Have you seen Coco Martin's younger brother? He's Ronwaldo Martin and he's been making waves in the indie scene. He's been cast in several movies entered in other festivals locally and even got the top acting award at Harlem Film Festival in New York. Pretty sure, he's been able to veer away from his brother's shadow and true enough.. he's been cast as a young caretaker of a fish pen which is called "Baklad" locally.
"Baklad" is Directed by Topel Lee, an acclaimed film maker of several movies and who recently did "Bloody Crayons" released under Star Cinema. He also did several episodes of Shake Rattle and Roll which is a movie series produced by film giant Regal Films.
This is sort of a little sexy, a coming of age film of sorts as the teen fish pen boy gets a little more involved with the fish pen owner's girlfriend, decides to elope, then gets his friends, the people around him into trouble. It also talks about the plight of workers in the fish farm industry, among of which are victims of child labor, a matter that is also less talked about in the Philippines.
The film stars Rafa Siguion Reyna, Hector Macaso, Jesus Forte, John Vincent Sevilla, Rowena Concepcion, Vincent Magbanua, Royce Cabrera, Raul Morit and Dess Versosa. Ronwaldo Martin will definitely make you see how capable he is and what he's learned from his previous projects. This is the perfect venue to tell this story because ToFarm Film Festival is themed towards these unsung heroes, the farmers who all put food on our table everyday in the Philippines.
"BAKLAD" will be shown July 12-18 at SM Megamall, Greenbelt 1, Robinsons Metro East and Gateway Mall. You should definitely check out the schedules because it's going to be worth it!
Having been able to witness how we won last 2015, rightfully so with Megan Young, Miss World 2017 is breaking new ground in this year's competition.
Miss World National Director Arnold Vegafria wants to make this year bigger, trendier and showcase Filipino culture. He says "I am honored and privileged to make Miss World Philippines bigger and better this year. We're looking forward to continue showcasing Filipina beauty with a purpose to the world stage as we take one what the Miss World Organization has been doing all these years and continue helping with their goals. They are still the longest running major international pageant since 1951, and we've never been more proud to have had one this 2013 with Ms. Megan Young.
We will also be introducing three new titles this year called "Miss ECO Philippines", "Miss Multinational" and "Reina Hispano Americana Filipinas". The ladies would need to work extra hard to earn these coveted titles as they will get the chance to represent the country in Alexandria, Egypt (for Miss Eco International 2018), India (December 2017) and Santa Cruz, Bolivia (for Reina Hispano Americana) this November 2017. I can assure you this will be BIGGER and BETTER in more ways than one and will showcase the best in our nation. With your help, we can fond another Filipina beauty that can surpass Megan Youngs win. To become another Beauty with a Purpose. Thanks to GMA, BYS Cosmetics, New World Hotel, Procter and Gamble Philippines, PAL, and a lot of our other sponsors for making this happen. We also have a new theme song, JayR and Kris Lawrence for composing and performing the song."
As mentioned in the presscon, the Miss World Philippines 2017 staging is going to be more "fast paced" albeit shorter production. They promise a refreshing presentation, as MWP General Manager Bessie Besana says "I am thankful to have been given an opportunity to work with the Miss World Philippines Organization. We promise to bring a well made, timely, stylish aesthetic program catered to the millenial generation. We will be making Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center as our beneficiary so we could help with the care and rehab of their indigent patients, this is the core of our cause."
Miss World Philippines will also be revealing a new crown designed by no less than Miss World 2013 Megan Young. They will be broadcasting and doing the pageant night on September 3, 2017. Deadline of applications for the pageant will be on July 22, 2017. So ladies, make sure you submit your documents and photos in person at the Miss World Philippines Secretariat at 507 Taipan Place F. Ortigas Jr. Ortigas Center Pasig City. Or email them at secretariat@missworldphilippines.org if you have further questions. Visit their official site www.missworldphilippins.org and their Facebook page MissWorldPhilippinesOrg.
After planting a seed last year, it looks like ToFarm 2017 is already bearing fruit. Several entries shown first on this festival have already won several accolades and nods of critics locally and around the world. Dr. Milagros O. How has spearheaded one of the most successful film showcases and dedicated it to shown the plight of farmers, agriculture and their families, made it even more powerful to tell their stories in 6 more quality movies to be released in the festival this year.
It includes Victor Acedillo Jr.’s "Kamunggai" (Malunggay), Topel Lee’s "Baklad", Byron Bryant’s "Sinandomeng", Joseph Abello’s "What Home Feels Like", Jason Paul Laxamana’s "Instalado" and Tara Illenberger’s "High Tide". We'll be featuring some of the artists and their characters later on this week so be sure to stay tuned.
