Raya Martin's Independencia project wins @ 2007 Cinemart Awards

Raya Martin's "Independencia" project in development wins at 2007
Cinemart Awards at Rotterdam Film Festival

Rotterdam- This year's winner of the 2007 Prince Claus Fund Grant of
€15,000 is INDEPENDENCIA, from Filipino director Raya Martin, produced
by Arleen Cuevas. The story follows a mother and son at the turn of
the 20th century who run off to the mountains following the onset of
American rule in the Philippines.
"The jury has opted for what was clearly one of the most original
ideas amongst the 2007 CineMart selection," said the Prince Claus Fund
jury in a joint statement Thursday. "This powerful and original
project embodies a daring cinematographic voice with clear political
undertone, where the unfolding narrative seems to emerge from images
and sound rather than the established convention of storytelling. "

The winners this year for Arte France's two grants of €10,000 in
support of financing the development of the projects are: A RATIONAL
SOLUTION by Jörgen Bergmark, which will be produced by Helena
Danielsson from Hepp Film; and PIEDS NUS SUR LES LIMACES by Fabienne
Berthaud, which will be produced by Nicolas Blanc for AGAT FILMS &
Cie. The film revolves around two women and a man who share an
isolated life in the French countryside.

Raya Martin
Raya Martin's first feature,"A Short Film about the Indio Nacional"
premiered in Rotterdam Film Festival last year. His second
feature,"Autohystor ia" is having its world premiere at Rotterdam this
year, and also includes 2 short films. Filipino filmmakers have a
strong presence in Rotterdam, with directors such as Lav Diaz, Khavn,
John Torres, Mes de Guzman and Jeffrey Jeturian screening their films
at the festival.

Awards history
As well as the positive outcomes from the various meetings, CineMart
also offers participants the opportunity to win direct financial
support.This comes in the form of the Prince Claus Fund Film Grant
(one award of €15,000) and the Arte France Cinéma Awards (two prizes
of €10,000 each). Bianca Taal, co-manager of the CineMart along with
Marit van den Elshout, says, "The Awards are a great stamp of quality
and a boost for the projects chosen by the respective juries."

The Prince Claus Fund Film Grant is awarded by the Prince Claus Fund,
which also supports theatre and literature, focusing on initiatives
from the developing world. In its own words, the fund "aims at
increasing cultural awareness and promoting exchange between culture
and development. " Last year's award went to LASYA, by Anup Singh
(India).

The Arte France Cinéma Awards are conferred by the feature film
co-production department of the Franco-German broadcaster. Last year's
recipients were A MEXICAN STORY (Arturo Aristakisian, Mexico/Russia)
and HEI TIE DE RI ZI (Wang Bing, China). (SK & LF)