Aureaus Solito

Special Sundance 2006 Edition

PEOPLE Profile Featuring:

Dir: Aureaus Solito

"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros"

Part I

Fanclubx.com Exclusive Interview by: Luis Pedron

Luis: Kamusta Aureaus?

Aureaus: Mabuti. Kamusta din sa yo, Luis. :)

Luis: Congrats by the way for your different triumphs at the different filmfests including Montreal. Now, Sundance, congratulations.....

Aureaus: Salamat po! :)

Luis: I am so excited for you guys... for me and for a lot of people, Sundance is the biggest festival, how are you preparing yourself for this big party?

Aureaus: I am now in Okinawa for Asian public intellectual fellowship from the Nippon foundation to document island rituals. This is such good timing, from the slow spiritual pace, I will be flying for the US from here for this big fast paces "cinematic" party called Sundance. At least I wll be centered when I fly there. After Sundance will be flying for Rotterdam then Berlin Film festival where "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros." will also be shown :)

Luis: This is fun, fun ,fun but this is the most business like festival as well because of the big chance of being bought by Big US/Worldwide Distributors.... wow, how are you prepping to get
noticed by these companies?

Aureaus: Been bombarded by emails from different reps and agents, the first time the Sundance announcement came out then in the new year bigtime buyers have been emailing us like New Line, Miramax and the Weinstein brothers. There's quite a buzz abouth the film. Sundance is so different from all the other festivals I have attended, where everything was always a discussion about the art of cinema. Sundance seem to be more commercial. I have nothing against that, we need to be commercial to survive as filmmakers. It is good that "Maxi" made money when it was shown in the Manila Cinemas. I think this is important that people come to watch your films. This has always been my dream. I just dont want to be an obsure filmmaker. I want to be a filmmaker whose films people love to watch. Hopefully (and I pray) that we will sell the film to the best buyer in Sundance, so that we could still make more films the way we want to make them.

Luis: Pls tell me about the uniqueness and the universal appeal of your film?

Aureaus: "Maxi" is about the resilience of the Filipino spirit- the Human spirit amidst poverty. It's about first love, a coming of age story.... its about basic love, love for family and survival. Its about being poor but not in spirit.

Luis: Who do you dedicate this film to and why?

Aureaus: Perhaps, to my community in Sampaloc, Manila- the streets where I grew up in.
Friends from college who watched "Maxi" in Montreal where crying after the screening, they told me "my film is an ode to Sampaloc,its textures ... its people... that showed my love for my neighborhood".

Luis: I am really so excited for you guys. I am really praying for your success at the festival...
any additional words of encouragement to Fanclubx.com readers and filmmakers who are pursuing
their dreams in making their first film and or pursuing the most elusive festival acceptance.....

Aureaus: Just look within yourselves, what are the truths that you know, then film them... be true... be pure...and things will be fine. One of the best comments I got ever was in my very first film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland in 1995 where my first short film "The Brief Lifespan of Fire" was shown. An old critic told me "Your film doesnt look like a Filipino film! Your film doesn't look like a Filipino film because it doesnt look like a Hollywood movie!" And he smiled. :)

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Nic Leung, my batchmate from Philippine Science High School who payed for my entry fee through his credit card for the online submission of Sundance.

Luis: Wow, thanks Nic Leung what an important investment and the gesture of believing in your friend's talents........ More power to you and your cast and crew.....and see you soon.... Happy New Year. Enjoy the process. ( Will be interviewing Aureaus live at Sundance.... for the part 2 of our article. )

Aureaus: Salamat din Luis. In the Language of my Palawanon ancestors, "Manunga banar" - for Beautiful truths. Manunga Banar

To be continued

Director(s) Bios

Auraeus Solito
Auraeus Solito won the Golden Zenith Award at the Montreal World Film Festival for his first feature, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros. His second feature, Tuli (Circumcision), won best film and best director awards at the CineManila Digital Competition. Solito's documentary, Basal Banar (The Scared Ritual of Truth), is also a multiple award winner. As an Asian Public Intellectual Fellow of the Nippon Foundation, Japan, Solito is currently making a documentary on island rituals in Okinawa and Borneo. He traces his roots to the Indigenous Palaw'an tribe of South Palawan, Philippines.

Read more about the film:

Official Site: http://maximooliveros.tripod.com/

http://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/ent-111905-maxi.aspx

http://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/cinemalaya-angpagdadalaga.htm

http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2005/11/sundance_unveil.html

http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/004677.html