Holy fucking shit, I’m 23.

23 sounds scary as a number denoting age. It’s not old, but it sounds frighteningly adult. I was just getting comfortable with 22. And this year’s birthday, it really snuck up on me. It was earlier tonight, having dinner with Neva, that I realized, “Oh shit. I forgot it’s my birthday tomorrow.” I honestly was distracted by other things: some stuff I’m reading, Cinemanila, projects…

I re-read my post from the last birthday and noticed some things: both Cinemanila and the Bookfair were on the periphery, and Gamitan had just come out. This year, Keka’s out.

There’s no way that Neva could throw another surprise party after two in a row, so I expect it to be quiet today. Especially since I plan to watch Dogville.

I was born on a Sunday, too.

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Haven’t updated in a while. The Keka premiere was last Monday, and it was a blast. It’s incredibly satisfying seeing the film on the big screen, especially since I’d already seen it a few times during editing and dubbing. JA’s work is stunning, and even the days that Ody and Lyle shot meshed well, I thought. Despite Quark’s horror stories with the MTRCB, I thought it came out great. I laughed at the right moments, and Katya’s so much better than anyone expected or gave her credit for. Lia’s opening credit sequence was genuinely moving; I keep forgetting to tell her this, but what I love most about it is that it goes back and forth between certain shots/scenes. A typical, lazy version would just go shot, shot, shot with no returns… but hers considers movement, and best of all, returns back to previous shots, sometimes with different permutations, like going through a photo album where the pictures are jumbled out of order. Which is how memory works. Probably the best compliment I can give her in that regard is that it really makes you believe in them as a couple. The funniest scene for me is the morgue. Rey Solo’s performance was a hoot. The funnest scene has to be the musical number. Especially when the frat boys leap from behind their posts. The score is amazing. I told the Diegos at the after-party that I particularly loved the music in the scene in the graveyard near the end, and Diego said that it was really just Keka’s theme, but acoustic. See, I’m a fucking moron when it comes to simple shit like this. It should be easy but it flies over my head. But it can still move me.

Maybe the best thing I can say to Quark about Keka is that even with all my expectations (and I never doubted he could make a great film to begin with), it still exceeded them. So I’m really happy for him, and am proud to say I know the guy. There’s an excruciatingly few number of people who have to deal with his particular dilemma: having achieved my dream project at the tender age of 22… what next?

If you haven’t seen Keka yet, do so. Soon. And if you like it, tell everyone you know to go see it. Even if you didn’t like it, tell everyone to see it so you can compare notes and see if they agree with you.

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My other highlight of the year is meeting Fernando Mereilles, the director of City of God. It was a complete accident. Alexis and I were sitting at Popeye’s when I saw Tikoy Aguiluz, Festival Director of Cinemanila, walk by real fast in a hurry with a Caucasian guy. Just on the off-chance, I ask Alexis, “Is that Mereilles?” and he looks and says, “Yes!” so we get up and run after them. Surprising myself, I wasn’t a flustered buffoon. I shook his hand and simply said Thanks for making a great film, speaking as a film buff. And that I was glad to hear that a 2 ½ hour serious film was such a hit in his native country, especially among the youth. He was gracious and said thanks, and I got a picture taken with him, while Alexis distracted Tikoy. So that was a real treat. How many times do you get to meet someone who did something that inspired you? And tell them personally that you’re grateful?

Get this: the next day, he was watching a film with us. We saw him while in line for Lav Diaz’s Hubad sa Ilalim ng Buwan, and invited him to watch, and lo and behold, he did. He had to leave early, though, to introduce City of God in the other theater, but still! :) That evening he won the Grand Jury Prize at the Awards Night. Gracious as ever, when he accepted the award he was talking about Brazilian films, which I found refreshing. Instead of taking the credit and letting it be about him, which everyone was prepared and perfectly willing to do (since he deserved it), he still wanted to act as an ambassador for Brazilian cinema. I was with JA as he got Mereilles’s autograph. I never got his autograph; I had wanted to interview him personally but he left two days early. Oh well. He’ll be back soon enough: part of his next film will be shot here.

Today I met Prabda Yoon, who is a nice, amiable chap. He's 30 but has published 10 books, and his recent script was directed by Pen-ek Ratanaruang, a film called Last Life in the Universe, which was shot by Christopher Doyle, one of my idols. Check out the trailer on the website, it's pretty interesting. Alexis interviewed him for Indiefilipino.com and I sat in.

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Everyone seems to be getting hit by the Blaster worm. I had to download the patch and removal tool for Neva. Know why I haven’t been hit? I’m still on Windows 98! Dear Lord, I’m too obsolete to even be bothered with…

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Cecile leaves today for Connecticut, so adieu and a safe trip to her. :)

Apologies to Clar. :)

Greetings also to Carlo, whose birthday was yesterday. :)

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Holy fucking shit. 23.

Where the hell did the time go?