In a personally surprising decision made by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Oscar Committee, APT Entertainment’s “Ded Na Si Lolo” (Grandfather is Dead) was picked to represent the Philippines in the Foreign Language Film derby of the Oscars slated for the 1st quarter of next year. It outvoted other local films shortlisted for consideration such as the curiously-titled-for-comparison “Lola” (Grandmother) by Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza, Maryo delos Reyes’ “Kamoteng Kahoy” (Sweet Potato), Mark Meily’s “Baler“, Francis Pasion’s “Jay”, Mel Chionglo’s “Bente” (Twenty), Chris Martinez’ “100” and Ronaldo Bertubin’s “Last Viewing.”

"Ded Na Si Lolo" directed by Soxie Topacio
The Soxie Topacio-written and directed flick is a comedy about a hilariously dysfunctional family dealing with the death of their father (grandfather to the son of one of the siblings) and all the odd Filipino practices and superstitions that go with the 6-day wake and burial. It stars Gina Alajar, Elizabeth Oropesa, Roderick Paulate, Manilyn Reynes, Rainier Castillo, Dick Israel, Perla Bautista and BJ Forbes as the grandson who doubled as the narrator and whose character uttered the title. It was part of the Sine Direk series which was commercially exhibited on a limited one-week run a few months back.
Here is the official trailer of “Ded Na Si Lolo“:
video courtesy of YouTube/mhaye97
Director Soxie Topacio was both tense and amused when his film was selected by the FAP. He admitted that he initially rushed completion of the script (so he can comply with the requirements of DGPI – Directors’ Guild of the Philippines – for the Sine Direk series) before principal photography started. He also added that the shoot was such a breeze since everyone had fun while doing the same.
Here’s wishing that “Ded Na Si Lolo” achieves what its predecessors failed to do, i.e., make it to the Top 5 (or at least the pre-final shortlist) of the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Award.
pls help me. i couldnt make a reaction of the movie for my report. pls…. thank you 🙂
Trisha, let’s hope someone else reads your plea. The movie was shown a long time back and my recollections are no longer vivid. Besides, we may have different takes on the same, and try as I might, it’s hard to contain thoughts going into New Year’s Eve. 🙂
ano ang buod nito? patulong naman po. PLS
Click on this link: http://cbcpcinema.blogspot.com/2009/05/ded-na-si-lolo.html
It has the answer to your question, albeit lengthy at that. Good thing is that everything is written in the vernacular, deep Tagalog even. 😉
..all the superstitions here are the same in our beliefs..i like it..
..Naalala ko tuloy ang lolo’t lola kong namayapa… T_T
were can i qet the PLOT SUMMARY of DEAD NA SI LOLO 🙂
Shaina, here’s a brief plot summary of the movie:
A large family with lots of issues gather together to mourn the death of the family patriarch. But getting in the way of their genuine grief are a bunch of superstitions about the dead, and the family’s inability to deal with their issues in a civilized way.
Hope this helps. 😉
hi where can i get the summary of ded na si lolo? i need to do a book report of this movie for my nephew…pls help……thanks.
Hi aiza, thanks for dropping by! You can check out imdb.com and film.com for details about the movie. Just type ‘Ded na si Lolo’ in their respective search features. 😉
where can i watch the full movie? i liked this movie even though i got to watch the trailer only.. comedy pero “napakatotoo” =P
Med, if you search YouTube, you might find the movie and watch it in full albeit divided in parts. 😉