i cant stop eating them. mom, finished half the bag, i’ma...

I can’t believe I’ve been waiting for this day for ages (in my world, it means months!),  tomorrow morning or in a few hours, me and my family (mum dad and 2 sisters) will be going back to Davao City, Philippines for a holiday!

We’ll be going for 3 weeks~ that’s not long enough but that’s the maximum my work will ever grant me! Booo! This holiday will also be when my mum and dad will celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary, they will be renewing their vows on 30th June, and all of my scattered family members will be flying in for the event! 

For the past few months, I’ve literally been the wedding planner for the wedding, I’ve picked out the wedding souvenirs, made the gift tags, made the invitations, made the table labels and whatnot! It was actually fun but very stressful, can you imagine if it was a full-blown wedding? 

I’ve bought my dress for the event, I will be posting some pictures of the night~ but I reckon I won’t have a lot of time. 

I suppose a lot of people do this but I keep checking and re-checking everything, passport,insurance, dress, shoes, bag, booze, swimwear, it must have took me a few weeks to plan my outfits and get stuff sorted, I only finished packing 2 hours ago! 

I’m very very excited~ although I hear that there’s a lot of torrential rain in Manila at the moment, I suppose it is monsoon season, but from what I could remember as a child living in Davao, Davao City always had good weather all year long, you get the occassional storm and rain but not hurricanes! Thank god for Mount Apo!

I may not be able to go back on tumblr until I land either in Manila or Davao on Monday evening but I will try my luck for wifi in Abu Dhabi airport!

I love you guys! xxx 

Watching the Rain

Photo taken in San Pedro, San Pablo City, Philippines

Remember that little Asian girl from the Missy Elliott videos from the early 00’s? That girl was Monica Parales. She’s not a little girl anymore. She’s had a pretty impressive resume under her 18 year old belt. She appeared in a number of Missy Elliott videos, was in Eminem’s “Just Lose It” video, appeared in a number of commercials, TV shows and is a member of Nick Cannon-mentored girl group the “School Gyrls”. In addition, she was a member of Team Millenia Juniors, a competitive hip hop dance team based in Fullerton, CA.

Of course, Philippines is not a CUNTry. It’s a country.

Tiyanak is a creature which, in Philippine mythology, imitates the form of a child. It usually takes the form of a newborn baby and cries like one in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by the victim, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim. Theories claim that the Tianak is the spirit of a child whose mother died before giving birth. This caused it to be “born in the ground”, thus gaining its current state.

My nephew. How much i miss him. 

Inside Quiapo Church

A  look inside Quiapo church also known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene. Apparently photography was not allowed so I was unable to get more shots.

Photo taken in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines.

i cant stop eating them. mom, finished half the bag, i’ma finish the rest LOL

Illustration by Twisted Fork aka Dan Matutina

I miss being tan.
I miss waking up to the sounds of roosters.
I miss washing my hair in sun silk.
I miss the mangos in the sushi.
I miss going to the internet cafes.
I miss texting for cheap.
I miss getting my nails done for $8.
I miss riding the elevators at the malls.
I miss the beach.
I miss the jeepney rides.
I miss the clear waters.
I miss the amazing mango shakes.
I miss going clubbing every night.
I miss Ken.
I miss going to mass in a cathedral without AC. 
I miss my family. 
I miss my cousins.

t a k e   m e   b a c k.

 

OMG. WAT.

My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

My Travel to Siquijor Island: Philippines

Give http://www.facebook.com/TOPGEARPHILIPPINES enough LIKES so they can paint my cousin’s personal car PINK! HAHA! DO IT!!!

untitled by boiworx on Flickr.

Would I exchange a pie for a tinapay?

No way, Inday. 

I’d die.

(This would be the lines running in my head once I meet this guy.)

Short films in the Philippines / Tropical Melody Programmes
Festival- 2008 January

Cinema was introduced in Spanish colonized Manila in 1897 with the screening of short films which lasted no more than 45 seconds each and became the rage of the viewing public. An officer of the Spanish Army, Antonio Ramos imported a Lumiere Cinematographe along with 30 films that had the capacity to photograph and project films that he made on Manila in 1898.

