Limelight

by Boy Villasanta After almost four years of inactivity because of social chaos brought about by a national health emergency, the independent filmmaking industry is alive again with the seventh edition of the Sinag Maynila Film Festival, an annual project spearheaded by Solar Entertainment under the management of Wilson Tieng and the internationally acclaimed filmmaker Brillante Ma. Mendoza, Palme d’Or …

I’ve known internationally acclaimed director Brillante Ma. Mendoza for more than four decades. As a matter of course, we have worked in some film projects together which I promoted like “Gabriela” with Carmi Martin as titular lead that Boy C. de Guia, the still missing producer, entertainment journalist, talent manager and TV host line produced for Tata Esteban, the director …

Know your competitors, if not enemies, well. Or, at least, take part in a game, aware of your strengths, weaknesses and all the gray matters in between, no matter the outcome, win or lose, you are confident you did your part pretty well. Imusicapella (Photo Credit: Boy Villasanta) Woodrose Chorale (Photo Credit: Boy Villasanta) Such is sportsmanship. Everyone loves a …

by Boy Villasanta Tis the season of international film festivals to be held in Manila. The 2025 Sinag Maynila Film Festival will kick off on Sunday, August 24, 2025 in Gateway, Robinsons Manila, Robinsons Antipolo, SM Mall of Asia and SM Fairview. Meanwhile, the annual Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, one of the precursors of film fests in the country, which …

It started when the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSSA) issued a report that a certain staff from the office of Senator Panfilo Lacson had smelled from an adjacent ladies’ room an odor akin to marijuana smoke. Prior to Sen. Ping Lacson’s staff’s discovery on August 12, 2025 about a marijuana-like smell emanating from the women’s powder room, there was …

Not only prayers, but huge prayers, are needed in times like this. If they are requested for the sake of the so-called Queen of All Media Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino, plainly known as Kris Aquino, it isn’t purely personal. They even go beyond socio-political dimensions because she is a scion of national leaders however past. Like anyone else, Kris’ health …

Sweethearts for five years Shaira Diaz and EA Guzman finally tied the knot last week in Silang, Cavite. Both Shaira and Edgar Allan were ecstatic about the union. The wedding was attended by friends, colleagues and families of the newly-weds. (Boy Villasanta)

After the success of the recently concluded 2025 Palawan International Choral Festival (PICF) held at the various venues in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan where the Board of Judges laid down its verdict, it’s time for the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the Philippine Madrigal Singers to unveil the roster of acclaimed members of the choir community locally …

It takes a thorough study of music to make one not only a National Artist but as a professional musician as well. Especially if one is in pursuit of excellence and social responsibility in a chosen field of expertise, the more it requires a deeper understanding and sharing of one’s career to the public, commercially and artistically. This is the …

by Boy Villasanta When a highly esteemed entertainment personality passed on, expect an outpouring of elegies and eulogies from the many sectors of the industry–actors, writers, directors, producers, techniciand and other creatives. With the sudden demise of veteran film director Francis “Jun” Posadas on Monday morning due to heart attack right in his household, various reactions arise. Death, that comes …