Social awareness film Tombstone Pillow shines at the Allora Fest in Italy
The social awareness film starring singer-actress and author Lourdes Duque Baron “ Tombstone Pillow” was featured and screened at the Allora Fest in Puglia, Italy.
The acceptance of highly esteemed artist director, Silvia Bizio was truly an immense breakthrough for films that feature crucial issues about the Philippines.
Silvia Bizio co-produced the documentary You Never Had It: An Evening with Bukowski, based on her video interview with famous author Charles Bukowski in 1981 and directed by Matteo Borgardt. She also produced the 2018 documentary, Camp Monticello: A Forgotten History, highlighting the history and importance of the Italian Prisoner of War camp built in Monticello, Arkansas during WWII.
To add to the prestige and honor of this achievement, other greats such as Fight Club “ Edward Norton”, The Short Life of Anne Frank “Jeremy Irons”, Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei, and Jon Hamm were also in attendance at the Allora Fest.
Tombstone Pillow was shown in the slums of Metro Manila, except it was not just any slum, it was inside the Manila North Cemetery where impoverished people are living and sleeping beside the tombs.
Female director Bayou Bennett ( Dream Team Directors)said, “ There is hope, you can create change with your own two hands. In our case, we used our ability to tell a story and to bring awareness to this horrible situation”.
Co-director Daniel Lir ( Dream Team Directors), “ Imagine living in a cemetery and raising your family there. We had to do something about it”.
Tombstone Pillow went on to receive 33 awards and was highly praised at the Allora Festival.
American film director and screenwriter who won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as a writer of Midnight Express (1978) and the gangster film, Scarface (1983) Oliver Stone gave his masterclass before Tombstone Pillow film was screened.
The filmmakers behind Tombstone Pillow aspire to create movies that are impactful and relevant across generations. The film focused on creating an insightful look into the culture while communicating the truth of the world in a compelling way.
A big part of the directing work is being able to work with actors who are able to exude the beingness of the performance, Lourdes Duque Baron received massive appreciation for her stellar performance together with child actress Kendra De Mesa and co-actors Blake Salcedo, Ian Taylor Ignacio, and Tunisian actor Akram Yesmine.
The trailer for Tombstone Pillow was edited by Mike Jones of There Will Be Blood & The Help https://vimeo.com/383026161?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=3909274
Tombstone Pillow Summary:
A nine-year-old girl gives the Philippines’ wealthiest widow a tour of a graveyard that thousands of destitute people call home. In this unlikely place, she is able to discover what real riches are.
