Limelight

Story and photo by Alvin I. Dacanay  A day before Rodrigo Duterte is inaugurated as our country’s new president, the Virgin Labfest (VLF), Metro Manila’s foremost festival of new one-act plays, will open its 12th edition—aptly christened Binyag (Baptism) and represented by a hatched egg containing the number “12”—at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) …

Sixty-five movies, including 10 new ones from the Philippines, will be shown in select cinemas in Metro Manila as part of the third World Premieres Film Festival (WPFF), which will run from June 29 to July 10.

As someone with ties to the Philippine literary and theater communities, it pleases me to see more of our independent filmmakers adapting Filipino novels, stories, and plays for the big screen.

In celebration of July as Philippines-Japan Friendship Month—a friendship that marks its 60th anniversary this year—The Japan Foundation Manila and Shangri-La Plaza team up again to hold Eigasai 2016, the newest edition of the annual Japanese film festival that will run at the Shang Cineplex from July 8 to 17.

Good news for those eager to watch Brillante Ma. Mendoza’s newest film Ma’ Rosa: No need to wait much longer. Last week Mendoza and Wilson Tieng, president and CEO of Ma’ Rosa distributor Solar Entertainment, confirmed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the award-winning drama would be shown in cinemas nationwide starting July 6. 

Emerging arts and performance company Artist Playground begins its second season with Happiness is a Pearl, the latest one-act play by Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame inductee Rody Vera that is set to open on June 9.

A week after Jaclyn Jose made history as the first Filipino to win the best actress award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, many Filipinos are still gushing over her triumph and how much it means to the Philippines. She certainly deserves the adulation. 

In what’s considered a first in the history of Philippine dance, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Ballet Philippines (BP), in cooperation with the Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) and Ballet Manila (BM), will jointly hold the inaugural Dance.MNL: The Philippine Dance Festival in June. 

By Alvin I. Dacanay The directors of the unexpected blockbuster biopic Heneral Luna and migrant-worker drama Imbisibol emerged as the top individual nominees at the 39th Gawad Urian after highly regarded film critics’ group Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP) announced its list of nominations last week. 

As expected, several well-known entertainers and a few athletes outshone their rivals to emerge victorious in last Monday’s national and local elections.