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Carnal fireworks in ‘Erotica Manila’
By Joel David Pinas fanboy film culture must have worn itself out, or else we’d be hearing lamentations about how our filmmakers have started regressing. After making increasingly longer modernist works, we now find several contemporary talents focused on short-length material, sometimes even geared for TV or streaming. But thank goodness for the dissipation of […]
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Segment on Filipino films part of AAIFF46 program
Asian CineVision will present its 46th annual Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF46) from July 26 – August 6. AAIFF, known as the “First Home of Asian American Cinema,” will feature a segment that tells Filipino storieswhich “reflect AAIFF and Asian CineVision’s hopes of supporting the creative endeavors of community activists and storytellers.” This year’s […]
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A ‘Star Wars’ tour through Kerry, Ireland
By Wendell Gaa As a lifelong fan of the “Star Wars” franchise, taking a guided tour of the Ring of Kerry region in southwestern Ireland was simply a dream realized. In my view it is the greatest cinematic mythology saga of all time. A tour which would exclusively take me to see the on-location filming sites […]
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FILAMSPEAK: Will you watch ‘Here Lies Love’?
By Cristina DC Pastor Whoever you are or wherever you are within the vortex of the Filipino American community, you have a reason for wanting to watch “Here Lies Love,” or wanting to avoid it altogether. It could be the excitement of seeing an all-Filipino cast on Broadway (pro), the glorification of Imelda Marcos (anti), […]
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On Global Filipinos: ‘Here Lies Love:’ The FilAms’ ‘Hamilton’
By Loida Nicolas Lewis David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s musical “Here Lies Love” makes its Broadway debut presenting the first Filipino story on the Great White Way. It features an all-Filipino cast including stage legend Lea Salonga at The Broadway Theatre on July 20, 2023. The show debuts two first-time Broadway co-producers Don Michael Mendoza and Lora Nicolas […]
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How Nora Galleros contributed to the transformation of PIDCI
By Cristina DC Pastor On a cold and cloudy June 4 Sunday, thousands of Filipinos marched on Madison Avenue to celebrate the 125th Philippine Independence waving their flags and wearing the colors of their islands. The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc., (PIDC), touted the parade a success with politicians, beauty queens and celebrities leading the […]
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Billy Bustamante: ”Here Lies Love’ does not glorify Imelda Marcos’
By Cristina DC Pastor Billy Bustamante was a little boy growing up in the Washington D.C. area when the People Power revolt erupted in Manila in 1986 and chased the Marcos family, down to their grandchildren, into exile. Today, the 42-year-old theater actor is assistant director of “Here Lies Love,” a much-anticipated Broadway musical ripped […]
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A Mexican girl, a trans hacker, and a diverse cast of characters in Ramon Gil’s comic books
Ramon Gil’s latest middle grade graphic novel features a diverse cast of characters in terms of ethnicity, gender identity, and neurodiversity. Since 2014, Ramon Gil’s comic stories have featured people of color — often Asian — as lead characters. As an immigrant himself, he has a soft spot for the newcomer or the outsider. “I’ve […]
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‘Across the Spider-Verse:’ Extravagant animation
By Wendell Gaa “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is not only a great superhero film or a marvelous animated one, it is a cinematic masterpiece period. In my mind the greatest animated story yet about the iconic web-slinging hero to hit the big screen. The sequel to 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” the film continues the […]