Farewell Paquito Diaz

Paquito Diaz, one of the country’s most popular kontrabidas, succumbed to pneumonia at 9:45 Thursday night at his residence in Daraga, Albay. He was 78.

Only a week ago, a tabloid reported that Paquito had died, prompting his wife Nena (sister of actor Bob Soler) to comment that when a person is rumored to have died, it meant that he would live longer. Paquito had been wheelchair-bound after he suffered a stroke in 2004 that paralyzed him. He was one of FPJ’s favorite kontrabida. In 1965, he won a FAMAS Best Supporting Actor award for Ang Mananandata, an FPJ starrer. His brother Romy Diaz, also a kontrabida, died a few years ago.

Introduced in Premiere Productions’ Pandora in 1955, Paquito graduated from FEU where he was a basketball player. When he was diagnosed with pneumonia, Paquito was confined at the ICU of a hospital in Albay. He got better and was brought home where he died. Paquito is survived also by his children, among them actors Cheska and Joko; and 14 grandchildren.

His remains are at the Salvacion Funeral Homes in Legazpi City. They will be transferred to the Funeraria Paz at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City tomorrow, March 6, and will be cremated.

SOURCE: The Philippine Star

Action! CINEMALAYA YEAR 6 Begins

The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2010, now on its sixth year, is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc., in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Econolink Investments, Inc. (EII). It will be held on July 9 to 18, 2010.

In the spirit of independent expression, the Cinemalaya Awards seeks to discover, encourage and honor the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.

The works will be:
* narrative features that articulate the Filipino identity and culture
* in digital video format-to take advantage of this new, more accessible technology
* open to both filmmakers who have not yet directed a full-length commercial film, and filmmakers who have directed not more than three full-length commercial films.

There will be two main categories
* Short Feature–from 15 to 20 minutes
* Full-Length Feature – from 90 to 120 minutes.

Ten finalists were selected for the Full-length Feature category while ten finalists were selected for the Short Feature category. In the Full-length Feature Film category, each of the ten finalists received a P500,000.00 seed grant from Cinemalaya Foundation, Inc. as investment for the production.

The Awards are:

* The Best Short Feature Film will receive a grant of P100,000.00 and the Balanghai Trophy.
* The Best Full-length Feature Film will receive a grant of P200,000.00 and the Balanghai Trophy. Awards for both categories will be given on 18 July 2009 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

A new section, the Open Category, is being introduced this year. This section features Filipino filmmakers who have directed at least three full-length feature films which have been released commercially. Five finalists were selected to compete in this category.

Farewell Palito!

Veteran comedian Palito passed away Monday morning 9April 12, 2010). He was 76.

Palito, Reynaldo Hipolito in real life, died at 7:05 a.m. at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila after suffering complications from lung problems.

His son, Jhune, said his father was scheduled to undergo a CT scan in a nearby clinic along Taft Avenue in Manila.

A few minutes before they were to leave PGH, however, Jhune said Palito complained of severe pain. A few hours later, Palito was declared dead, the son said.

Palito was rushed to the Imus Family Hospital in Cavite last Tuesday after complaining of severe stomach pain.

Jhune sought the help of his father's celebrity friends, saying the family was in dire need of assistance to finance Palito’s hospitalization.

Palito’s friends immediately heeded Jhune’s appeal. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office also pledged to help the veteran comedian.

“Marami nga pong nagpapaabot ng tulong kahit marami ring nagpapanggap,” informed Jhune.

In a text message, Palito’s youngest son, Kent, thanked all the people who helped and offered their prayers.

Palito’s remains will lie in state at Funeraria Floresco in Pedro Gil in Manila.

He is survived by his wife and 5 children.

Life after fame

Born on Sept. 4, 1934, Palito was best known for his comedy films “Ram-Buto” and “Jones Bone,” which were spoofs of Hollywood characters Rambo and James Bond.

He started his acting career in the 1960s. One of his early movies was “Pitong Zapata” in 1965.

In the beginning, he was cast in straight action films. But because of his thinness, he was groomed as a comedian. His corpse-like mien and zombie look, more often than not, landed him comedy-horror characters.

