Limelight

By Alvin I. Dacanay  Amid the outcry over the changes in the submission rules that were implemented by the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Executive Committee (Execom) recently, one of its members defended the revisions and assured critics that the panel has taken steps to try to ensure that the shortcomings of the festival’s previous editions would not be …

Renowned Filipino singing icon Lea Salonga will perform her hit songs and other memorable tunes with the Brigham Young University (BYU) Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Kory Katseanes, in a concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) on May 30, 2017, at 8 p.m.

By Alvin I. Dacanay More than two weeks after it announced the establishment of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP, or Fiesta of Filipino Films), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) said three government-run agencies have joined it as partners for the new film festival, during which foreign movies will not be shown in commercial cinemas throughout the …

[metaslider id=15099] Story and photos by Alvin I. Dacanay  Ballet Philippines’ (BP) Firebird and Other Ballets, which included the reimagining of a Russian ballet based on a folk tale about the titular bird in a precolonial Philippine setting, emerged as the most honored production with seven awards at the 9th Philstage Gawad Buhay, which saw English-language theatrical productions and last …

The Cinemalaya Foundation has announced the finalists in the Short Feature Film category of the 2017 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and Competition. For the first time in Cinemalaya’s history, 12 were selected, instead of the usual 10. 

The Philippine Madrigal Singers and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is set to present Spirit of Asean: The Madz Et Al Choral Festival 2017 at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) on May 19 at 7:30 p.m.; 20 and 21 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; 26 at 2:30 p.m.; and 27 and 28 at 2:30 and 7:30 …

By Alvin I. Dacanay In a move seen as a return of the practices that marked earlier, scandal-plagued editions of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) and a reversal of the lauded artistic gains scored in last year’s edition, the festival’s executive committee (execom) for 2017 issued late last week its call for submissions of screenplays and finished films to …

In honor of August as Buwan ng Wika (Filipino Language Month), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is partnering with commercial theaters to exclusively screen Filipino films nationwide in an event called Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Fiesta of Filipino Films), which will run from August 16 to 22, 2017. 

Almost twenty years after it debuted at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City, Lean: A Filipino Musical will be staged for a third time, this time by the UP Manila Dramatista group, at the Adamson University Theater on May 12 and 13, 2017. 

By Alvin I. Dacanay  3 Stars and a Sun, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) musical that used the songs of the late rapper Francis Magalona in telling the story of class-divided young Filipinos struggling against a dystopian society, dominated the Gawad Buhay nominations for 2016 that also saw several onstage and offstage talents recognized twice or more.