In a rare move in the local industry, an American company is set to locally distribute a locally produced film. Columbia Pictures has announced that they have gotten distribution rights for the comedy “Patay na si Hesus” starring Cannes Film Festival 2016’s Best Actress Jaclyn Jose. The Sony-owned company marks its return to local movie distribution with the T-Rex Entertainment Productions produced film. With the scenic route from Cebu to Dumaguete as its back drop, the movie serves up an unforgettably riotous road trip in which a single mother (Jaclyn Jose) drives her children in a cramped mini mini-van so they can pay their final respects to their father before he is laid to rest. The movie is in Bisaya and Tagalog. To prepare for her role, Jose took Cebuano lessons several weeks before the shoot.









Early audience reviews are in, and they are ecstatic. The film got rave recommendations from industry heavyweights and newcomers like Jerrold Tarog (director of "Heneral Luna"), Jade Castro (director of "Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington.") and Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, writer-director of "Kita Kita".

Directed by young Cebuano filmmaker Victor Villanueva, "Patay na si Hesus" is one of the 12 films selected by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) for its first Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP), which starts on August 16 in cinemas nationwide.