PH RUN FOR CANNES-WINNING DYSTOPIAN FILM ‘PLAN 75’

TBA Studios has acquired the exclusive Philippine theatrical rights to the award-winning film “Plan 75.” Written and directed by Chie Hayakawa, the dystopian drama premiered in the Un Certain Regard category at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and won the coveted Camera d’Or prize.

Based on Hayakawa’s segment of the same title from the 2018 anthology film “Ten Years Japan,” “Plan 75” paints a harrowing look at a not-sodistant future when the Japanese government launches a program that encourages voluntary euthanasia for senior citizens to remedy a super-aged society.

The film stars veteran actress Chieko Baisho as an elderly woman whose means of survival are vanishing, Hayato Isomura, a pragmatic Plan 75 salesperson, and Filipino actress Stefanie Arianne as a caregiver working overseas to support an ailing daughter back home. The film is an international coproduction among Japan, France and the Philippines.

“I am happy to hear the much-awaited news that ‘Plan 75’ will finally reach the audience in the Philippines. I am truly grateful to all the Filipino cast members and producers who believed and supported this film,” Hayakawa said.

With its theme of family, death, loss, and a sense of community, TBA Studios is confident that the moving drama would resonate with Filipino audiences. “Plan 75” is Japan’s submission in the International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

Another day added for the Manila stop of ‘Bianca Del Rio: Unsanitized’ tour

Catch the second date of LA Comedy Live’s “Bianca Del Rio: Unsanitized-Manila” at the Samsung Hall - SM Aura Premier on Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. Del Rio previously performed her sold-out “It’s Jester Joke” shows at this same venue in 2019. That was also Bianca’s debut show in Manila, where she was warmly welcomed by her Filipino fans who’ve long waited for the chance to see one of their favorite queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

The Manila stop is part of the “Unsanitized” world tour, which has had more than 100 performances to date. Get your tickets via SM Tickets. To know more about LA Comedy Live, visit www.la-comedylive.com

‘The Woman King’ in theaters on Oct. 5

Viola Davis said she had a good reason to do “The Woman King,” which will be shown in Philippine theaters beginning Oct. 5. “I felt ‘The Woman King’ was an important story because I saw myself in it,” the Oscar-winning actress explained.

Inspired by true events, the film, which is distributed by Columbia Pictures, is about the historical all-female unit of warriors who protected the Kingdom of Dahomey from the late 1600s until the 1800s.

She added, “I saw my femininity in it. I saw my blackness in it. I saw a really important part of history in it. I always say any part of history is important, even the small parts. And I think that it is a story that the world is hungry for.”

The movie follows the epic journey of General Nanisca (Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits, and trains them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

The Agojie warriors lived to serve, defend and protect the Dahomey kingdom and its king. The kingdom was one of the wealthiest at the time, and its defenders, the Agojie, were the most feared warriors in West Africa, in the territory we now recognize as modern-day Benin.