Life has never been the same for the Hipolitos when Palito became sickly.

After the Hipolitos sold their house in Pacita Complex in San Pedro, Laguna some 6 years ago, they moved to Imus, Cavite for a smaller place.

“Naghahanap pa rin po kaming mga magkakapatid ng trabaho. Pa-sideline-sideline lang po kami,” volunteered Jhune.

Except for his older brother Arvin, who still resides in Laguna, Jhune said his mother and siblings are staying in a low-cost housing subdivision in Cavite. -With a report from ANC.

SOURCE: Yahoo News

Moviehouses Resume Regular Screening

January 8 marks the resumption of the screening of the non-MMFF entries and regular movies. The end of the Metro Manila Filmfest Season opens the moviehouse floodgates to regular theater screenings. First in the list of movies rolling into theaters is the resumption of the screening of the movie Avatar, which has already opened before the MMFF season and was halted temporarily during the festival season. There is also the opening of three big movies; the family-friendly Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, the hilarious Zombieland, and the mysterious Sherlock Holmes. Other MMFF movies such as Ang Panday and Shake Rattle & Roll 11, among a couple of others are still showing and are still drawing box-office numbers.

During the Christmas holiday weeks, the Metro Manila Film Festival is being held. This festival began as one which aims to showcase Filipino cinema with a week wherein only Filipino movies are being shown. Eventually, it required all theaters in the country to only show locally produced films that were chosen by a selected committee. Over the years, though, the Festival had arguably gone through changes which many consider as a decline in the quality of Philippine Cinema, and according to many, made the festival something that is merely commercial rather than one devoted to Filipino artistry. This decline in quality made a number of people abhor the festival, because it forced theaters to show tagalog movies which they considered as awful and destroys the reputation of Philippine Cinema as a whole, and because it deprived these people of watching non-MMFF movies.

THE METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL DESTROYS THE REPUTATION OF PHILIPPINE CINEMA

THE METRO MANILA FILM FESTIVAL DESTROYS THE REPUTATION OF PHILIPPINE CINEMA
By Reymundo Salao

Year after year, the Metro Manila Film Festival does nothing but promote the lousy and dark side of Philippine Cinema. And it should not be patronized.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Film Industry is divided into two major divisions; First is the indie (independent) film industry composed of indie film-makers and producers which are generally not part of the major studio system. It is not too often literal to use the term “independent” because companies like Unitel & Unico are a big production company, yet they are the company that helps in the release of indie films or comes to the aid of independent projects, and in addition, they also produce movies with indie film sensibilities. And then you also have companies like Cinema One, which is actually part of the entire ABS-CBN company, yet, it has its own sense of division and independence from the other company like Star Cinema

The second division of the Film Industry is the Mainstream Film Industry. Or if we compare it to politics, these may be referred to as the TRAPOS, the same old scums that never really introduce any good new change. The Mainstream Film Industry is composed of the big names, Viva Films, Rgeal Films, Seiko Films, M-Zet, LVN, Imus Productions, GMA Films, Star Cinema, and all the prominent film industries you hear about it in noontime variety shows and gossip news. These are the productions companies that make the same old garbage; projects that are lazy imitations and are devoid of any creativity. They have long been so skilled in the art of taking the mass audience for fools. Many of the best movies they could come up are actually copycats of already-established prominent movies. Movies like “Mano Po”, “Ang Darling kong Aswang”, and “the 2009 Ang Panday” among many other big Tagalog movies have been mere copies, products that prove a lack of originality, products that make us conclude that there is a great irony going on: these movies are made by the richest film outfits in the country, yet they could not afford to hire production teams, writers, and directors with ACTUAL Brains that can brew the imagination of a real filmmaker. Shame on them.

