TPB Supports Film Tourism with Cine Turismo

We’ve got the best islands, the best people, the best tourist spots which can be found only in the Philippines. Now it’s hard to actually carry the mountains and put the beaches inside bottles to actually showcase them, so the best alternative is give them something that they can see.

This is Cine Turismo, a new campaign that would capture the interest of Filipinos and our foreign friends. The destinations, historical and cultural landmarks will all be included in these chosen films which will be promoted by the tourism promotions board under its COO Cesar Montano. They also gave recognition to those who have been showcased in 2016 and 2017. They are also pushing for the passing of the Film Tourism Bill SB 1330 to create more jobs in production, grow the economy and promote the culture.

Among those recognized were Sakaling Hindi Makarating, Lakbay2Love, Camp Sawi, Patay Na Si Hesus, Apocalypse Child, Siargao, Requited, Kiko Boksingero and international films Mango Tree by Lee Soo Song and Romantic Island by Cheol Woo Kang.

Cesar Montano says “There is a lot of potential in our movies and film tourism is growing in the country. People have great interest once they’ve been shown on film and it has boosted local and international tourism in tourist spots. I am confident we can do more this year!”

For more information about these films, visit their official website www.tpb.gov.ph.

KUMAGCOW

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EX Battalion Signs With RRJ

You’ve heard their songs being played in every nook and cranny in the Philippines especially with the young ones who feel and relate to their lyrics, who am I talking about? It’s EX BATTALION. The rap group just signed with popular shirt and jeans brand RRJ and they have a lot of plans for the group now that they are now endorsing the brand.

Patrick of RRJ says “We are excited with EX BATALLION and you know how popular they are right now. We believe in their talent, we believe in them. Music Videos, billboards, possibly meet and greets. We will have ad campaigns for them.”

Ms Aiai says “Thank you RRJ for making them your endorsers, we are extremely happy for you to trust us. Hopefully in God’s grace this is just a start, seeing them on a billboard I feel like a stage Mom. They will have a tour in the US so they also have to have physical cd’s as the Filipinos in the US will have that. So expect that later this year.”

Ex Batallion says “Now that we have people who believe in us, we are very happy that they choose to sponsor us, they came at the right time. We feel we made it, we felt we have the potential and very thankful that my brothers in EX BATALLION will be suited up by RRJ.”

“Our swag, color coordination, that’s all going to be seen in our fashion collaboration with RRJ. We will have limited edition items which we will be working with them soon. We want to make our name right, we talk about it, we don’t want to fight. We started in an amateur rap contest, knew each other, we were in different groups but happen to know each other so we formed as Ex members of previous groups. I was skeptic that when Aiai found us on social media, she called us and it was legit. We sang and got 1 Million views, then we got booked left and right after seeking help with Ms Aiai. That’s when it all started. Way back then we didn’t know who will appreciate our songs, we previously had explicit lyrics and it was a challenge for us to make more wholesome songs.

Their members uttered “We have haters, we know, but they are the reason why we are doing our best. Now that we are here, we even have more, but it’s okay we’re getting the fruits of our labor. We also didn’t have help with our videos back then, but now with everyone’s help we have people who watch our videos. They now see us as artists and it’s a good thing with the situation of the Philippine rap scene. It’s hard to make music without a video because it makes everything interesting. Now we are thankful that people are offering their help, especially Ms Aiai. We just asked for help and everything fell into place. It was nothing about money for her, we wanted to stay independently produced. But she did it out of her heart to help us and we just felt she was the right fit to be our manager. We think we will prioritize digital first.”

Stay tuned with what they will be doing in the next few months as Ms Aiai Delas Alas and RRJ has a lot in store for them. They will be very visible in shows, locally and internationally.

You can really dream no?

KUMAGCOW

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TOFARM Announces Festival Director, New Category

TOFARM Film Festival 2018 has just announced their new festival director that will not replace former Maryo J Delos Reyes but rather continue his legacy in this one of a kind film festival that aims to uplift the plight of farmers. They have already proven the caliber of their work as it has won festivals left and right, both local and international just this past year. They have harvested a lot as TOFARM and people behind their films create Filipino film masterpieces and showcase these to stakeholders, everyone who would take interest in their plight and how they would tell the stories in these medium. Their theme this year is Tribute to Life: Parating Na which connotes a better life and expecting a great return for the hardships they’ve been through specifically for the agriculture and farming industry. They will also introduce a new category for short films so they can get up and coming, non professional film makers to take up the challenge and create stories with the theme “Slice of Life”.

Philanthropist and EVP of Universal Harvester Inc. Dr. Milagros How says “It’s so nice to see you and share with you what TOFARM Film Festival has this 2018. In the untimely passing of Maryo J, many of you were asking what would happen to this festival, well we will continue with our new advisers and consultants. We have Bibeth Orteza, our consultant Laurice Guillen who unfortunately couldn’t be here right now and Direk Joey Romero, so TOFARM is definitely alive. We can only expect the best. The TOFARM Film Festival Director, Direk Bibeth Orteza, our Managing Director Joey Romero. Cheers to farmers all over the Philippines and cheers to the Filipino Film industry!”

