Film School Graduate Janice Perez Accepted To Cannes Film Festival
May 7th, 2009 Posted in Film School, Student & Alumni ActivityInquirer.net - MANILA, Philippines—It was an auspicious e-mail. Returning from Easter Vigil Mass, New York-based Filipino filmmaker Janice Y. Perez checked her inbox and found a message that made her heart skip.
“I saw these words in big letters: ‘See you in Cannes and welcome to the Short Film Corner,’” she told Inquirer in an e-mail interview.
It was surprising, she said, especially since her short film, “Sabongero,” took a circuitous route to the premier world fest.
Before she could shoot this dream project, many doors were closed for Perez. She even lost a grant because the script tackled cockfighting in her home province of Cebu, a pastime considered cruel by animal activists.
Perez, an accountant by profession, remained steadfast. Three years ago, she had just come out of the New York Film Academy. In a 2006 forum hosted by the Independent Feature Project, she found her Eureka moment.
“One of the panelists, filmmaker Dito Montiel, told the audience at Lincoln Center: ‘If you want to make your first feature, write a story you know nothing about. That will make you want to get to know it more…full article.