Short films in the form of documentation (travelogues, events, and activities) during the American colonial period blossomed into longer feature films with the opening of more movie houses in Manila which became one of the centers for film exhibition in the Far East of the 20th Century. Films came not only from the USA but also from other European countries like France, Germany, Italy, England, and Denmark. Films like Lumiere Brothers’ travelogues and George Melies’ film d’art were shown. Filipino film director Manuel Silos made and starred in short comedies during the silent films in the late 1920s. More Hollywood entertainment full-length feature films which dominated in the 1930s came to the Philippine shores with short films relegated to the side.

After World War II and into the 1950s, outstanding Filipino short films were made, led by Ben Pinga who ushered the production, exhibition, and its international promotion. Some of these won awards in international film festivals before feature films earned plaudits in Asia.

In the 1960s, several short films were cited and won in international film festivals. More short films were made during the repressive Martial Law of the 1970s that nipped every free form of expression in the country. Social decay and political havoc created by the Marcos dictatorship became the context from which the short filmmakers built their own alternative cinema. The winning of Kidlat Tahimik’s “Perfumed Nightmare” of the jury prize in Berlin in the 1970s, although made as a full-length film, inspired a lot of short filmmakers because of its highly independent spirit.

Through the support of foreign institutions (such as the Goethe Institut), the Mowelfund Film Institute (MFI), established in 1979, along with the University of the Philippines Film Center, stood tall as the leader in drawing up the country’s contemporary alternative film history. MFI and the U.P. Film Center conducted film workshops that produced short films (mostly on the Super-8mm film format) that became a veritable treasure trove with films of Raymond Red, Roxlee, and Nick Deocampo, who heads the MFI up to the present. As a further testament, Raymond Red would later win the country’s first and only Palme D’Or in Cannes for his “Anino” (Shadows) in 2000.

It was in this tumultuous era of the early 1980s leading up to the People Power revolt of 1986 when the filmmakers became seriously aware of each other’s existence and thus initiating the emergence of a significant movement in alternative cinema. Recognition for the works of short filmmakers was finally in order. In the early 1980s, Manila Short Film Festival and the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines’ short film festivals were held. Healthy competitions at the present annual Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) became the springboard of filmmakers for more artistic expressions. Short film awards were also given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (local film critics group), From the 1970s up to the present, more filmmaking workshops were held and more schools offered classes on filmmaking. Leading universities are Ateneo, de la Salle, and the College of Mass Communication and the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines (UP). Short feature, documentary, experimental, and animation film categories were made mostly in super-8mm and 16mm format, until the 1990s when video and digital formats flourished. Mini short film festivals are also held in some universities. The creation of the National Commission for Culture & the Arts’ Cinema Committee awards film grants to deserving filmmakers furthering the recognition for short films and alternative cinema in general. The late 90s saw the establishment of the Cinemanila International Film Festival headed by filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz, and with the explosion of digital video “indie” production, we witnessed the launching of other alternative venues such as the C.C.P.’s Cinemalaya Film Festival which started in 2005, The Pelikula at Lipunan (Film and Society) Film Festival, eKsperimento, .mov film festivals, and the recent Animahenasyon Film Festival, the 1st animation film festival competition in the country, and the Kontra Agos (Counter Flow), a Resistance Film Festival that subvert popular cinematic and political conventions.

The need for easily accessible venues for the thriving (primarily digital) independent film scene nowadays has further influenced the formation of several alternative venues. Among them is the Robinson’s Galleria Mall where film festivals by the newly-formed Independent Film Cooperative (IFC) were held; the censored-free venues of the C.C.P., and the Cine Adarna of the Film Institute at the University of the Philippines. Other small venues are the Cinekatipunan, Pelikula @Titus Brandsma, and the Mogwai Café Bar.

Manila does not hold exclusivity for the Philippine film buzz. Film groups and collectives, regular screening venues and film festivals have been initiated in cities outside Manila like the cities of Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, and Davao.

After more than a century of short filmmaking – the mother of all cinemas is still very much alive and flourishing in the country.

Entries were lifted from the Mowelfund Film Institute Catalog by Nick Deocampo, and from the papers of Mervin Espina who is a part of the organizing committee of the Annual Southeast Asian Cinemas Conference (ASEACC),

edited by Cesar Hernando.

Illustration by Twisted Fork aka Dan Matutina