For the opening salvo, they will also be featuring the work of Gerry De Leon called "Banaue: Stairway to the Sky!" starring no less than Superstar Ms. Nora Aunor, Christopher De Leon, Johnny Delgado and Ronaldo Valdez. The veteran actors will also grace the event on the 11th of this month at Novotel in Quezon City. They will also witness the re-introduction of the films together with the stars and directors of the 6 film entries this year.
Now this is exciting news! I can wait to see it on theaters, good thing there's still space for quality films during this run (without anyone resigning from their board LOL). You mat visit https://www.tofarm.org/join-tofarm/8 for more details about the film and information about the festival!
It's pretty apt for their theme this year which calls for "Planting Seeds of Change".
What? You haven't seen it? Are you crazy? Oh man, you must have been living under a rock.
Have you heard of Kinky Boots? It's that successful Broadway musical with music and lyrics done by Cyndi Lauper and based on a book by Harvey Fierstein. Those names along could have already convinced me to watch it, but man, this show was given a Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Choreography and Best Original Score - and yes an Olivier award too.
I watched it last Saturday and if you haven't scored tickets yet, you better do. I'm here to tell you 5 reasons why you should watch the Manila staging of KINKY BOOTS. Are you ready?
1. The stellar CAST - If you haven't seen the cast yet it includes singer, songwriter Nyoy Volante, and the good looking guy Laurence Mossman who was also part of the cast of Fun Home (wherein Lea Salonga was also in). Yanah Laurel (lets not call her Franco Laurel's baby sister) did a super great job doing a love strucked assistant of Charlie Price (heck she's so good I waited for her character to blossom, and she did get there). Tricia Canilao (albeit a veteran doing Cosette of Les Miserables and lead of Miss Saigon, was good, but could hopefully improve more her portrayal of Nicola i.e. accent delivery "(I'm really sorry I had to say that, but fwiw it was negligible)" ) plays Nicola (Price's fiance) who will have issues with his man who wants to achieve his dreams. It's so good you would want to know more of the characters, especially Jamie Wilson who played Don in the musical. We laughed with him in the beginning, we hated him in the middle, but he was so good at the end of the show.
2. The LOVE angles - If you think this was only a musical with trans women dancing around, that's the wrong notion. Each had a story, a reason why they were there and why they are doing it. They saved people with their talent, you'll know about it when you watch the show. You'll see love, racism, and how it has also affected their lives. I love how they put that into the story and how it will teach the audience about it. Then ask yourself, will I go to my passion? Or be a slave of marriage? What are your priorities?
3. Exceptional CHOREOGRAPHY - You won't be able to hide your feelings, you really can't help but see yourself tapping your feet along the beat, then stand up and dance because it's okay... the rest of the audience will be doing that too. Kudos to the Angels who not only danced to the music, they completely obliterated it! If it was a dance off, they'd win that in a heartbeat. You'll be seeing splits and drop dead moves you've never seen before on theater. It would look like they've been doing it for ages, and that takes a lot. For that alone, you should definitely see this musical.
4. Super Good RUNS - Not that I don't believe that Nyoy Volante is capable, I know he is. But KINKY BOOTS had him do it with complete dance numbers that would probably put any professional singer lose their breath. It required them to do it that long, like a piece in a concert, a medley at that. I was literally tired for him after that number, but again you've got to watch it on the second part of the show.
5. The KINKY BOOTS - You will know how these Kinky Boots saved a lot of lives. It will also open a lot of skeletons in the closet, discuss how what you think you should do for yourself or for other people. It will teach you how to be selfless, to find yourself and eventually how you can connect that thought with the dream of making the perfect pair of shoes by making it sexy. Nyoy Volante must have felt this was a dream, he was giving it his all and I could feel it from the audience. You will too.
To give you a taste of what to expect in the first part of the musical, Nyoy Volante gave the people over at SHOWTIME a taste of LOLA. You'll love her for sure in Kinky Boots!
Oh and for the ladies or those who haven't decided yet, Laurence Mossman is more than eye candy. He's like a motor run on diesel, he gets better as the show progresses and I'm sure you'll love him too. Now it's not good that you're just hearing or reading these things on this blog, you've got to experience it for yourself. Wear the boots while you're at it and enjoy the show with friends, family, or your special someone. It's worth every cent!
You can buy tickets at Ticketworld here or at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at the RCBC Tower. They've got small counters there selling tickets. You can thank me later if you loved the show. You should definitely enjoy it because I did!
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