Tag: Philippines

On Why Leonor Will Never Die on Home Video!

Ramirez Escobar delivers a lot of classic and cheesy 80s action in Leonor Will Never Die. We can see why this “Mom” loves the genre.

Leonor Will Never Die Movie PosterMusic Box Films
Available to order on Amazon USA

Worlds collide, and as for why Leonor Will Never Die is because she simply refuses to give up! This elderly woman (sweetly played by Sheila Francisco) wants to be a screenwriter for those movies she loves watching. She adores action films and did work in the industry long ago.

Although what she writes is for a Filipina audience, her love for the genre is very clear. I’m sure she can be the next Stephen J. Campbell if she wanted to. But her son, Rudi (Bong Cabrera) can’t put up with her. He plans to leave the nest, and little is said about how the other, Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon), died. In classic ghost story fashion, he can’t move on until he sees the rest of the family is in a good place.

Continue reading “On Why Leonor Will Never Die on Home Video!”

Joe Koy’s Easter Sunday in October. It’s Not Strange At All.

This character study about the inner workings of this Polynesian family in the movie Easter Sunday isn’t too deep. It’s at least entertaining.

Easter Sunday
Available to purchase on Amazon

Joe Valencia (stage name Jo Koy) is a comedic talent worth noting because he cites two comedy legends—Robin Williams and Steve Martin—as huge influences. Both made successful transitions to the big screen, and to be on par in Easter Sunday will take a lot more work.

He can do it. This movie sees him getting top billing, and its success must go beyond being a family sitcom about a Filipino household coming together for their Asian style holiday. The theatrical release in August and home video issue in Oct is unusual, but I welcomed this change of pace. The bonus material is nothing to rave about, and the best takeaway is that it was filmed during the pandemic. As for what it took to bring two of my favourite entertainers to this production, I was hooked.

Continue reading “Joe Koy’s Easter Sunday in October. It’s Not Strange At All.”

Kent Donguines’ Kalinga Digs into a Strange Social Problem

Kalinga (Care) is a very emotional documentary about a group of Filipino women who left their families to become nannies abroad.

KalingaPlaying at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival at the 2220 Arts + Archive venue on May 10, 2022, 7:00 pm (BUY TICKETS)

Kalinga (Care) is a very emotional documentary with a local connection. It examines a group of Filipino women who left their families to become nannies abroad. Some arrived in the ironically named Terminal City (Vancouver, BC) to help non-Asian parents who don’t fully have the time to always spend with their children when managing a successful business. They’re going to need help. These people pay well, and those hires tend to mail those funds home to help their families.

Continue reading “Kent Donguines’ Kalinga Digs into a Strange Social Problem”

Enter the Sublime at the 2022 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Shorts Program

This year’s set of cinematic shorts programs playing at the Los Angeles Asian Film Festival continues to enlighten and educate.

2022 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Shorts ProgramThis year’s set of cinematic shorts programs playing at the Los Angeles Asian Film Festival continues to enlighten and educate. My tip is that anyone curious about SouthEast Asia should check these curated selections out! Each nation has a uniquemess that not everyone is aware of, and I’m constantly amazed at what the filmmakers from here can produce. Even if you can’t make it to this event, most of them can be found streaming online.

From the program guide on one of these programs:

Through various frames and points of view, we are brought closer to encountering an ancient Pacific past. Once again Pacific Cinewaves pushes the importance of āina, ancestry and belonging, challenging how Pacific people have been imagined throughout history. In these films, seven filmmakers become modern-day navigators using their hands and creative vision to steer each story.

Continue reading “Enter the Sublime at the 2022 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Shorts Program”

To Calm the Pig Inside, Coming to the IDFA Today!

When Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) razed through the Philippines, back in 2013, the devastation left behind was enormous…

Easter SundayBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

IDFA Festival

European Premiere
Nov 21, 2020

Shorts: Temporal Fragments program

Joanna Vasquez Arong’s short To Calm the Pig Inside is making waves worldwide. The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Festival (IDFA) features documentaries that move the viewer. To see her work travel from the Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival to this event’s official selection is not only a big step towards recognition but also in showing to the world how survivors from 2013’s Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) attempt to reconcile with nature when it razed through the Philippines. Life is not easy in this country, which also has several active volcanoes!

The enormous devastation wrought upon Tacloban City left many people homeless and hopeless. The frustration only grew since the corrupt government wasn’t any help. This Filipino filmmaker lived nearby but delivers the content as though she was a local. The many photographs, artwork, news footage and clips used tell a very emotional tale of how difficult life became. The stories she collected showed not everyone is brave enough to stare back at the returning gaze of a tiger.

Continue reading “To Calm the Pig Inside, Coming to the IDFA Today!”

LAAPFF 2020 Basurero is Cabiling’s answer to Sicario!

The Philippine word Basurero translates to Dump, and Filipina-American filmmaker Eileen Cabiling’s short takes this title and explores the meaning in context of the problems that still occur in her native country.

Easter Sunday

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available to viewers in Southern California (excluding San Diego County) from Oc 1, 2020 at 12pm PT to Oct 31, 2020 at 11:59pm PT. Click here to watch the film on Eventive.

The Philippine word Basurero translates to ‘Dump,’ and Filipina-American filmmaker Eileen Cabiling‘s short takes this title and explores the meaning in context of the problems that still occur in her native country. Although her work is fiction, the real-world connections are heavy since it’s more than just another short film about feeling trapped. It’s a character study on Bong (Jericho Rosales), a fisherman in Manila struggling to make ends meet. He’s like a cat on a hot tin roof.

Continue reading “LAAPFF 2020 Basurero is Cabiling’s answer to Sicario!”