Of Card Sharks, Betrayal and Feisty Women: Director Phil Giordano for VIVAMAX's "PUSOY"

I've had the pleasure of meeting Writer-Director Phil Giordano during the screening of Brillante Mendoza's masterpiece "Palitan" during the first week of December 2021. He's originally from Staten Island in New York, got his masters from NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia. He's pretty accomplished and has received a Grand Jury Prize at the New York Screenplay Contest for his short entitled "Supot". 

 

He's no stranger to how we do films in the Philippines as I'm under the impression he's been working with Brillante Mendoza's production for a number of years. His handy work "Supot" that got around 10 accolades in Busan International Film Festival and several other award giving bodies - and have been shown in different countries as well. He's done several commercials and campaigns with well known brands like KFC, Porsche, Johnson & Johnson, Universal Music and others. Recently, they released a new movie which he made for the VIVAMAX platform called "PUSOY". This was something he already had written but made it extra spicy since it's likely to follow the theme of movies seen on the app. 

As the title suggests, this is about a group of card hustlers lead by Baron Geisler's character Rodolfo. Their lives got complicated when they got caught in one of their cheating sprees and murdered a son of a politician played by Greg Hawkins (of Kuya Escort fame). Rodolfo got in a rut and had to seek help of a General which then forced him to go even deeper into debt... and the dark world of wagers, dirty money, women and vices.  The film stars Janelle Tee who plays the role of Xandra. She's Rodolfo’s mistress with the same set of skills, providing the venue for love, trust and betrayal in different acts. Also in PUSOY are Vince Rillon, Angeli Khang, Felix Roco, Jela Cuenca, Julio Diaz, Raqel Monteza, Kiko Matos and Jacq Yu. This is pretty much an ensemble of new and experienced actors which we asked Director Phil Giordano about, let's listen in:

 

It's remarkable to see that we have the talented Director Phil Giordano making strides in the movie industry in the Philippines. I like his capacity to adapt, to make his films follow his style, which I deem stem from his hunger to create things and write at an early age. After seeing films done in the US, he knew he could do an even better job and got inspired with the great film makers. He's also planning to have a shorter version of this out for international film festivals, so this is just the start. Exciting times no?!

PUSOY by the way can be seen worldwide on VIVAMAX (this is produced by Brillante Mendoza), you can visit VIVAmax.net for more information about the movie and other titles in their library. Get in tourch with Phil on his social channels FB: https://www.facebook.com/PhilipJGiordano/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/philip_giordano.director if you want to see more of his work.

You Can Do and See More with LG UltraWide Monitors

The need for a dependable, workhorse for monitors is at an all time high now. With professionals arranging work from home, you need something that can accomodate all the windows on your screen, all the software you need, a refresh rate and resolution acceptable in world standards. If it can't do that, it's going to be extra difficult for those who need it in these conditions. LG Electronics have continued to innovate these past few years including their top of the line LG UltraWide monitors. With the likes of the UltraWide Full HD Resolution 2560x1080, it surely gives one more real estate space on screen, that's about 33 percent compared with an FHD screen (1920x1080) used in some homes and offices.

LG's UltraWide 29WP500-B model can give you ample views for textbooks, notes, lectures, video calls without having the need to switch to other windows if you're a student. Quality wise, it won't dissappoint you with HDR10, 99% color gamut, IPS which makes everything pleasing to the eyes. I on the other hand need one because I do gaming on my laptop, which is a little difficult to see when you flick for aiming at enemies. With its AMD FreeSync tech, you see high resolution and fast paced game details without any lags as long as corresponding hardware can do it. This can do it in a very fluid manner, perfect for casual or pro gaming. If it can do that, imagine on what it can do when watching movies, YouTube videos, or media in your network. You can also use the wide screen for putting up multiple windows, so sharing or viewing data would be easy especially when Excel Sheets are involved at work.

LG Electronics has been recognized for their LG PuriCare AeroTower Air Purifier and the LG tiiun for innovation. They were also given nods for their LG One Quick Flex All in One display solution, the LG UltraGearTM Gaming Laptop, the LG OLED evo Gallery Edition and several OLED evo TV models which they have showcased in the past year. They have designed these pieces with the users in mind, something that has made great strides for them at the Red Dot Awards. They were also given accolades at the CES Awards in 2022 for their products under Home Appliances, Entertainment and Business Solution categories for a total of 150 given at the hybrid CES event this year.

Congratulations to LG for always putting the consumer at the forefront of their innovations, how they start technology, think about their design and give value when releasing products around the world.

Netizens Clamor Monsour Del Rosario Inclusion in Leni-Kiko Lineup

After the recent brouhaha regarding the flip flopping of a candidate from the Leni Robredo - Kiko Pangilinan Senate slate, Migz Zubiri was removed officially a few days ago. With this development, that particular spot has been the talk of the town and netizens are beginning to clamor for Senators be on that spot.

One of them is Monsour Del Rosario, former Olympian and Congressman of the first district of Makati who's done remarkable work in the House of Representatives. With over 292 bills and resolutions under his belt plus the very useful Telecommuting Act of 2018 or the so called Work From Home Law (which a lot of Filipinos benefited from during this pandemic), it'll be a good thing to see him formulate even more laws in the Senate. Twitter, Facebook and other social channels have been source of talk to have him as part of the official slate since he already is adopted by 1Sambayanan.

Del Rosario is currently pushing for his cause of healthcare by putting up Healthcare Heroes Card for frontliners, and pension for Athletes as sports is pretty close to his heart. He also is advocating education for children, those who are also differently abled, the need to help farmers and fisher folk, and ease of transaction with government agencies.

Monsour says "I am thankful for the support of netizens who wish for me to be part of VP Robredo and Senator Kiko's senate slate, but only they can decide on that. I know though that in the end, it will be the voters who would be able to put me in the Senate, with the help of 1Sambayanan I fervently hope we would achieve that on May 9th. I will dedicate my term for genuine service just as I have done in Congress. I am glad that I've been able to appear in the biggest Leni-Kiko sorties and talk to everyone there and Makatindig volunteer driven activities. I know we're all looking forward to a trustworthy government and commit ourselves to public service, for the Filipino and the Philippines."

Elmer Lapeña Named Executive Managing Director of SAGA

Events and production company SAGA just recently announced the designation of Executive Managing Director to Elmer Lapeña. Aside from being a director and producer of different shows, he has been in the company for 20+ years taking on lead posts in different capacities, it is now his time.

This coincides with the announcement of the renaming of SAGA from its previous Saga Events Incorporated to now being a full fledged experiential company. For those who don't know, I've watched several Philippine Fashion Week Shows and International brand launches that have been handled and executed by their group. SAGA was founded by Robby Carmona in 1995 and this expansion means they'll be taking on not just production of shows and events but physical and virtual ones, experiential marketing, digital solutions and production of content following business plans and branding ideas accordingly.

Currently, they have clients including Shell, Xiaomi, Century Tuna, Under Armour, Spotify and a whole lot more availing their services. This includes online, hybrid or physical events, website and digital campaigns for them just to name a few. Albeit challenging these days, Lapeña says "Times have been challenging for us in the industry and the recent easement of restrictions bring us hope, to hopefully brighter days for SAGA and our clients. We are bigger, better, happy about taking on this leadership role. Cheers to all of us in the industry!"

Congratulations and hope to see you in your upcoming shows!