Limelight

The William Shakespeare classic play “Romeo and Juliet” will be transformed into a musical, retitled “Romeo and Juliet, The Musical” edited with additional lyrics by Luigi Nacario, music by Eugene Belbis, and directed on stage by Meldrig Costuna and Nacario under the collaborative efforts of Kids Acts Philippines and MINT College. It will be shown at the St. Cecilia’s Hall …

Lyric, the largest musical instrument retail chain in the country, is now the official and exclusive distributor of Casio digital pianos and weighted, portable keyboards in the Philippines. The partnership between two music equipment titans brings Casio’s world-renowned digital piano innovations—including the Celviano, Privia, and Casiotone series—to Filipino musicians and hobbyists nationwide through Lyric’s 24 retail stores, numerous third-party dealers, …

by Boy Villasanta In two consecutive nights, local cinema has enjoyed appreciation from two respected award-giving bodies. Sunday evening saw the harvests of Philippine films in their glorious distinction. After ten (10) days of showing full-length features and short films, the 2025 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival handed out its bests of the best during its awarding ceremony at the Red …

Is it true that the sweet couple Derek Ransay and Ellen Adarna are headed for breakup or have they split already? According to a source, Derek was seen alone in a bar in Japan where he was caught drinking intoxicating spirits. Some witnesses said that Ramsay talked about his impending separation from Ellen. It was reported that the Fil-Brii actor …

What happens when an ordinary, poor peasant Filipino is deprived of his or her rights to live harmoniously in a place he or she calls her own after he or she was land grabbed by an unscrupulous businessman in connivance with a politician? Precisely, no matter how fictitious, character Corazon Vitug (Geraldine Villamil) builds her own republic right in the …

The 21st edition of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival which brought with it not just a fresh slate of bold, boundary-pushing Filipino films, but also a broader cinematic footprint has ended. To open more doors to Cinemalaya’s growing community of storytellers and cinephiles, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Cinemalaya Foundation Inc. continue to nurture its two-decades-old …

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Following the success of its first Metro Manila leg at Shangri-La Plaza, the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) 2025 returns to one of its longtime partner venues—the UPFI Cine Adarna—and, for the first time, expands its reach to SM City Manila, marking an exciting milestone for the festival’s growing audience in the capital. Previously closed for renovations during JFF’s February …

What’s in store for Philippine cinema the rest of the year as many films are scheduled to be released in the next remaining few months? ​Is it still right to say that the local movie industry is in doldrums? And what happens to cynics who have been saying that Pinoy movies are dead? ​Or the naysayers are doomed themselves? Consider …

by Boy Villasanta Excusing himself for a while from the promotional campaign of the biopic “Quezon,” Jericho Rosales recently flew to Africa to celebrate his birthday. It was a colorful and memorable trip for Jericho because he’s not only back in Africa for the third time to relish his palatable b-day prep-up and eventual ceremony but he was with the …

While the multi-colored lights blinked and the hustle and bustle of party-goers filled the air I found myself talking to this loquacious lady in brunet hair, brown shirt and tattered stone-washed jeans. “After my release from detention at the Pasig City Jail I resumed what I love most doing well, hosting,” volunteered this smart girl whom I would later come …