Kung Fu Divas

Kung Fu Divas
Directed by	Onat Diaz
Screenplay by	Onat Diaz
Story by	Onat Diaz
Produced by	Leonardo Po Erik Matti Louie Araneta Joseph Nebriaga Dondon Monteverde Onat Diaz Martina Aileen de las Alas Marian Gracia Rivera
Starring	Ai Ai delas Alas Marian Rivera
Cinematography	Anne Monzon Monchie Redoble
Edited by	Christopher Cantos Billy de Leon Jay Halili Melvyn M. Quimosing Bong Villasenor
Music by	IJ Garcia
Production companies	Star Cinema Reality Entertainment The O&Co. Picture Factory
Distributed by	Star Cinema
Release date	October 2, 2013 (2013-10-02)
Running time	125 mins
Country	Philippines
Languages	Tagalog English
Box office	₱65 million (4 weeks)

Kung Fu Divas is a 2013 Philippine action comedy film directed by Onat Diaz and starring Ai Ai delas Alas and Marian Rivera. The lead stars also co-produced the film which opened in theaters on October 2, 2013 as part of Star Cinema's 20th Anniversary presentation.

This film is a parody of Gu Long's Wuxia novel Juedai Shuangjiao.

Plot

Charlotte (Ai Ai de las Alas) is from a family of beauty queens, but she has yet to win a title of her own. Her final chance is the Hiyas ng Dalampasigan Pageant (literally, Seaside Jewel Pageant), and her mother has taken steps to make sure that she wins. But her chances are dashed when the mysterious Samantha (Marian Rivera) suddenly joins the contest. The two become bitter enemies following the contest, but they are soon forced by destiny to team up. It turns out the two have a hidden connection to a mystical past, and must work together to discover the truth about their heritage.

Cast

• Ai Ai delas Alas as Charlotte/Lyna (xiao yu'er?)
• Marian Rivera as Samantha/Mena (hua wu que?)
• Roderick Paulate
• Gloria Diaz as Charlotte's Adoptive Mother
• Edward Mendez as Kojic/Kojic's Father
• Nova Villa
• Ruffa Gutierrez
• Martin Escudero
• Roy Alvarez† as Charlotte's Adoptive Father
• Precious Lara Quigaman
• Bianca Manalo
• German Moreno† as Hiyas ng Dalampasigan Host (Cameo)
• Vicki Belo as a fictional version of herself (Cameo)
• Cacai Bautista as Samantha's original face (Cameo)

Reception

Duane Lucas Pascua of Spot.ph (a publication of Summit Media) both gave praise to the film and its director, saying: "One of the key strengths of the film is how it pokes fun into the varied facets of modern Filipino culture while managing to stay away from being preachy." Nestor U. Torre of Philippine Daily Inquirer said the film is "visually vivid, doesn't scrimp on production values, and elicit perky performances from its actors," while also pointed out that it "fails to come off as a complete treat, due to deficiencies in its storytelling, and what eventually turns out to be its too varied mix of disparate elements, which fail to harmoniously fuse together by the film’s final fade."

International Film Festivals

• FANTASPORTO 2014-34th Oporto International Film Festival
  • Official Selection - Orient Express Section
• 14th Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival
  • Official Selection - New Cinema From Asia
• Feratum 2014, Mexico
  • Exhibition Film

Awards

• 62nd FAMAS Awards 2014
  • Best Special Effects - Winner
  • Best Actress: Marian Rivera - Nominated
  • Best Cinematography - Nominated
  • Best Production Design - Nominated
  • Best Visual Effects - Nominated

External links

• Kung Fu Divas on Facebook
• Kung Fu Divas at IMDb