Filipinos' presence at Cannes Film Festival

News flash!

Brillante Mendoza is named Best Director at Cannes 2009 for his film, “Kinatay.” And take note, that he won over other respected directors like Ang Lee (Taking Woodstock) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) and Ang Lee under the same category.

Mendoza is the first Filipino to win Best Director at Cannes for a full-length film. He made his debut at Cannes last year for his film “Serbis.”

This year is the 62nd edition of the world’s most famous film festival.

“Kinatay” is a story of a kidnap-rape victim, played by Maria Isabel Lopez. Like the title implies, Lopez is murdered and hacked to pieces.

The most prestigious Palme d'Or (Golden Palm Award) went to Austrian director Michael Haneke for Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) while the Grand Prix award was given to French filmmaker Jacques Audiard for Un Prophete (A Prophet). Twenty films competed for the highest honor at the festival.


Here is what Mendoza said after he received The Best Director Prize "First of all I would like to thank the selection committee, who are responsible for bringing my films here for the past three years. And now with an award for Best Director, I would like to thank the Jury. And of course I’d like to thank my producer; thank you for the trust and faith in my films. I’d like to thank also a very committed staff and crew. I’d like to share this award with my daughter, Angelica, who has always been my number one critic and to an actor I really respect, Coco Martin. Thank you all for embracing my kind of cinema."

Photo of Mendoza, his acceptance speech and 2009 Cannes Festival Poster from http://www.festival-cannes.com

There were two other full-length Filipino films in the Festival, namely, “Independencia” which was a historical drama starring Sid Lucero and Tetchie Agbayani and “Manila” which starred Piolo Pascual

Plus two short films. “Sabongero” directed by Filipino-American Janice Perez and the animated short “Manong Maong” directed by Aissa Peñafiel and Miguel Ocampo.

Definitely, making a strong Filipino presence at Cannes and around the globe!

Grand Slam presence in Wimbledon

Actually, I was surprised to catch the presence of four of the best players of the world playing on Center Court at Wimbledon. I wondered. It was May. The French Open. I quickly called Chief to watch. And sent an sms to Jovy Mamawal.

And I asked myself, what was Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Tim Henman and Kim Clijtsers doing on Center Court in front of 15,000 spectators who paid £35 a head for tickets. I wasn’t sure which tournament this was until the commentator described this as a mixed double exhibition game for the inauguration of the new retractable roof of Wimbledon! Wow. A new multi-million-dollar retractable roof over Centre Court, the world’s premier tennis grand slam tournament!

We all have sat through delays and non-sense commentaries at Wimbledon because of the rains. This new roof will bring continuity to the matches! When it was used for this game, fans all tilted their heads back in unison as the 1000-tonne concertina structure over Centre Court started unfurling at eight inches a second. It actually just took a little over 7 minutes… and Center Court became an indoor arena, complete with a translucent roof and bright floodlights. However, two pigeons were trapped as the north and south sections of the roof locked together.

This game was played last May 17 and was billed as “A Centre Court Celebration.” Well, seeing Andrei kiss Steffi several times on center court is a celebration indeed. Chief and I can’t forget that marathon men’s final match between Agassi and Pete Sampras in 2002. We were still living and working in Saigon and stayed up all night to watch the game. It would be the last competitive game for Sampras and for me, the best tennis match I have seen.

Steffi Graf has not played in public since she retired from the game in August 1999. She has won 22 grand slam singles titles. She last played the mixed doubles with John McEnroe at Wimbledon in 1999.

Of course, I am assuming that she and Andrei play on their own tennis courts. Agassi used to be married to actress Brooke Shields. How many grand slam titles for the couple? 30! Yup, that much trophies at their home.

Andrei and Steffi got married in October 2001 and have a son, Jaden Gil. Yup, Gil. My nickname!

“It sure has lived up to the beauty that has existed here for a long time. It’s an exciting change, it’s an addition for the players and the fans,” Agassi said.


Wondering who won that exhibition match?

Celebrities At Staples Center

The Lakers have been forced to a Game 7 by the Houston Rockets. And must agree with Coach Phil Jackson that the team has not been consistent. And even as determined and driven to win games as the Houston Rockets. Even without Yao Ming and T-Mac, the Rockets have given pride to their franchise which won a couple of championships in the 90s.

If the Lakers lose, their 65 wins during the regular season goes down the drain and would be proof that they aren’t really a championship-caliber team.

With Game 7, the Lakers hope turn their fortune around in front on their home crowd at the Staples Center and some of the world’s leading celebrities. Below are pictures from the LA Times showing the presence on these celebrities which add glamour and “showtime” to the Lakers. And hopefully, determination and drive to win Game 7 and meet the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference Finals.

Kelsey Grammer made many of us smile for many nights in HCMC through "Cheers" and "Frazier." Now, we would surely smile wider if the Lakers win. Photo by Noel Vasquez from Getty Images.

