A Journey of Grief, Acceptance and Relationships with Cinemalaya's KONO BASHO

 

 

When I first looked at the entries for Cinemalaya this year, I took interest in this one. It was just fate when we had to take the trip down south to watch KONO BASHO, produced by Project8 and Mentorque Productions, written and Directed by Jaime Pacena II. One that talks about grief, acceptance, building or re-building relationships.

Kono Basho literally means "This Place". The story is about two sisters who met during their biological father's funeral in Rikuzentakata, a city in Northern Japan. For those who don't know, this city has been ravaged by the huge earthquake and tsunami that hit the Iwate prefecture in 2011. In a sense, they really haven't fully built things like how they were, but are now experiencing something even more tragic... plus the feeling of awkwardness because the sisters really didn't know much about each other.

Ella is Filipino via her Mom with her Japanese Father, whilst Reina is born to a Japanese mother (one that was kind and understanding). Friction between them was quite a lot, young women that were both damaged by their past, circumstances and distance. Rikuzentakata might have symbolized what they went through in the story, they both lost their Dad, with unequal memories of him because Ella never experienced life with him.

This starts their journey together, in a partly civil, kind, but definitely torn in a lot of ways. It's great how the director never forced the conversation in Filipino or Japanese. It felt natural, and fitting. You could feel their pain, their longing for love, and how much they wanted to find it from other people, and hopefully, with each other.

This has depression and all the things related to it. They also gave a glimpse of kintsugi, an art form of pottery where they use gold to put broken pieces together. It symbolized how fragile they were. They will take you in on that story, where you continue to hope if they'd be able to fix it. It shows their spirit, their community, and how you could move on from heartbreaking parts of your life. 

Gabby Padilla isn't new to the business, and she showed how one could carry intellectual and emotional conversations like a light switch. You could say much of the conversation revolved and evolved around her, but it was done with intricacy, understandable diction, as she played an educator in the film. We asked her about her experience shooting the film especially since there's a language difference the actors had to endure. Her previous films actually helped!

As for the level of distraught you'll get from the film, Director Jaime Pacena said that they actually had a different treatment. You'll learn more about it as you watch the film. Even if the topic was so serious, it still felt quite refreshing to the eyes because the views there, were all just amazing! This is also the comeback film of Dan Villegas, one of the finest cinematographers in the country. 

While the Japanese cast (especially the Mother and Reina) performed quite remarkably in this film (I've seen their previous projects and even shows on NHK), Gabby was up there with them. If you've got the opportunity to catch this film while Cinemalaya is still there, you should. I think they're planning to have this released internationally, and by the looks of it... they're certainly qualified. Those wide indoor and outdoor shots, photography alone, is crazy good.

Congratulations to the men and women who made this film, you should definitely have this be exhibited in festivals elsewhere!

CARLOS YULO To Receive Php 5 MILLION as Astig Sports Bonus!

Carlos Yulo just made the impossible, possible as he makes a Gold Medal feat out of Gymnastics Floor Exercise and Vault events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Truly, he's an athlete to be inspired from because this wasn't something that was achieved overnight, but something that he has worked hard for over decades.

It was so nostalgic seeing him as a kid training for his dream of getting a gold medal for the Southeast Asian Games, and I'm sure he's gotten a ton of that already. We were all getting little to no sleep just to get a glimpse of what he was doing at the Bercy Arena. Needless to say, he has made history!

DigiPlus and ArenaPlus had him as a brand ambassador. Prior to him leaving the country, they got him a proper send off where he said "Thank you for the recognition and your eagerness to support me. I promise to do my best, and I am truly grateful for your support and need your prayers for all participating Filipino athletes in the Olympics!"

DigiPlus Chairman Eusebio Tanco wished Carlos to continue to have that "astig" Filipino spirit. He also added how proud he is of Caloy's feat to represent the country and DigiPlus. They also wanted to express their huge congratulations to the Filipino Golden Boy and would want to celebrate it by giving him Php 5 Million for his hard work and dedication to the sport.

They wish this would help fund his future training, to hone not just his skills but his fellow gymnasts, and countrymen whom he has inspired by doing the impossible, possible!

