Pinoy rock icon Pepe Smith is getting rave reviews as the lead actor in the first full-length feature film of Malaysian director Bradley Liew.
“In Singing in Graveyards, Smith doesn’t merely play a broken entertainer, but one whose career was spent impersonating a rock star based on — wait for it — Joey ‘Pepe’ Smith,” explains The Hollywoord Reporter.
The US-based entertainment media outfit gave the film a good review, describing it as “a visually poised and emotionally searing character study of a man’s engagement with a lost past and a harsher present.”
Indeed, as InterAksyon noted, “The film premiered at the Critics Week section of the Venice International Film Festival last month, where it earned rave reviews.”
Singing in Graveyards is also one of five features to be showcased in Busan International Film Festival’s “A Window on Asian Cinema” section. The film will be screened alongside Lav Diaz’s Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis, Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa, Ato Bautista’s Expressway, and Anton Juan’s Woven Wings of Our Children.
After Busan, the film is set to compete in Sao Paolo (Brazil), Thessaloniki (Greece), Hawaii (USA), Kolkata (India), and Entrevues Belfort (France).
The film will compete for the Halekulani Golden Orchard Award as part of the Main Competition section in the Hawaii International Film Festival.
Smith’s co-stars in the film include Susan Africa, Mercedes Cabral, Lav Diaz, and Ely Buendia, who plays his son.
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