San Diego Asian Film Festival is the premiere event of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation (SDAFF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to upholding and sharing the diverse legacy of Asian Pacific Islanders through the media arts. Thousands of patrons will experience films from around the world and connect with the artists who created them. In addition, SDAFF offers a quarterly film series, a membership program, and documentary training for local high school students. Please visit www.sdaff.org for more information and the latest festival upsdates!

Socially relevant Kubrador an acting tour-de-force by Gina Pareño
By PCS Enews Staff

DIRECTED BY
Jeffrey Jeturian

STARRING
Gina Pareño, Fonz Deza, Soliman Cruz, Nanding Josef, Johnny Manahan.

95 minutes; Rated PG-13

Amy, a family matriarch who runs a small convenience store out of her home.  But times are tough and customers are scarce, and without the help of her unemployed husband or pregnant daughter, she is forced to supplement the family income by collecting bets for jueteng, an illegal numbers game rampant throughout the Philippines. This starkly realistic narrative presents a captivating portrait of a once-proud woman, haunted by memories of a dead son and hounded by the police, and her fragile and lonely life as a kubrador (bet collector) on the streets of Manila.

Plays September 26 through October 2 @ 11:00am; 1:30, 4:00, 6:15, 8:30pm; also 10:45pm Friday/Saturday/Sunday

Tickets (may be purchased online at www.ultrastarmovies.com):
    * $8.50 General
    * $6.50 Students, Seniors, and Military with identification
    * $5.50 Matinee before 4 p.m. daily, ALL DAY TUESDAY
    * $5.00 Groups of 10 or more, call 619-804-8424 to arrange.

The Philippine Cinema Showcase plays at  The Goldilocks Theater at UltraStar Chula Vista, 555 Broadway, Chula Vista, CA, 619-338-4214.

Jeffrey Jeturian's Kubrador must be one of the most blogged Philippine independent films of recent years, and the blog of Jose Wendell Capili, away from canberra, has some of the most extensive coverage of the film's odyssey.  Mr. Capili, who includes Jeturian as well as Aureaus Solito (director of also much-acclaimed The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros) as friends, is an accomplished writer and currently Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Arts and Letters, at the University of the Philippines.

Among the items Capili has posted are 54 international film festivals that have screened Kubrador, and 33 awards, prizes, and citations the film has won. His blog includes many snapshots associated with Kubrador not available elsewhere, no doubt due to his personal relationship with Jeturian.

Read Jose's Kubrador postings here

Read Jose's latest away from canberra blogs here

Return to Table of Contents

Peruse Kubrador galleries 

See Kubrador photos on the film's Multiply blog here

See Kubrador's 5 Gawad Urian Awards here

See Kubrador photos at Flickr here

"Jueteng, the local numbers game, is always a visceral subject in Philippine politics. It is arguably the issue that best encapsulates the enormous rifts and contradictions within Filipino society. The government periodically announces crackdowns on illegal gambling operations, and yet politicians are routinely accused of running jueteng in their provinces. The police declare that jueteng no longer exists, but the daily draws are held as usual...

"Former president Joseph Estrada was impeached then ousted in a popular revolt over allegations that he had received 500 million pesos (HK$77 million) in jueteng payoffs. His successor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has also been accused of taking jueteng money. The Senate holds inquiries into illegal gambling, and there are all sorts of sensational media exposes, but it's apparently business as usual for the gambling lords. All the sound and fury tends to overlook one basic truth: to the Filipino masses, jueteng is a fact of life.

"Kubrador (The Bet Collector), the new film from director Jeffrey Jeturian, takes a look at the numbers game from the perspective of those who actually play..."

Read the rest of Jessica Zafra's article here

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

AUTHOR EVENT! The House of the Phlippines presents Mae Respicio, author of Images of America: Filipinos in Los Angeles, published by Arcadia. Her book includes research, with the help of community members and organizations, that highlights more than 200 Filipinos, their challenges and achievements. The House of the Philippines, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, seeks to increase awareness about the history, culture, and people of the Philippines. It operates one of the dozens of cottages that make up the House of Pacific Relations in Balboa Park, an organization itself dedicated to furthering cooperation and understanding between national groups in the U.S. www.houseofthephilippines.org.