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Leonor Will Never Die (Filipino: Ang Pagbabalik ng Kwago, lit. "Return of the Owl") is a 2022 Filipino psychological comedy-drama film. It is the feature film directorial debut of Martika Ramirez Escobar, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Sheila Francisco as a retired screenwriter who, after falling into a coma, finds herself the action hero of her unfinished screenplay. The supporting cast includes Bong Cabrera, Rocky Salumbides, and Anthony Falcon. The film is an homage to Filipino action films of the 1970s and '80s.[2]

Leonor Will Never Die
North American theatrical release poster
Directed by	Martika Ramirez Escobar
Written by	Martika Ramirez Escobar
Produced by	Monster Jimenez Mario Cornejo
Starring	Sheila Francisco Bong Cabrera Rocky Salumbides Anthony Falcon
Cinematography	Carlos Mauricio
Edited by	Lawrence Ang
Music by	Alyana Cabral Pan De Coco
Production company	Arkeofilms
Distributed by	Music Box Films (North America)[1]
Release date	January 21, 2022 (2022-01-21) (Sundance Film Festival)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	Philippines
Language	Filipino

Leonor Will Never Die premiered at the World Cinema Dramatic Competition of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the first Filipino film to compete since The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros in 2006. Escobar was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit.[3][4] The film opened the 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, marking the festival's return to on-site screening since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6]

Leonor Will Never Die was acquired by Music Box Films for North American distribution in February 2022. The film will be distributed across North America in early December 2022, starting with a North American theatrical premiere at the 41st Hawaiʻi International Film Festival on November 8, followed by a screening at the Metrograph on November 25.

Plot summary

Leonor Reyes (Sheila Francisco) was once a major player in the Filipino film industry after creating a string of successful action films, but now her household, consisting of Leonor and her son Rudie, struggles to pay the bills. When she reads an advertisement looking for screenplays, Leonor begins tinkering with an unfinished script about the quest of young, noble Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides), forced to avenge his brother’s murder at the hand of thugs. While her imagination provides some escape from reality, an accident involving a television knocks her out and sends her into a coma. This transports Leonor inside the incomplete movie where she can play out her wildest dreams firsthand and discover the perfect ending to her story. Meanwhile, Rudie seeks to discover where his mother went.

Cast

Crew

Role	Crewmembers
Writer	Martika Ramirez Escobar
Director	Martika Ramirez Escobar
Producers	Monster Jiminez & Mario Cornejo
Executive Producers	Aurora Oreta, Martika Ramirez Escobar & Quark Henares
Associate Director	Mikee De La Cruz
Line Producer	Rajiv Idnani
Director of Photography	Carlos Mauricio
Production Designer	Eero Yves S. Francisco
Editor	Lawrence S. Ang
Sound	Corinne de San Jose
Music	Alyana Cabral & Pan de Coco
Colorist	Timmy Torres
VFX Artist	Tricia Bernasor

Production

Concept and development

The idea for the film came to Escobar when she was a young girl after action star-turned-politician Joseph Estrada was elected President of the Philippines. In the film's production notes, Escobar comments, "Today, decades later, after having two more ‘action star’ presidents [Estrada and the failed bid of Fernando Poe Jr.], I find myself questioning this absurd reality and am surprised by how easy it can be understood once I place it in parallel with our love for movies."[2] After graduating from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a film degree, Escobar began working on the screenplay and continued to edit and revise it over the next eight years while she worked as a cinematographer on other films.[7][8] During that time, she also attended writing workshops of screenwriters Ricky Lee and Bong Lao.[9]

Casting

For the role of Leonor, Escobar was looking for "someone who feels like they fit in that macho world, with the intelligence and sharpness of a writer, and the tough tenderness of a mother." The film's producer, Monster Jimenez, recommended Sheila Francisco after seeing her in the stage musical drama Ang Huling El Bimbo.[2]

Filming and post-production

The film was shot in the Philippines from July to September 2019.[10] The film was supported by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) through its CreatePHFilms funding program and sponsored under its Full Circle Lab-Philippines development program.[11]

Reception

In a wrap-up of Sundance, The New York Times film critic A.O. Scott calls the film "wonderfully unclassifiable" and says "the combination of family melodrama, pulpy violence and surreal comedy add up to the disarmingly tender portrait of an artist on the edge of the afterlife."[12] Marya Gates of RogerEbert.com says the film "establishes writer/director Martika Ramirez Escobar as an artist with a singular voice and bright future in halls of weird cinema," with Sheila Francisco "an utter delight as Leonor."[13] In a mixed review, Amy Nicholson of Variety writes that it is "creative and clever – perhaps too clever" as towards the end of the film "the script’s ambitions have outreached its grasp, even with the formidable Francisco holding the stories’ layers together."[14]

Along with The New York Times,[12] the film is considered one of the best films of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival by The Atlantic[15] and Vogue.[16]

Accolades

At Sundance, the film was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Innovative Spirit. In recognition of the accolades of Leonor Will Never Die, as well as for the Short Film Grand Jury Prize-winner The Headhunter's Daughter, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Liza Diño-Seguerra described the moment as "Philippines Cinema's historic win at the Sundance," adding that the filmmakers are "writing history."[17]

Year	Film Festival	Award
2022	Sundance Film Festival, United States	World Cinema Dramatic Competition Special Jury Prize: Innovative Spirit
2022	CAAMFest, United States	Comcast Xfinity Narrative Award
2022	2022 Toronto International Film Festival	Amplify Voices
2022	Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival	Special Jury Mention - Narrative Feature
2022	Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival	Youngblood Award

References

External links

• Leonor Will Never Die 2022 film at IMDb
• Leonor Will Never Die at Rotten Tomatoes
• Leonor Will Never Die at Music Box Films

На других языках

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[de] Leonor Will Never Die

Leonor Will Never Die ist eine Tragikomödie von Martika Ramirez Escobar, die Ende Januar 2022 beim Sundance Film Festival ihre Premiere feierte.

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- [en] Leonor Will Never Die

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