Bibeth says “I am here because I am a grand daughter of a farmer, the films of my childhood, titles that have been familiar for me. I saw Direk Maryo last Christmas and he told me I should be here. This opportunity and privilege to serve the farmers is just a good thing. The roi will be 50/50 between TOFARM and the filmmaker. The shortfilm competition will be for entries 1-10minutes long.”

Sir Joey Romero says “Our achievement dinner was a few weeks before Maryo J passed away. We talked about how Ms How was so passionate about this film festival - and now I am part of it.”

Ms Bibeth also adds “The deadline will be April 20, 2018 and will be sent to the TOFARM Secretariat. 7 finalists will be announced on May 23, 2018. Each will be given Php 1,500,000 which will be given in three tranches (Php 500,000) then the director can solicit funds to augment costs for the film. It must be about a Farmer, livestock raiser, fisher folk, or anything related to agriculture. We are also going to have a TOFARM Short Film Competition.”

Joey Romero also explained the short film category and says “The short film competition, will have 7 finalists. It will be shot entirely on a cellphone, the period of submission will be the same, professionals cannot join. It will be announced on September 12-18. They can have a maximum of 2 entries but only one will be a finalist. You can win Php 50,000 and a high end mobile phone as grant if you get chosen.”

For all interested parties, please visit their website www.tofarm.org and download the competition forms, fill it up and follow the instructions. My friends and I are going to try our luck in the short film category, because WHY NOT? We could get the chance to win too. They also plan to distribute and showcase their films to schools and special screenings nationwide, so stay tuned!

KUMAGCOW

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Glaiza De Castro Topbills New GMA Afternoon Show CONTESSA

Had the privilege to watch the new show Contessa, GMA Entertainment Content Group’s offering for the afternoon time slot of the Kapuso network. This is about how a woman wanted to fight, wanted to be free, who wanted to love and just live.

Glaiza De Castro who takes the lead role says “I feel people will be surprised about how I would be beaten up, slapped, thrown out and abused by people, not the feisty one from Encantadya. It’s old school but hopefully you’ll feel hope for her no matter how hard her problems would be. That in a way will have someone to take care of you no matter how hard life is.”

“It’s as stressful as the traffic in Manila, to be trusted with a good material, we just wanted to give thanks to the people behind this. Of course there is pressure, like I said I just want to make this realistic, focus my energy on what needs to be done rather than just ratings. I don’t think you won’t be rewarded if you do your best. The change of character is very drastic, I need to have someone guard me and my face because I didn’t want it to be too strong like Pirena. I connect with my co stars here. Revenge plots are deep in culture so that mentality is not really gone. In our soaps, you can compare it ti history, people look for hope in times like these and see if the decisions they make are right or wrong. When I read scripts I really enjoy how they are like heroes/heroines, like how it’s out of this world and fascinating like my fantasy shows. Yes Bea will be weak, she also will suffer even after her husband dies, be at fault and go to jail, but that’s where she will meet a whole lot of people with really make her think about the tough choices she had to do later on, it’ll be a little like Orange is the new Black but different delivery of course. Contessa later on will learn her lesson from these ladies that she’ll meet in prison, which will make her plot her revenge.”

Gabbi Eigenmann says “Yes I know it’s so nice to reminisce how Glaiza and I came from Dading and that’s where we actually got so close, so was really looking forward to work with her on any capacity. My character is going to be mean with Bea in this series but as long as I get to work with her I’m good. Dading was raw, it ended nice because we showed real feelings to end the show, this I hope would be the same.”

Phytos Ramirez adds “I am going to be evil but mostly because I’m only following orders, I would do everything for money and that’s what I’ll do all the time. I will be instrumental in my boss’ fall later on but not in the near future, it will be a difficult life for Bea first.”

Lauren Young says “I’m not entirely evil, perhaps a percentage of me will only be in that situation because she’ll be a boss one day then very childish and no backbone the next. The family ties will also hasten her to be part of what they are doing, and the thought of fighting over a man, with Marco, and the situation will get worse because of that even if he dies. That’s where her angst came from. I’ll also be one of the reasons why Bea’s life is going to be difficult. She’s a business woman, a very good one. But what Daniela wants, Daniela gets.”

Denise Barbacena says “I won’t be 100 percent evil, more like the Phytos lady version because I work for Lauren’s character. She’s my boss but I will be comic relief as all of them are already very serious.”

The revenge plot is just the tip of the iceberg and judging from the first episode we watched this evening, you may have to watch and start it from Episode 1 so you understand where the characters are coming from.

You’ll hate the evil ones, but you’ll love their redeeming factors and how their revenge takes play. This will be shown on GMA’s afternoon prime Mondays through Fridays. Visit GMANetwork.com or GMADrama on social media because they’ve got hints about the characters there.

It starts airing March 19, 2018.

KUMAGCOW

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