In contrast, Pinoy indie filmmakers can make marvelous movies on a shoestring budget, and they even manage to be triumphant as champions in international film festivals. Films like “Kubrador”, “Ilusyon”, “Yanggaw”, and “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” have been champion films. But they are never hailed locally. The masses are never familiar with them. Their fame is drowned by the publicity of really bad Pinoy movies like the cheesy romance stories that have been done over and over again without a glint of originality. And indeed, many do flock to these rotten garbage movies, while we see that the really good Pinoy movies manage to attract a handful of audiences. Who’s fault is this? Well, the big production companies of course. THEY have the power; THEY have the money. Yet they continue to breed the culture of dumb film appreciation among the masses. THEY have the power to influence maturity among the movie-going public, yet they choose to continue riding on garbage. And they would do it over and over and over again for as long as the production companies continue to be morons.

This year, the popularity of YANGGAW proved that the masses can appreciate movies that are decent in form and quality. Pinoy Filmgoers are not idiots. But the mainstream film-makers would want it to be that way. You want to support the Philippine movie industry? Watch good Filipino movies. Watching BAD Tagalog movies really isn’t helping; in fact, it destroys the Philippine movie industry by breeding and cultivating bad filmmaking and promoting bad film taste among the masses.

The Metro Manila Film Festival is the festival that celebrates the mainstream film industry. If it’s successful, then you prolong the destruction of Philippine Cinema. Mainstream Film Industry must be crushed first before we can cure Philippine Cinema. Remember that a body cannot be healthy if it tolerates an existing virus inside it....you must kill it first before becoming healthy. Pila subong ang cine? 100 per person? Spend time with your family. Buy a DVD movie instead

What's in store for CINEMANILA 2009?

The 11th Annual CINEMANILA International Film Festival kicks off a brand new decade in its new home – Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. This year’s festival will once again celebrates the best of Philippine and World Cinema in an 11-day event, running from October 15-25, 2009 at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Philippines.

First showcasing Cinemanila Film Festival in 2003 with Lifetime Achievement Awardee Christine Hakim, CNN will give due recognition to Cinemanila for the 2nd time around. In addition, there will be a Global Broadcast for a Global Cinemanila. A joint collaboration between CNN International and the Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, the popular Scene by Scene television series will introduce the 11th Cinemanila International Film Festival on October 2009 to a worldwide audience.

Aside from parallel competitions for full-length, short and documentary films, there will be distinct exhibitions, tributes, marathon showings, outdoor screenings and other special events. Master Classes, seminars and workshops will also be held during the festival and will cover subjects and issues on independent filmmaking. Directors, producers, critics and actors throughout Asia, Europe and North America will be invited to attend this 11-day event at the Bonifacio Global City.

BRILLANTE MENDOZA TO CHAIR THE JURY
Cannes Palme d’Or Best Director Brillante Mendoza heads the Main Competition Jury of this year’s Cinemanila International Film Festival.

The association between the festival and the world-renowned filmmaker goes way back, as Cinemanila was one of the very first to give Mendoza recognition. Back in 2006, Cinemanila awarded Mendoza the coveted Lino Brocka Award for his film, Manoro. Mendoza was also the Director in Focus during the festival’s momentous 10th edition last year.

MACHINIMA
This year, the City of Taguig and the Cinemanila International Film Festival give recognition to machinima with the launch of the Cinemanila Machinima Film Festival – the first event of its kind in the country. The contest is open to all individuals or groups, whether amateur, professional or independent. All entries should be in by September 21. Entries can be submitted online at www.cinemanila.org.ph.

A portmanteau of “machine cinema”, machinima is real time animation that relies on in-game artificial intelligence and digital puppetry. The first widely recognized machinima film, Diary of a Camper, was based on id Software’s Quake. The 100-minute short showcases the video game’s action and gore but in the context of a brief story. Another landmark machinima film is the Emmy Award-winning 2006 episode of South Park, “Make Love, Not Warcraft,” featuring manipulated footages from Blizzard Entertainment’s widely popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft.

Modern filmmaking gains new meaning with the onset of Machinima – a process that utilizes video games to produce short films and music videos. Since gaining mainstream attention in 1996, Machinima has since been heralded as one of the most groundbreaking movements in modern cinema.

for details on the goings-on at the upcoming festival, go to the festival's website at www.cinemanila.org.ph