What a difference a year makes. When we spoke with writer-director Jose Javier Reyes in an exclusive interview for CoverStory last year, the chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) used Ishmael Bernal’s screen drama “Relasyon” and Joey Gosiengfiao’s cult classic “Temptation Island” as tragic examples of cinematic loss to emphasize the urgent need for massive,...
Category: Entertainment
Post
‘Silkscreen’ bags Best Short Film award at Cinemalaya 2026
A testament to the dignity of manual craft and the delicate threads of familial legacy in an era dominated by rapid digital automation earned the coveted Best Short Film award at the 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. A Dipolog/Dumaguete short film, “Silkscreen” is Rey Anthony Villaverde’s second appearance on the festival’s stage, after his...
Post
Great-grandfather’s past hounds K-drama actress
“Our Sticky Love” is the latest Korean drama released by Netflix, starring the widely popular Jung Hae-in (“Love Next Door” and “Something in the Rain”) and rising actress Ha-young in her first leading role. The series tells the story of a prosecutor (Ha-young) who suffers from amnesia and goes into hiding with a boxer-turned-gangster (Hae-in)....
Post
Cinemalaya 22: Comedic Ruby Ruiz, dramatic Pokwang face off in genre-bending performances
While last year’s Cinemalaya celebrated filmmakers navigating a changing industry, the 22nd edition of the festival this month has turned its lens inward. Under the theme “Reel Reflections,” the country’s preeminent indie showcase honors cinema as a powerful mirror of the Filipino experience. This focus blazes through the themes of the festival’s nine competing feature-film entries—from the harsh...
Post
This artist-storyteller is more than her father’s daughter
“Unscripted, intimate, not publicized, not orchestrated. That’s the original form of theater!” says Lynette Carantes Bibal, this year’s Philippine LEAF (Live Entertainment, Arts and Festivals) awardee for Outstanding Performance Art for Heritage Practices for Storytelling. Lynette is a daughter of Geoffrey Carantes, artist, educator, statesman, and the first Ibaloi graduate of the University of the...
Post
‘Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet’ opens on July 25
Biñan marks a milestone in the regional arts landscape with its first-ever homegrown theater production to be staged outside the city borders. After a successful community run in December 2025, “Mapanakit! Mga Dulang Bittersweet” has officially transitioned into a tour-ready production as the maiden presentation of YPC Stage. Directed by BJ Borja and written by...
Post
‘Kumusta’: A show of Filipino-Korean cross-cultural collab
At the heart of “Kumusta,” a reality and cooking show that recently aired on TV5 and can be streamed on Viu and Rakuten Viki, is a pop-up Filipino restaurant in Seoul that serves Filipino dishes with a Korean twist. The cast features Filipino chef JP Anglo as head chef, and actresses Janella Salvador as assistant...
Post
4th Refugee Film Festival champions youth voices, stories of solidarity
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Philippines celebrated World Refugee Day last June 20 by hosting the 4th Refugee Film Festival at the Natividad Fajardo-Rosario Gonzalez Auditorium of De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila. The film festival was aimed at fostering global awareness, building empathy, and mobilizing meaningful action on behalf of the...
Post
From polarizing themes to meta-style troubleshooting: Revisiting the best films and performances of 2025
Hollywood may have wrapped up its award-giving season in March, but its local counterpart in the Philippines has yet to start rolling out the red carpet for the top achievers of the 2025 film season. The first mainstream group to honor its top picks on July 5 is the entertainment editors’ Eddys, followed thereafter by...
Post
Lessons Oscar winner Melissa Leo wants to impart to young Filipino actors
It was an opportunity every actor worth his salt couldn’t pass up. Last week, from May 6 to 10, 22 lucky young performers from ABS-CBN’s Star Magic, GMA Network’s Sparkle Artist Center, TV5’s Star Worx and Aktor PH were chosen by a selection committee to take part in an intensive workshop titled “Acting for the...