Maria Bautista Marcus, one of the founders and the President of the International Vegas Cine Fest Awards, believes that there is more to the film industry that the audience and the aspiring filmmakers should know. In an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal, true-blue Filipina Maria shares why she takes the job of being the President of the Vegas Cine Fest by heart.
Being at the center of a bright spotlight, beaming before the flashing cameras, and meeting some of Hollywood’s most important people may be a far-fetched dream for others; but for Maria Bautista Marcus, there is more to Hollywood than the glitz and glamour.
For Maria, it was like fate had its way of telling her that she was meant to be in show business. She started out young as a performer, acting and producing for her family’s restaurant business in Hawaii, where she was raised since she was four. Her warmth and charm earned her a succession of acting stints, being called for several TV, film, and commercial auditions in Honolulu.
Her intense interest for entertainment and arts inspired her to move to California, where she got to work in TV and film productions. She has also coordinated for reality shows produced by MTV, Mark Burnett Productions and Indie Filmmakers and Producers in Hollywood. Considered as one of the TOP 100 Bloggers in Los Angeles, Maria also wrote and produced a short film called Honeymoon in Paradise that was screened in Cannes during the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
California is where Maria also met her husband, Philip Marcus, who is one of the most innovative, award-winning independent French producers/directors in Hollywood. They have been together for six years.
Philip has produced television shows and documentaries for the French and Canadian Networks and has managed the production of movies: Vipers, The Turning, Bloody Madonna, and Taken Alive, among many others. He is also a successful producer/director of music videos; creating over 85 videos for famous artists like Bon Jovi’s You Give Love A Bad Name, which won “Best Video of the Year” at the American Music Awards. He also contributed to Nirvana’s title album cut that was tagged as “Best Alternative Video of the Year” at the MTV Awards.
Happily married to Philip to whom she has a daughter, Maria shared that her husband taught her “everything behind the lens, directing, producing, and so on.” She revealed that her appreciation for the creativity of writers and filmmakers complimented Philip’s experience in Hollywood.
“...His world became my world, if that makes sense. I just see the whole picture and come full circle.”
Maria, who has been living with Philip in Las Vegas, Nevada for six years now, shared Philip’s belief in the potential of writers and filmmakers of short and indie films of making it big in Hollywood. The couple saw a lack of effective contests and award-giving bodies that could actually help these creative people to advance in the entertainment industry. Thus, giving birth to the Vegas Cine Fest, which, according to Maria, “started as an online film festival” that just accepted scripts.
“It [Vegas Cine Fest] started to get bigger, so we decided to expand on accepting features, and from there we needed to have an Awards Show, and the idea of actually having a film festival with Awards Show came to mind.”
A non-profit organization, the International Vegas Cine Fest became a venue not only for independent short filmmakers and writers, but also for industry veterans who want to share and apply their experiences with other professionals in the industry.
Since its inception in 2008, the International Vegas Cine Fest Awards has provided writers and filmmakers “the assistance needed to produce and expose their projects and then continue on to other major film festivals around the world.” Recognized as “one of the top five emerging film competitions in the US,” the Vegas Cine Fest is a three-day festival event, showcasing more than 50 features, shorts, and documentaries. The festival also include panel discussions and themed parties “where people come from all over the world,” said Mr. Marcus.
This year’s Vegas Cine Fest (which ran from August 25-27) featured the world premiere of Manny Pacquiao’s documentary film. The film showed the singing pound-for-pound boxer’s preparation for his title fight against Antonio Margarito. It also coincided with the release of his version of the song, Sometimes When We Touch, which was also the title of the documentary. Manny recorded the song in the same studio with the original songwriter and singer of the three-decade old song, Dan Hill. The video was also directed by Sandrine Orabona, who was also the editor for Michael Jackson’s This Is It.
For Maria, choosing Manny Pacquiao to feature in the festival uplifted her Filipino pride. In fact, she even said that she “would like to have more Filipinos involved with” the Vegas Cine Fest. And while there have been several Asian entries in the Vegas Cine Fest like Silent Music and Kosher Pig, Maria said she wishes for more Asians, especially Filipinos, to submit their entries in the Vegas Cine Fest in 2012 and in the years to come.
“We need more Asians to showcase their talents. And since I am Filipina, I really want the Asian community to get involved & participate in this event. Asians are a unique group, and do very well in the Industry. I would like to see more of them and see the many talents there are in Vegas...”
Maria encourages everyone to follow their dreams and “never give up.” With enough patience and hard work, she believes that anyone could succeed especially in the field of filmmaking.
Maria and Philip invite those who want to showcase their talent in writing and making short and documentary films to join the next International Vegas Cine Fest which will happen on June 21-24 2012. To find out more about the different categories and other information about the Vegas Cine Fest, willing participants can go to their website at: http://www.vegascinefest.com.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(OCIE Nov 25-Dec 1, 2011 RedCarpet pg.2)
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