Limelight

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is accompanying 10 Filipino films in the 21st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which opened on Oct. 6 and runs until Oct. 15, to support the directors behind those movies and celebrate their works as these are screened to an international audience.

Did you know that Nadine Lustre has been bringing a “third wheel” to her dates with boyfriend James Reid for months now? No, it’s not a chaperone or a dutiful friend. And no, it’s not JC Santos, their equally handsome co-star in the hit ABS-CBN telenovela Til I Met You. 

To further reinforce the power and immense value of Philippine regional cinema, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), led by Chairwoman Liza Diño, has been busy lending ears and hands to our filmmaking and film-appreciating brothers and sisters in the regions. 

The Theater House of Black, whose members recently staged a new Filipino adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s classic play The House of Bernarda Alba, seems to have a penchant for houses that are shrouded in mystery, for its next production is #14 Leandro Road, an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s celebrated 1839 short story “The Fall of the House of …

Story and photo by Alvin I. Dacanay  Blockbuster biopic Heneral Luna crushed its competition at the 34th Luna Awards of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) on Sept. 18, garnering all but one of the 11 trophies it was up for during a ceremony that marked the end of the protracted movie-awards season for 2015. 

One week after Ladies Who Launch’s Never Again: Voices of Martial Law and Artist Playground’s Lagablab (Conflagration) opened, two more Filipino productions are set to debut this weekend, proving once more the vibrancy of the Manila theater scene, as well as the rich and varied options now available to faithful theatergoers. 

If you’re the type who thinks 1960s British rock music and buddy-cop movies and television shows are the best in entertainment, consider yourself lucky. Why? Because last week saw the local debut of a documentary about an iconic band and the small-screen version of a successful Hollywood franchise that may give you a nostalgic fix. 

What a wonderful week last week was. What an awesome year 2016 is turning out to be for Filipino movies—and for one uncommon and uncompromising filmmaker, in particular. 

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Arthouse Cinema, in cooperation with Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (Sofia), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation Inc., presents Manuel Conde@100 at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde on Sept. 24, and Oct. 1 and 8. 

By Alvin I. Dacanay Box-office hit Heneral Luna led all contenders in the 34th Luna Awards of the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) with 11 nominations, the latest addition to the long list of honors earned by the acclaimed screen biography of the iconic Philippine Revolutionary Army commander.