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...
Category: Film/TV
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‘Isang Himala’: adapting an adaptation
Let’s be clear about this. “Isang Himala,” an entry in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, is not a remake of the original film in 1982. It is a film reimagination of the theater musical first staged in 2003 which was based on the film. An adaptation of an adaptation. If there are crossover artists, Ricky...
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The business of the Metro Manila Film Festival
The Metro Manila Film Festival is now 50 years old, and my memories rush in. When I was a young movie fan in grade school, I considered its precursor, the Manila Film Festival (MFF), a grand fiesta of Filipino films. I anticipated the event, reading about it in the weekly Manila publications Philippines Free Press,...
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How are seniors in show biz coping?
When journalist Lolly Rivera Acosta invited me to guest on her daily radio show “Sulong na, Bayan” over dwIZ, I quickly said yes. I was ready to talk about senior citizens in show biz precisely because I am one of them. I marked the milestone in 2014, in time for my presidency of the Lopez...
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‘Batang Quiapo’: Behind the ‘teleserye’ scenes
Apo Manuel and his fake gold bars will haunt me for a little more time. If you don’t get the reference, that only means you are busy with life, and that’s fine, too. Apo Manuel is the name of the character I played in the phenomenal teleserye, “Batang Quiapo,” now on its third year. The action-drama...
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Cultural group Tribu in the glitz of showbiz
Show business isn’t only about Kathryn Bernardo and Dingdong Dantes, or about Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos. Nor is it only about ABS-CBN, GMA7, TV5, Viva Entertainment, UNTV, Star Cinema, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), The Company, Gary Valenciano, Sarah Geronimo, etc. Show business is also about tenors Nazer Salcedo and Terence Gil Guillermo,...
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Why the local film industry isn’t dying (or the return of the Sinag Maynila Film Festival)
Who says Philippine cinema is dying, or in fact has died? On the contrary, many films were produced in 2023 and more are being made this year. In my Philippine cinema report of 2023 for the 2024 “Made in Asia” book of the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in Bucheon City, South Korea, it...
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Thoughts on the 20th Cinemalaya
The 2024 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival isn’t over yet. It concluded its official annual run last Aug. 11 at Ayala Malls Manila Bay and other cinemas, but there are still screenings reserved for some post-event schedules. And there are still thoughts left unsaid. Classified by a film buff as “The Best of Cinemalaya at...
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The personal is political in ‘And So It Begins’
Let’s get one thing out of the way: “And So It Begins” is not a film about the 2022 Robredo-Pangilinan campaign. The lawyer Leni Robredo herself made this clear as an introduction to the crowd gathered for the Philippine premiere of the latest documentary by Ramona S. Diaz. The plan had been to film a...
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The world’s filmmaking giants gather in ‘Made in Asia’
There are two versions of “Made in Asia”—one a book (now an ebook) and the other a forum. It is both a compilation and a yearly business conference of like-minded individuals tackling the market trends in at least 14 filmmaking capitals in Asia—China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Thailand, Vietnam,...