What’s on the world cinema landscape this year? The prevailing temperament, style and substance of filmmakers and markets in the Asian capitals, including Manila? Writer-producer Roger Garcia, who was born in Hong Kong but grew up in England, is one of the best resource persons to talk about movies. He is the executive director and...
Tag: film
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Raised fists, tied hands, deferred hopes: ‘GomBurZa’ and the darkness of our time
The film “GomBurZa” teaches us much about Philippine history, but it should also be appreciated as an expression of, and response to, our bleak political predicament. It is as much about 2022 as 1872. Just as 1872 saw the Spanish colonial state crack down on liberalism in the Philippines, so did 2022 witness the lopsided...
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The Metro Manila Film Festival shows an industry alive and kicking
Awards nights are not complete without questioning the decisions of the jury, and the awards night of the 2023 edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) on Dec. 27 was no exception. Eyebrows were raised when “Firefly” was declared best picture over “GomBurZa,” which came in second. “GomBurZa,” after all, won more technical awards—best...
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Coming soon: the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival vs livestreaming
At the rate things are going, with most local movies screened in theaters ending up in the doldrums, what fate awaits the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF)? Ten official entries will be shown in cinemas all over the country starting on Dec. 25 until Jan. 7, and elsewhere like Los Angeles, California, from Jan....
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Netflix’s ‘Chef Chico’ offers delicious viewing experience
“Replacing Chef Chico” is a taste test of how far Filipino creatives can satisfy the international audience. And from the rave reviews and positive feedback it has been receiving since it was released globally last Nov. 24, it looks like the first Filipino-produced series on Netflix has passed the test. As of this writing, the...
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Remember Vida Verde, sexy actress of the ’80s?
TUMAUINI, Isabela—I hate to call them “bold stars,” those nymphets who bare their bodies on screen. But in the past and down to the present, I toe the line of the consumerist’s tag to sell a product. For the moment, though, let me use the term “sexy actress” to describe Vida Verde, one of the...
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Hello, Dolly
Last Sunday at a mall in Quezon City, shrieking fans were applauding the young box-office sensation Kathryn Bernardo and the seasoned actor Dolly de Leon. Damn, one thought, it’s about time. The occasion was a promo activity for “A Very Good Girl,” Kathryn and Dolly’s latest project which starts showing today, Sept. 27, in cinemas...
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‘Delikado’: forest defenders in the line of fire
The earth’s last remaining forest cover cleans the air we breathe, purifies water systems, provides habitat for plants and animals, and even helps slow down climate change by removing heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It benefits everyone, but what happens if trees are indiscriminately cut for the high-value wood, if the most profitable minerals...
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Hits and misses in the Summer Metro Manila Film Festival
In an earlier face-to-face interview with lawyer Josabeth “Joji” Alonso, chief operating officer of Quantum Films, she casually said that an official entry to the ongoing Summer Metro Manila Film Festival (SMMFF), “About Us But Not About Us,” wouldn’t make money. To think that her office is a co-producer of the project. But then she said...
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Film continues to help Filipinos remember the sins of martial law
Shortly after World War II, many survivors of the attempted annihilation of Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies recalled the final plea of their fellow prisoners while being herded to impending death: “Remember! Do not let the world forget!” It was in honoring that anguished plea that Holocaust survivors set up exhibits and scholarly...