[6]

As of 2021, along with Señorita, it is available for streaming through the Criterion Channel.[7]

Synopsis

Set in 1971, the sisters of the Adoration monastery in a remote town in Rizal in the Philippines lead quiet and peaceful lives.[8] Remy (Mylene Dizon), an extern nun who is able to leave the monastery from time to time to do errands for the other nuns, learns from her mother that her activist brother is missing. She asks Mother Superior Ruth (Cuyugan-Asensio) for an indefinite leave of absence to help her family search for her brother. When her request is turned down, she starts secretly attending meetings of families with missing relatives. Lourdes (Jodi Sta. Maria) becomes an extern too to go with Remy to attend a meeting.[9] They fall victim to violence on their way back.

Cast

  • Jodi Sta. Maria as Sister Lourdes
  • Mylene Dizon as Sister Remy
  • Fides Cuyugan-Asensio as Mother Superior
  • Raquel Villavicencio as Sister Vera
  • Maria Monica Reyes as Sister Emilia

Awards

Date Award Category Recipient Result Ref(s)
2012 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival New Breed - Best Film Isabel Sandoval Nominated [3]
Best Sound Wild Sound Won
2012 Busan International Film Festival New Currents Award Isabel Sandoval Nominated [6]
2012 Deauville Film Festival Grand Prix Nominated [4]
Audience Award Won
2012 Hawaii International Film Festival NETPAC Award Won [5]
2013 Young Critics Circle Best Performance Fides Cuyugan-Asensio Nominated [10]
Best Editing Jerrold Tarog and Isabel Sandoval Nominated
Best Screenplay Isabel Sandoval and Jerry Gracio Nominated
Gawad Urian Awards 2013 Best Actress Jodi Sta. Maria Nominated [11]
Best Supporting Actress Mylene Dizon Nominated
Raquel Villavicencio Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Exclusive Interview: "I wanted to break as many rules as possible" Isabel Sandoval on her early films Señorita & Apparition now playing on Criterion Channel". The Queer Review. May 10, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  2. ^ Erica Gonzales, "Director Isabel Sandoval Wants to Shed Light on Invisible Women", February 24, 2021, Harper's Bazaar
  3. ^ a b "(MOVIE) Aparisyon, an entry to the 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival". The Rod Magaru Show. June 20, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Indie film Aparisyon wins Audience Award at the Deauville Asian Film Festival in France". SPOT.PH. March 11, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Jodi's indie film wins award in Hawaii film fest". ABS-CBN News. October 22, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Eight Filipino Films Take Part At The BIFF". ph.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  7. ^ In ‘Apparition,’ a Philippine Drama, Nuns Face Civil Strife", May 9, 2021, The Criterion Collection
  8. ^ Jeannette Catsoulis, "In ‘Apparition,’ a Philippine Drama, Nuns Face Civil Strife", July 9, 2013, New York Times
  9. ^ "Apparition (Aparisyon): Busan Review", October 7, 2012, Hollywood Reporter
  10. ^ "Nora Aunor receives 5th acting citation from Young Critics Circle". PEP.ph. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  11. ^ "36th Gawad Urian: Nominations". Rappler. June 18, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2021.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Credited as Vincent Sandoval.