Instituto Cervantes trains the spotlight on Spanish Javier Bardem, who recently won the Best Supporting Actor plum at the Academy Awards for his turn as a chilling sociopath hitman in the movie No Country for Old Men.
The film cycle traces memorable movies from Bardem’s illustrious career, including the movie Before Night Falls, where he was [...]

By Seymour Barros Sanchez

The author with Howie Severino (pinoypress photo courtesy of Seymour Barros Sanchez)

“Bago pa naging rebolusyon, highway lamang ang EDSA…” Thus starts Howie Severino’s voice-over in his documentary about the former Highway 54. Although several i-Witness episodes strike a chord in me, I prefer Howie’s “Biyaheng Edsa” over the rest, not only because [...]

Senator Loren Legarda urged today the anti-cyber crime units of the government to shut down the website thepinoytube.com for providing an unrestricted access to pornographic materials of Filipino women and children.
Legarda said that a complaint from a concerned citizen alerted her office about the website serving as a repository of lewd materials similar to boybastos.com. [...]

PBO, VIVA Productions’ Pinoy movie channel, announces the finalists to its DIGITALES 2 film competition: “Shorts” by Seymour Barros Sanchez, “Hiling” by Patricia Lorraine C. Rosal, “OFW – Ang Bagong Bayani o Baliw na Bayani” by Noriel M. Jarito, “Ambulancia” by Richard Legaspi, “ISA” by Ronald Espinosa Batallones, “Kwidaw” by Roswill Hilario, and “Walang Paraiso” [...]

Brian Gorrell, the Australian whose explosive blog about his “social-climbing” Filipino ex-lover is now a certified cause célèbre, has launched a boycott campaign against The Philippine Star, the newspaper that carries the columns of at least two of the main (sordid) characters in his real-life telenovela.
Gorrell argues that, by not doing something about his [...]

Sandra Aguinaldo reports how overseas Filipino Workers used to send home Balikbayan boxes to their families. The boxes usually contain chocolates, imported clothes, shoes and toys.
But times have changed. They now send home babies.
Korea is one of the few countries with lenient laws against illegal foreign workers, resulting in the steady increase of Filipino TNTs [...]

BOUNCE, the only college culture magazine, invites all student journalists and artists from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to join two new inter-collegiate competitions!
I. THE 1ST BOUNCE COLLEGE CULTURE PHOTO CONTEST
Theme: Capturing College Culture
Send in your photographs that represent your definition of college culture and win a round-trip ticket to Boracay, courtesy of Asian Spirit.
Submission of [...]

“Lababo,” which won the grand prize in the first Viva – Pinoy Box Office (PBO) Digitales short film competition, will be shown on March 6, Thursday, 4:50 P.M. at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC) auditorium as part of the second CineVita Film Festival.
Advocacy filmmaker Seymour Barros Sanchez co-directed the [...]

Fresh from its Best Short Narrative victory at the first Quisumbing-Escandor Film Festival for Health, Richard Legaspi’s “Ambulancia” will be shown on March 6, Thursday, 1 P.M., at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC) auditorium, University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila, as part of the 2nd CineVita Film Festival.
“Ambulancia,” a short film which tells of [...]

Rianne Hill Soriano’s first 35mm short film “Karsel,” her thesis film at the University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI), screens at the 2nd CineVita Film Festival on March 7, 10 A.M., at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC) auditorium, University of Santo Tomas, España, Manila.
“Karsel,” recipient of the Kodak Film Award 2003 and Best [...]

As homage to the country’s multi-awarded scriptwriter, Ricky Lee, a film festival will be organized in his hometown from Feb 4-10 to feature some of his prizewinning films.
The event is part of the World Arts Festival organized by the City of Daet, Camarines Norte under the initiative of Mayor Tito Sarion.
Lee’s scripts have resulted into [...]

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today expressed concern that an episode in the film “Sakal Sakali Saklolo” is conveying a wrong message to Filipinos by seemingly denigrating the use of the Visayan language, which is most widely spoken in the Visayas and large parts of Mindanao.
Pimentel specifically cited a portion of [...]

Danny Arao has a collection of interesting, often hilarious, signs he and his wife Joy collected during their travels. Check it out here.

Tirador (Slingshot) – All the World Is Raving!
Tirador Philippine Gala Premiere
The UP Film Institute is most proud to hold the Philippine gala premiere of Brillante Mendoza’s Tirador (international title: Slingshot, 86 minutes) this Monday, 3 December 2007, at 7 p.m. as the opening film of Cine Veritas Human Rights Film Festival.
The film is the sixth [...]

Everyone is invited to the world premiere of nine
films from Mindanao at the Kontra Agos Film Festival
at Indie Sine, Robinson’s Galleria, Ortigas Center on
December 5 and 6.
Adjani Arumpac’s full length film “Walai” will open
the festival at 7
p.m. on December 5.
“Walai” is an exploration of spaces. It prods on the
memories of four
Muslim women who once lived [...]

The 2007 Cinema One Originals Digital Movie Festival
Trinoma (Cinema 1)
Edsa corner North Avenue
November 30, Friday
12:05 pm HULING BALYAN NG BUHI
(The Woven Stories of The Other)
2:00 pm CONFESSIONAL and Astig
3:50 pm Agogo Makabago (Pandanggo segment)
and MALING AKALA
6:15 pm PRINSESA
8:30 pm TAMBOLISTA
10: 10 pm ALTAR
December 01, Saturday
11:15 am Ang Pagbalik and PRINSESA
1:45 pm TAMBOLISTA
3:30 pm Putot and [...]

LOVE KNOWS NO BORDERS IN “BATANES”
Trailer link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV8vFdb-BTE
There’s nothing like a great love story to move us. Love may slip through your fingers but life goes on. There’s always a better promise of things to come. Love may be lovelier the second time around.