After its triumphant run at the 2026 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, the award-winning political drama “2 Valid IDs,” directed by Ma-an Asuncion-Dagñalan and written by Abet Pagdagdagan Raz, is taking its deeply human message for its international premiere at the 46th Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). Selected for the festival’s Panorama section and nominated...
Category: Film/TV
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What was ‘Edjop’ running for?
There is a cruel irony at the center of Katski Flores’ “Edjop.” Joyette Jopson, portrayed by Jodi Sta. Maria, spends much of the film trying to understand a father she barely knew, a man who had become, in her own formulation, more concept than parent. The film sets out to reverse that distance: to pull...
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‘Poon’: Jaclyn Jose and Ronaldo Valdez deliver a hauntingly vivid final farewell
Adolfo Alix Jr.’s horror-drama “Poon” (The Hallowed) arrives in cinemas this week (opened on Sept. 9, Wednesday) with all the makings of a major cinematic event, seamlessly blending whodunit intrigue with gritty atmospheric horror. On the surface, what’s driving its commercial potential is a multigenerational powerhouse ensemble. The film cleverly links respected icons like Gina Pareño and...
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Vilma Santos starrer gets a new lease on life as FDCP celebrates 50th year of PH cinema’s second Golden Age
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,...
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‘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...
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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)....
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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...
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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...
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‘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...
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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...