24.6.10

EVENT: Kids Rock: A Concert for a Cause



Some of Cebu's indie artists will perform in a concert for a cause entitled, Kids Rock, this Friday, June 25, 2010 at the Outpost. The concert is for the benefit of 700 less fortunate children. Featured artists are Cattski, Shuffled, Bethany, Undercover Grasshoppers and Rescue a Hero.
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18.6.10

CONTEST: 5th Indonesian Film Festival

eYeka invites you to submit your best short films or animations for a chance to be broadcast in the 5th Indonesian Film Festival in Australia!

Type:  Short Film/Animation Contest
 Prizes: The best works for each category will be showcased at the festival screenings in Melbourne and Sydney.
 Brief: Express your ideas and thoughts through short film, documentary or animation. Show your sense of art for a chance to prove your hidden talent as a true filmmaker!
 Requirements: Your video must be 20 minutes maximum with English subtitles if the original language is not English. Film must have been completed within 3 years duration and must have not been broadcast commercially anywhere.

There are no maximum number of entries per participant so  feel free to submit the best that you have!

Deadline: August 7, 2010.

To participate, visit  http://en.eyeka.asia/partner/indonesian-film-festival (for English Brief and Rules) / http://id.eyeka.asia/partner/indonesian-film-festival (for Bahasa Indonesia) and join the group now.

It’s time! Get yourself discovered!
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2.6.10

FESTIVAL: Cannes Film Festival 2010

(I know this is long overdue. I apologize, I have been really busy recently.)




The most glamorous film festival in the world, the Cannes Film Festival, was held from the 12th to the 23rd of May. As expected, a lot of famous celebrities graced the event. A-list stars like Russel Crowe and Cate Blanchett were there promoting Ridley Scott's Robin Hood while Hollywood actors like Gerard Butler and Elizabeth banks were there to join the celebration.

The jury is star-studded as well, led by Tim Burton as the President of the Jury for Feature Film. Also part of the jury were Gael Garcia-Bernal, Benecio Del Toro, Kate Beckinsale, Shekhar Kapur and Claire Denis.

Aside from giving awards to exceptional international independent films, Cannes Film Festival has also been the avenue for producers to promote and give special screenings of upcoming movies. Aside from Robin Hood, some out-of-competition films were Gregg Araki's Kaboom, Stephen Frears' Tamara Drewe, Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.

The Palm D'Or is the highest award given to the best feature film in competition. Past recipients of this award is Steven Soderbergh for Sex, Lies and Videotape and Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction. This year, this highly coveted award was given to Thai director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul for his film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat).

Below is a list of the winnersof this year's Cannes Film Festival:



IN COMPETITION :

FEATURE FILMS

SHORT FILMS


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27.5.10

MUSIC: Deeper Manila


An independent record label dedicated to house and downtempo sounds, Deeper Manila is the brainchild of Justin de Guzman and Kass Ilagan.

Justin cites London-based label Defected Records as the main inspiration for putting up Deeper Manila. Justin mentioned, "we wanted to put our music out for the public to hear. Luckily, I had a distributor available at the time. We needed a name and after just a few trials, we decided on Deeper Manila Records, or simply, Deeper Manila."

He also added, "there are very few house music producers in the country. I wanted the Filipinos to be know about local house music, which exists. I wanted to let the world know that there is an existing house music scene in the Philippines. This will promote tourism if we are successful."

Despite having difficulty promoting house music, Justin is confident that the market is continuously growing. Thanks to the steady flow of events and parties featuring international electronic dance artists, there is, now, a growing demand for great house music especially from places like Pampanga, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

Deeper Manila has its own pool of local and international artists. Most of the local artists were acquaintances of the producer while the foreign artists, like LALA, Marc Systematic and C-Beg, contacted the producer via email. They expressed their desire to work with the label. How they got his contact information, Justin has no clue.

As a proud owner of Deeper Manila, the first and only Philippine-based house music label. He said, "we are a new market in the scene and people around the world will be curious about us. We all have our different influences but we have something that the others do not have. It's our being Filipinos. There's definitely something Pinoy about our music. So, you have to watch out for our releases to know how that actually sounds. Soon, house music in the Philippines will grow and we will be recognized globally."
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16.4.10

OUT OF THE BOX: Walang Hanggang Paghihintay


WALANG HANGGANG PAGHIHINTAY
Apat Na Kwento ng Naulilang Pag-ibig
a short film by Popo Diaz

“Walang Hanggang Paghihintay – Apat Na Kwento ng Naulilang Pag-ibig” is the story of four individuals who eulogize the passing of the love of their life. In the short film, water is referred to as a great love lost. From the farmer’s perspective, he realizes too late that without water he cannot harvest his fields even if he toils all day. The woman, talks about the hurt and the pain that one feels when losing a loved one. She goes about her day to day chores trying to put a brave face but inside she is in mourning. A young lady, refers to water as her first love, reminiscing about the times they spent together and wondering if she will ever experience such a love again. Lastly, a boy expresses an ode about water and referring to it as his best friend with whom he has spent the best days of his youth. Each declares promises that they would change so that their lost love will return. All express the hope the one day they will be reunited this great love. - POPO DIAZ

This is Popo's first (attempt) in making a short film. Invited by his boss, Monster Jimenez, to join the short film competition, his inspiration came from very unique and diverse places - taking a bath, his fascination with eulogies and Fernando Amorsolo.

The film is an entry to the 1st Clean Water Video Contest and will be screened at NCCA theater tomorrow, April 22, 2010 at 1pm.

