Cinemalaya Winner John Denver Trending Is Set for Wide Release in South Korea, a First for Filipino Cinema

(SPOT.ph) John Denver Trending, which explores the dark side of social media virality, will break ground as the first Filipino film to be screened widely in South Korea, the Film Development Council of the Philippines said.

The 2019 Cinemalaya Best Full Length Feature entry will be released on November 23 at CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox in major South Korean cities, the FDCP said Tuesday, November 15.

Also read: Ban Korean Dramas? Sen. Jinggoy Estrada Says It Crossed His Mind for the Good of Filipino Shows, Artists

What John Denver Trending is about

The indepedent film tells the story of 14-year-old farmboy John Denver Cabungcal (Jansen Magpusao) whose life turns upside down in a span of five days after he was accused of stealing an iPad and was seen beating up a classmate in a viral video. Meryll Soriano also starred in the film as Cabungcal's mother Marites.

It tells the "dangers of social media, particularly to the vulnerable Filipino millennials", said director Arden Rod Condez. It bagged multiple awards in the 2019 Cinemalaya fest, including Best Film - Full Length Feature, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Original Musical Score. Magpusao also won the Best Actor award.

John Denver Trending was first screened in South Korea in October 2019 when it competed at the 24th Busan International Film Festival. 

"Happy that this South Korean theatrical screening of our film is gaining some notice. We're so blessed to have a very eager SK distributor who spent so much for the promo. Bonus na yung tinawag nya akong 'very handsome'," Condez said on Twitter.

Want to watch (or rewatch) John Denver Trending? Stream the award-winnig film via iWantTFC.