Jack Nicholson is always on court-side. I remember him in "As Good As It Gets," where he fell in love with Helen Hunt. I did have an old crush on Helen Hunt. Did you know he has been nominated for 12 times in the Academy Awards? But he would probably wouldn't mind if the Lakers won Game 7.

Probably every music fan knows Ryan Seacrest from "American Idol." But I know him better as the new host of American Top 40 after he took over from Casey Kasem in January 2004. Now, only the number 16 counts in the playoffs! Photo by Noel Vasquez.

The “Beverly Hills Cop” is often seen at the Staples Center too. Eddie Murphy is as old as me as he was born in 1961. He has played multiple roles in a few movies and would hope that the Lakers play their role on court with more passion! Photo by Mark Tamil of AP.

One of our favorite movies with Leonardo di Caprio is “Blood Diamond” where he was nominated for an Academy Award in 2004 and “Catch me if you can” based on based on the life of Frank Abagnale Jr. Now, can the Lakers catch a win in Game 7? Photo by Mark Temil.


Another police officer often at the Staples Center is LL Cool J, who played Officer Deacon "Deke" Kaye in the 2003 version of “SWAT.” Now that movie I nearly memorized as that was the film screened in our SQ Flight to the US. I think we saw that movie 6 times! He also played Julian Washington in “Any Given Sunday.” Now, that our theme movie! Did you know that LL stands for Ladies Love? Photo by Chris Pizello of AP.

Still the biggest celebrity is wearing "24."

HIgh Crowd Presence

It was really a hot Thursday afternoon here in Pulilan, Bulacan.

Earlier, there was some shade and rains in the morning as Jenna, Donald and I had breakfast at Jollibee. Conditions changed by lunch as the sun was bright and shining during the Carabao Festival which unfolded around 2pm.

A few free-lance photographers, hobbyists like me, members of Bulacan Letratista led by Echel Darcen and tourists were all waiting for the parade to start. The program host kept on instructing the marshals, the local police and barangay tanods to push back the crowd which had built up. But “matigas ang ulo.” There is definitely a better need for crowd control.

Everyone was eagerly awaiting the parade in honor its patron saint. San Isidro Labrador. Everyone wanted to see the carabaos decorated with garland and shaved for the occasion. Everyone wanted to see these hard0wkring animals kneel in front of the church. Photo shows crowd on top of a small tower, just besides the officials specially constructed view-deck.

After I had taken enough pictures of the parade and prior the “carabao gone wild,” I snapped the people presence of these local residents above the street-level, all braving the heat and eagerly watching the parade from their vantage points.


Photo shows nuns with a good vantage point from the corner house, just across the church and view-deck constructed for the parade officials, judges and selected guests.


Sorry, can't avoid some branding from Fuji Films. But at least, they were safe from the rampage of the carabao would let loose his rage later in the afternoon.


At least this roof-top didn't collapse with the heavy weight of these crowd.

Unang Hirit in Pulilan

By 5am, I had reached the 5-Star bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City.

It has been nearly ten years since I met up with Donald Tapan. I had first met him when I was with CITEM. Our creative team worked with several known photogs for our requirements. But this Thursday, I didn’t have a Job Order or Creative Brief for him. It was really just a simple out of town leisure photo coverage of a famous festival, the Carabao Festival.

I tried to catch some sleep during the bus ride, but the excitement kept me awake most of the strip. And "Die Another Day" was being screened in the bus with the bus ticket costing only 59 pesos!


By 7am, we were in Pullilan. Took a tricycle ride to the front of the Pulilan Church. We quickly saw the production team of “Unang Hirit” already preparing for the features. The cast and crew had made an early presence to feature live the Carabao Festival in their show.

Between "Umagang Kay Ganda" and "Unang Hirit," can you guess which one serves me the local news in the mornings?

Spock's Presence

Just watched the new Star Trek film by J. J. Abrahms at the Cinema 1. And Al Roker was right to say that no a single frame was wasted in this film. He made this comment as he was exchanging words with Matt Lauer on the “Today Show” this morning. They had the original Mr. Spock as guest in that program… of course, I stayed on long enough to watch the interview.

Al Roker briefly talked to Leonard Nimoy about the new film. Nimoy said that he accepted to do the appearance after he had read the script. He probably found logic in the “return” after 129 years.

Yup, according to the film, Spock returned 129 years to the film’s presence. In the film, he is “trapped” in a icy, cold planet where the young Kirk (played by Chris Pine) is also “dispatched” by Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) after being accused of insubordination. At these times, both Spock and Kirk have not yet established the friendship that journeyed to strange new worlds and discovered new life forms.

In the film, the paths of Kirk and Dr. McCoy aka “Bones” (played by Karl Urban) is established and Spock and Kirk are at odds with each other. I was surprised to learn that Spock had become captain of the newly-built Enterprise after Captain Pike had “surrendered” to the Romulans?

Gene Roddenberry in 1964 described Spock as "probably half Martian, he has a slightly reddish complexion and semi-pointed ears.” Back in the 60s, NBC officials were reportedly "afraid" to a have an alien with pointed ears as it would scare away children. But Roddenberry prevailed.