*Author's Note: Popo Diaz's Walang Hanggang Paghihintay - Apat Na Kwento ng Naulilang Pag-ibig is the grand prize winner of the 1st Clean Water Video Contest.
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13.4.10

INTERVIEW: CoolieDread

If you are not from Cebu and not into reggae chances are, you have not heard of CoolieDread and The Microphone Commander. 

Started as a DJ/MC duo in 2005, CoolieDread (James D'Lonsod) and Microphone Commander (Greggy Polo) paved the way for dancehall reggae. From a duo, they expanded into becoming a full band with a drummer, bassist, two guitar players, a keyboardist and three MCs.

For half a decade, CDMC has been touring and promoting Filipino reggae music all over the country. But, all good things must come to an end and on Saturday, April 17, CDMC will be having their farewell gig at The Outpost. Cebuanos and reggae-lovers alike are baffled by this decision.

The Independent Crowd brings you this interview with CoolieDread as he sheds light on this unforeseen declaration.

TIC: You've been in the business for five years and there are not that many reggae bands out there, but why did you decide to stay in Cebu? Why not go to Manila?

CD:  First reason was to finish the album in Cebu. Second, we haven’t got any deals that would convince the rest of the band to move to Manila when we first started. Third, most of us were yet to finish college. 

TIC: But, I'm sure you have had offers...

CD: We were offered record deals but none of them could satisfy our wants as a group. So, it would have been really risky if we moved to Manila without venturing more and playing in other places. 

TIC: Would you say that CDMC has reached its peak already?

CD: No. The band is too young. Too much room for improvement, I would've wanted for us to tour the whole country extensively and do several albums. 

TIC: Let's face it, reggae is not as big in other provinces as it is here in Cebu. 

CD: Back in the early 90's, Cebu has already been active in educating people about reggae. The Bob Marley Foundation would hold regular reggae radio shows, parties and music festival like The Annual Bob Marley Fest, which is now known as Cebu Reggae Fest. In 2002, there were roughly about 40 reggae bands just in Cebu and that is a fact. But, radio stations from other cities are now starting to play our music and have reggae sessions in bars, which I think are a good thing.

TIC: Advocating reggae seems really arduous, but what has been the most challenging thing the band has to go through?

CD: The greatest challenge for CDMC was our 2006 Motorola Manila Bar Tour. For two months, we lived together in one roof, performing every night and arguing now and then.

TIC: Any memorable gigs?

CD: September 31, 2006. Winning the Motorola Rock’Moto Band Competition to Endorse Motorola Products for a year. That started it all.

TIC: You mentioned that you wanted more for CDMC. But, why are you having a farewell gig already?

CD: I don't know if I'm coming back after six months in China. Budoy (of Jr. Kilat) and I (his DJ) were chosen to perform with the Philippine Pavilion in Shanghai World Expo 2010. The band has also come to an agreement not to perform without the complete original members. They said, they would be crippled since I initiated everything.

TIC: With you going to China, what's the next step for the other members?

CD:  I cannot speak for the whole group but I am sure that they will be moving to other bands and continue with their music. 

TIC: With CDMC's farewell, which band will take over the reggae scene?

CD: Sefyla, Stiff, Skankin Brews and Pohaku (or Skank My Mood)

TIC: That was a good five-year run for CDMC, for sure, you will be missed.

CD: I can see that in the next couple of years, there will be more DJ’s and electronic musicians in Cebu’s music scene. All indie bands will still be around, but will somehow still be underground till they themselves start to elevate the music business to another level.

TIC: What do you want to say to the fans?

CD: Always remember that even CDMC will not be around, we sure did have some fun years jamming, we knew you’ll always be part of us, that forever in our minds: We always “ROCK TO THE RIDDIM”

Microphone Commanders:
Gene Gong - Gene Caballes - Vocals
WajahRhymes - Ryan Yu - Vocals
CoolieDread - James D'Lonsod - Vocals, dj samples
The Band:
Eric Yrigan - Drums
Mark Villanueva - Bass
Francis “ Dang” Yrigan - Guitars
Paul “Pauldo” Cañada - Guitars
Yani Sagun - Keyboards & Synths
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12.4.10

FEATURE: Kerwin Go and Eskrimadors

A Los Angeles trained filmmaker, 34- year-old Kerwin Go recently garnered local industry success with his documentary Eskrimadors, a look on the history and journey of Filipino martial art Eskrima or Arnis. The film had its world premiere January 30 at SM Cebu and, on February 20, it closed Cinema Rehiyon Film Festival held at the Cultural Center of Philippines . Both screenings earned rave reviews from critics, FMA enthusiasts, and regular moviegoers.


Born and raised in Cebu City, Kerwin was one of the principal founders of RCTV, Real Cebu Television Channel 36. He led create original local programming which became really quite popular. Aside from  local accomplishments, he served as Director of Photography to two feature films for an LA production company. 


For Eskrimadors, Kerwin multi-tasked as director, producer and writer of the documentary. He said, "I was inspired to do Eskrimadors because I wanted to do a film that spoke about my culture and identity. Cebu is the mecca of Eskrima. Eskrima is as Cebuano as anything can get."


"The goal of Eskrimadors was to shed light on this very under-appreciated part of our culture and heritage.  It is somewhat of a dying art form here in the Philippines and we were compelled to do whatever it was in our power to help preserve and promote it."


With a thumbs-up from critics and FMA aficionados and a jam-packed world premiere,  Kerwin mentioned that he was blown away by how the film was accepted. 


"The reception to Eskrimadors is nothing short of amazing. People come up to us afterwards to thank us for making the movie. They say it moves them and makes them proud to be Filipino. Even foreigners in attendance say that they are inspired by it. Its a great feeling and a validation of the hard work we put into making the film."


Eskrimadors is now available on DVD through Amazon's Createspace Order-On-Demand service. 
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