Kamera Obskura
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''Kamera Obskura'' is a 2012 Filipino drama film produced and directed by Raymond Red. It was co-written by Red and
Pen Medina Crispin "Pen" Parungao Medina Sr. (born August 27, 1950, in Arayat, Pampanga) is an actor from the Philippines who started acting in theater plays in his youth. He eventually played versatile roles on the big screen and in various television s ...
, who stars as the protagonist of a fictional
lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...
recovered by film archivists.


Plot

Film archivists uncover a lost Filipino black-and-white silent film about an escaped convict who uses a magic camera to help the people of a small town. After showing the 70-minute film, the archivists debate its significance and the best way to preserve Filipino cinema.


Cast

*
Pen Medina Crispin "Pen" Parungao Medina Sr. (born August 27, 1950, in Arayat, Pampanga) is an actor from the Philippines who started acting in theater plays in his youth. He eventually played versatile roles on the big screen and in various television s ...
as Juan, star of the lost silent film * Joel Torre * Nanding Josef * Abe Pagtama * Suzette Ranillo * Ping Medina * Irene Gabriel * Lou Veloso * Bert Habal * Archie Adamos * Madlen Nicolas * Teddy Co * Cesar Hernando * Ricky Orellana


Production

Red was influenced by ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...
'' and ''
Zelig ''Zelig'' is a 1983 American satirical mockumentary comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen as Leonard Zelig, a nondescript enigma, who, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteris ...
''. Red says that he had not seen '' The Artist'' prior to filming.


Release

''Kamera Obskura'' premiered at the
8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival The 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival was held from July 20 until 29, 2012 in Metro Manila, Philippines. The awards night was held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Entries The fi ...
on July 21, 2012.


Reception

Richard Kuipers of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote that Red "succeeds marvelously in conceptual and visual terms, but his soundtrack strategy is likely to sharply divide audiences".
Oggs Cruz Francis Joseph "Oggs" Cruz is a Filipino lawyer and film critic best known for his reviews of Philippine New Wave films in prominent publications including the Philippine Star, the Philippines Free Press and Rappler Rappler (portmanteau of ...
of
Twitch Film ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
criticized both the score and the fictional film-within-a-film but called the concept "utterly brilliant". ''Kamera Obskura'' won Best Original Music Score, Best Direction, and Special Jury Prize at Cinemalaya.


References


External links

* * 2012 films Philippine drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Tagalog-language films Fictional films 2012 drama films 2012 multilingual films Philippine multilingual films {{2010s-drama-film-stub