12 Friday Jul 2019
Posted in Essays
It’s that time of the year again when film buffs crowd over CCP to see the new and most-talked-about Pinoy indie films of the year.
L and I decided to have a full-on Cinemalaya experience where we blocked off our entire week to attend the entire duration of the festival. Here’s a reflection of our experience and some realizations on how we could have improved our experience.
20 Monday May 2019
Posted in Essays, Movie Lists
The (relative) success of Philippine cinema has brought the rise of short films. Film schools, as well as media literacy classes in senior high school, has delivered a continuous and abundant supply of short films. In the past, cineastes either have to wait for annual school screenings, or the film festival limited runs. With the advent of the Internet and the social media, audience from here and abroad can catch Pinoy short films even after their theatre runs.
We listed below five online sites where you can catch some of the best Filipino short films.
14 Monday Mar 2016
Posted in Essays
Tags
art, Belio Lucero, CCP, chandelier, Cine, cinema, Filipino identity, Filipino-ness, national consciousness, National Identity, Palayan Lamps Corporation, restoration
People tend to rationalize their world. We believe that all things are part of a grand narrative of life and that everything we see is a speck of a larger scheme. We work under this premise and search how history and future can be traced from our cultural artifacts, relics, or even daily objects. This search is continuous. Mapping out this intricate web might take some time to finish.
One idea that puzzles scholars and academics is the definition of being a Filipino (or Filipino identity). We are a nation colonized by three countries each leaving behind diverse traces of their culture. As a result, our values, concept of justice, and definition of development differs largely. Identifying a particular national identity would create unity among Filipinos and it shall create a stronger notion of being a community member. In the 21st century, it is interesting to look at what our treasured cultural materials tell about our identity. Such artifacts can provide us rich insights on how much past do we like to bring in the future.