Leonard Nimoy, who played the original Spock in the first TV series said that “he liked the character's newly logical nature, observing that the character is struggling to maintain a Vulcan attitude, a Vulcan philosophical posture and a Vulcan logic, opposing what was fighting him internally, which was human emotion." Trek historians say that if Nimou turned down the role of Spock, Roddenberry would have opted for Martin Landau. Remember, Space 1999?

I was surprised to learn of a romantic relationship between Uhura and Spock? Which will probably be the ultimate test for Spock’s emotion in the next movie.

Another surprise was to see Winona Ryder play the role of, Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother. Did she really fall and die when the planet exploded?

Today, Spock is one of the most famous and intriguing TV characters and his presence will continue to resonate across TV and cinema.

Live long and prosper!

Star Trek coming soon!

In a few days, the long wait is over. Kirk and Spock in the latest Star Trek, directed by J. J. Abrams will make their presence felt in movie screens here in the Philippines. And I feel that this film would be a good “reboot” for the franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991. He was one of the earthlings to have his ashes “buried” in space.

The 11th film from the Star Trek franchise will feature the early years of the main characters of the original series. And that means Kirk and Spock and the rest of the first crew of the Enterprise.

The story follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) studying at Starfleet Academy and his first meeting with Spock (Zachary Quinto). Eric Bana plays a Romulan. Now, that would be interesting.

What I am eager to see is the redesigned bridge. The team brought in Star Trek veteran John Eaves.

The bridge retains it’s oval shape, railings, the captain's chair, and viewscreen but has been aesthetically altered with bright colors.

McCoy’s sickbay is reportedly more modern while the transporter and engine rooms have an industrial look. The beams in the transporter also swirl rather than speckle. I looked up what speckle means in my laptop dictionary? It refers to a small spot or mark, often a small irregular patch of contrasting color.

The Starfleet uniforms still follow the original color coding (command officers wear gold shirts, science and medical officers wear blue, and Operations (technicians/engineers) and security personnel wear red). However, the female officers' miniskirts are slightly longer than the original from the 60s.

Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects. Abrams worked with visual effects supervisors Roger Guyette and Sherri Hanson, with whom he teamed up before in Mission: Impossible III.

Music is by Michael Giacchino who kept the original theme by Alexander Courage. This film was written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and produced by Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk.

The characters and the stories have surely traveled long and far since the premiere of TV series back in September 8, 1966.

And will definitely go where no one has gone before!

More Pacquiao Punches

Manny Pacquiao is called the best “pound for pound” boxer in the world.
And even sometimes, as the greatest fighter in the world? Maybe, for this year. Hmmm. Not yet, as there will always be Muhammad Ali!

Anyway, here are some of the best fight pictures taken by sports photographers at ringside and around the country to capture the raw emotion of victory and defeat.


Photo by Isaac Breken of Associated Press. That does hurt.


Another photo by Al Bello of AFP. Even the right hand can hurt.


I know one tabloid had for it's headline only one word. "Bagsak." And Even Robert Martinez, my batchmate from UST and former colleague from CITEM showed me a text message that says, "Hindi lahat ng natutulog nasa kama..." Definitely, in reference to this photo by Jae C. Hong from AP.


These are the hands that made Filipinos proud last Sunday! Photo credit to Gabriel Bouys of AFP / Getty Images.

Cheers to Manny Pacquiao! You made the country proud

Pacquiao Makes Filipinos Proud

We had arrived at Ate Lelang’s place in Pagsanjan, Laguna coming from Lucban, Quezon where we had spent our Labor Day weekend. We had traveled around 200 kilometers since Friday morning, through the province of Batangas and Quezon.

It was just before noontime and we caught Martin Nievera singing the Philippine national anthem, “Lupang Hinirang.”


Already, we were all smiles as we would be able to watch the Battle between East and West. Manny Pacquaio vs. Ricky Hatton!

The fight was a light welterweight superfight for the International Boxing Organization (IBO) and The Ring light welterweight (super lightweight) championship.


Over one of the country’s most famous halo-halo, we all eagerly watched the fight and cheered at every hook and jab that landed in Hatton’s face. Like many around the world, we were surprised that Hatton went down twice in the first round. Am sure, many wanted this fight to stretch to twelve rounds, and that includes the advertisers to paid big bucks to Solar Sports and GMA Channel 7 for spots in the bout and who viewed the fight at the MGM Grand Las Vegas at Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.


Photo shows Nady, Issa, Wila, Aida, Rene and Cecile cheering Pacquiao as Hatton goes down for the second time in the first round.

The Filipino boxer was picked by Las Vegas bookmakers as the favorite prior to the fight. And today, Pacquiao is easily the favorite of even more boxing and sports fans around the world and his presence on the ring today further cemented his spot as the “pambansang kamao” and the best pound for pound boxer in the world!


Cheers to Manny Pacquiao! You made the country and whole of Asia proud!