At the height of the pandemic in 2021, Al Jazeera reported on the plight of thousands of undocumented Filipino migrant workers in Switzerland. Because of their illegal status, it wasn’t very hard to exploit them. They were paid very little for services rendered and charged exorbitant fees to manage the high cost of living in...
Author: Rito Asilo
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‘UnMarry,’ ‘Manila’s Finest’ boost MMFF 2025’s auspicious lineup
The 50th edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) last year featured entries that had Vice Ganda (“And the Breadwinner Is…”) and Vic Sotto (“The Kingdom”) bringing their A-game to the holiday projects they chose to champion. This year’s eight-title lineup is even more auspicious, with the annual cinematic feast fielding entries that are...
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Art imitates life in Cinemalaya 2025’s hard-hitting indies
By putting a premium on thematic pertinence over pomp, formula and pageantry, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has continually asserted its place as the country’s preeminent indie showcase since 2005. It explores stories that are deemed too risky for mainstream audiences and espouses perspectives that champion the weak, oppressed and marginalized. These indies operate...
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Joey Reyes on PH’s Oscar chances, restoring film classics, and corruption in gov’t
We had high hopes for the beleaguered local film industry after the Metro Manila Film Festival’s (MMFF) sumptuous cinematic buffet last December and the CinePanalo competition in March. But in the five months that followed the MMFF, big-screen duds (like “Ex Ex Lovers,” “Everything About My Wife”) quickly outnumbered small cinematic gems like Derick Cabrido’s...
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Henry Golding on making his first TV series and creating his favorite characters
Some actors are creatures of habit, so they’re often seen doing variations of the same characters and themes. But not if movie heartthrob Henry Golding can help it. Indeed, while the handsome 38-year-old British Malaysian actor is more known for his hunky leading-man roles in films like “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Last Christmas,” “A Simple Favor”...
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‘Unfailingly sweet, phenomenal’: Mark Strong on working with Dolly de Leon and Chai Fonacier
You can’t be a film buff if you aren’t familiar with Mark Strong’s cinematic oeuvre. As versatile as he is prolific, the British actor boasts a body of work that has as many award-winning films (“The Imitation Game,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “1917”) as it has blockbuster titles (“Kingsman: The Secret Service,”...
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Why Dolly de Leon sought Sister Mary John’s advice for her role in Nicole Kidman series
Dolly de Leon generated much buzz for her portrayal of an overseas Filipino worker on an ill-fated luxury yacht in Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness.” Her performance in that Palme d’Or-winning 2022 dark comedy clinched the homegrown Filipino actress a best supporting performer trophy from the LA Film Critics Association and best supporting actress nominations...
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Viola Davis packs a mean punch as a crime-busting US president
Long before Hollywood actress Viola Davis turned the quasihistorical 2022 film “The Woman King” into a No. 1 blockbuster, she was already looking for “Die Hard”-channeling action heroines to portray onscreen. In a statement released last week, Davis recalled meeting with the filmmakers behind “G20” for the first time in 2016. Helmed by Patricia Riggen,...
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No sophomore slump for CinePanalo film festival
Indie productions have always been a source of pride and storytelling innovation for Philippine cinema. When the mainstream industry was having a hard time keeping its head above water in the early aughts, it was indie filmmaking that lifted it out of the creative doldrums, especially after Cinemalaya was launched in 2005. Without the indies,...
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Golden haul: Strong lineup boosts 50th edition of MMFF
The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has been fielding better-than-usual lineups since the Covid-19 pandemic began turning moviemaking tradition on its head in 2020. It kept counterproductive scandals at bay by awarding the coveted best picture prize to worthy winners (“Fan Girl,” “Big Night,” “Deleter” and last year’s “Firefly”) and runners-up (“The Boy Foretold by...