“DITO AT DOON” from TBA STUDIOS to Screen at OSAKA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL in MARCH

 

The current situation regarding businesses that can open even in the midst of the COVID pandemic can be rather complex. Even if the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) can recommend which businesses can finally reopen in areas under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified GCQ, either local governments can still say no, or said businesses can choose to remain closed. That could apply to standalone cinemas and movie-houses in malls. As such, some films could probably go straight to streaming, or like TBA Studios’ “Dito at Doon” could wait for someplace else to premiere. And they may have gotten their venue.

As Inquirer.net tells it, the movie “Dito at Doon,” directed by JP Habac and starring Janine Gutierrez and JC Santos, will get to premiere worldwide at a major film-fest in Japan next month. Lead star Gutierrez announced on her Instagram page this past Wednesday, February 10, that the film has been selected for screening at the 2021 Osaka Asian Film Festival, which will be held from March 5 to 14. Director Habac then chimes in on Twitter, adding that after the world premiere at Osaka, “Dito at Doon” will release in the Philippines three days later on the 17^th, at areas where cinemas are open.

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A post shared by JANINE ✨ (@janinegutierrez)

Janine’s Instagram post had her very happy at the news, even if she herself will not be able to attend the Osaka Asian Film Festival due to ongoing concerns about COVID making travel rather dicey. “Nothing will make me happier other than you watching our film,” she says referring to the film-fest crowd, where the movie will be featured in the excitedly-labeled “New Action! Southeast Asia Section.” For his part, Habac expressed his gratitude at the OAFF organizers for selecting “Dito at Doon” for screening.

Doon muna tayo sa Japan sa March 5 tapos dito naman sa Pinas sa March 17. Oha chos hahaha. #DitoAtDoon (Here and There) will have its world premiere in this year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival!

Arigato, @oaffpress! pic.twitter.com/JfUzeUMYEp

— JP Habac (@jphabac) February 9, 2021

“Dito at Doon” from TBA Studios is a movie shaped by the circumstances of the global pandemic. It tells the story of a relationship that starts and builds online, between Len (Janine Gutierrez) and Cabs (JC Santos), with their interactions carried out primarily via electronic means: phone calls, video and chatting. Can something romantic ever come forth from communicating at such distances? Audiences of the Osaka Asian Film Festival, and later moviegoers in GCQ/MGCQ areas with open cinemas, will find out soon enough when “Dito at Doon” premieres March 5-14 for the former location, and in 17 for the latter.

Image courtesy of Cosmo PH