With the worldwide success of the “Korean wave” or hallyu, the Korean entertainment industry is now regarded as one of the most prominent, productive and moneymaking enterprises on the planet. Korean cinema already conquered the world market in 2016, when “Train to Busan” made a killing at global box offices. In 2019, “Parasite” won the...
Author: Boy Villasanta (Boy Villasanta)
Post
Stage actor-turned-businessman comes full circle
Ignacio Gimenez who? It’s been seven years since I first heard that name—a donor for a theater to be constructed on the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) grounds. Former CCP vice president and artistic director Chris Millado kept on harping on the edifice before and during the coronavirus pandemic, and continued to push for...
Post
Unhappy Heart and the loudest whisper
Is it literally the seven-year itch? Heart Evangelista and her husband, Sen. Chiz Escudero, recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary, but the loudest whisper these days is that their marriage is on the rocks. Adding to the intrigue was GMA Network’s supposed impending official announcement on the alleged breakup. But according to entertainment writer Dave Rojo,...
Post
Filming in the boondocks on a shoestring budget
The short documentary was supposed to be about the indigenous language of the Aeta in the remote, hilly village of Villa Espina in Lopez, Quezon (boondocks). It was my intended entry to the 2022 Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) in Sabah, Malaysia, on Sept. 17-25. But a tight production schedule and a looming deadline...
Post
The militancy in/of Jay Altarejos
It’s not every day that one encounters a militancy in/of a filmmaker like Joselito “Jay” Altarejos. Local show business isn’t traditionally and usually attuned to or associated with activism, political or otherwise; it’s more known for glitz and glam, if not gossip. Anything of the hoi polloi, the great unwashed, and being combative, truthful and...
Post
This master of fantasy and horror films was born in Manila
The name of American filmmaker Brian Yuzna might not ring a bell to the mass audience of commercial films, especially from Hollywood, but he is a master in his own right. Come to think of it, Yuzna is on a par in innovations with such legends as Alfred Hitchcock or Brian de Palma, or even...
Post
From fish vendor to town mayor
I was in Dolores, Eastern Samar, a few weeks ago and had a chance to take a photo of the new mayor of the third-class municipality (annual income: P15-20 million) facing the Pacific Ocean, on a billboard near the port. The story of Rodrigo “Onoy” Rivera, 62, a fish vendor who became mayor, is one...
Post
A tale of two int’l film festivals
BUCHEON CITY—The saying “You can’t be in two places at once” no longer holds water given one’s overwhelming presence, literally, in this era of cybertechnology. On the visceral level, one can virtually recreate manifold characters by way of cloning (computer image generation) in multiple time zones. (A tale of two …) This I learned when...
Post
‘I won’t let politics ruin my beauty’
Unlike in her previous defeats in electoral contests in Laguna, the actor-comedian known as “Miss Flawless” now sees no need to cry a river.”It’s impractical to cry anymore. What for? At least I know my constituents love me,” Angelica Jones, now 39, said in Filipino shortly after the May polls.“I won’t let politics ruin my...
Post
Pride Month: Ice calls for street marches for gay rights
Not only is June a season for weddings and romantic unions; it is Pride Month as well. As part of the celebration, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has launched a film festival showcasing LGBTQIA+-themed audiovisuals in cinema houses nationwide until June 26. I was among those invited by the FDCP Channel to...