He surely will have tons of people waiting for him once he lands on the airport. Congratulations Carlos Yulo! Your DigiPlus, ArenaPlus family, and the whole Philippines is proud of you!

CHARM by Dr. JOEL LOPEZ Opens at Greenhills Mall

 

Last July 31st, the posh Greenhills Mall turned even more beautiful as CHARM by Joel Lopez MD opened its doors to the public. This is located at the Lower Ground level of Greenhills Mall at the hall on the left side if you are entering from OB Montessori. CHARM stands for Center for Healthy Aging and Regenerative Medicine which is an apt term for the services that Dr. Joel Lopez and his team are offering.

 

While they've been doing regenerative services, they put importance on actually offering it to all ages because it would be better for people to take good care of their skin while they are still young. They also encourage patients to learn a thing or two, become empowered and experience improving their overall well being. Think of it as a more wholistic approach rather than just cosmetic. Their celebrity clientele could tell you even more about it. It's a long list, because he's been in the industry for years now. The launch was attended by Mayor Francis Zamora, Vice Mayor Jose Agcaoili, broadcaster Kata Inocencio, Cory Quirino, Carmi Martin, former ANTM producer Michael Carandang and several beauty queens. The launch was also hosted by gorgeous Valerie Tan and the super fun KC Montero.

We also had a short tour of the clinic, here's what it looks like 

Currently, CHARM by Dr. Joel Lopez specialize in hormone and nutritional therapies, holistic ones, regenerative medicine treatments and advanced therapies. It's not just the skin that they take good care of, but more so what's inside. If you are in the Greenhills district, go give them a visit. Just drop by their clinic and see what you can get from their services.

LUXE Beauty and Wellness Group Taps Team Bardagulan's VRIX, CHOLO, CHRISTIAN and PERLAS as New Endorsers

Rising from obscurity into the most popular internet celebrities in the country is Team Bardagulan's very own Vrix, Cholo, Christian and Perlas. Their talk in the wee hours of the morning have been loved by the masses because of how no holds barred it is, kept it real and relatable.

LUXE CEO Ms. Anna Magkawas didn't just look at their numbers, but knew how against the odds, would help her LUXE Beauty and Wellness Group's products become more popular in the social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook if they become part of the equation. Perlas says "We are just small content creators, and being trusted by a big brand like LUXE just means a lot to me. I'm only an ordinary person who just sold products, even got lots of returns, but now live a different life. I promise to do my best to become a huge help for LUXE so it could reach more people, even those who are in my age to use the same things I do from this brand."

Then, Ms. Anna Magkawas told the audience that the surprise doesn't end there because she brought Cholo and Christian in right after they gave a congratulatory message for Perlas. After that, Vrix came in to with a bouquet of flowers for Christian. Then they were announced as the new brand ambassadors of LUXE. Aside from being part of the family, they will be helping Ms. Anna Magkawas to sell her countless products through live streams. Something they've been good at in real life.

The excitement was certainly contagious, even the other Team Bardagulan members were also cheering on the sidelines. Here's how the reveal went during the first part of the program, please enjoy!

Then we sat with them later on in the program, we got to ask questions especially about what they feel about being part of LUXE. Some of them have really worked hard to get where they are now. Ms. Anna also told us the reason why she got them as endorsers, they have a connection, and felt they are connected to something bigger. Hopefully, they could help LUXE gain even more things in the years to come.

LUXE handles brands like Collavera, Luxe Skin (for your collagen, skin, soap, cleansers, toners, serums, facial creams, sunscreen, foundations, lotions, leave on masks, pore perfecting kits and more). They also will be part of LUXE Slim campaign for Caffe Macchiato, Caffe Macchiato Decaf, Caffe Turmerico, Dark Choco Chocolate Drink, Matcha Latte, Promeal Taro Heary Meal Diet, 4 Seasons Beauty Juice, Cucumber and Dalandan Beauty Juice, Beauty Smoothie Cantaloupe Melon and more. Congratulations to Vrix, Cholo, Christian and Perlas. I'm sure this is just the beginning, continue to be nice and surely, you'll go places! Thank you for LUXE Beauty and Wellness Group for having us!