PINOY MIXX
It was in 1981, when a petite, brown Filipina actress invaded Cannes with her superb acting.
Filipino superstar Nora Aunor is coming back to Cannes after over three decades. The legendary filmmaker the late Lino Brocka, in a film classic “Bona,” crafted a film that was made an entry in Cannes Director’s Fortnight category.
After 33 years, another Nora Aunor film will be shown in Cannes, one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, this time teaming up with the 2009 Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza.
The film “Taklub’ made it this year to Cannes in the Uncertain Regard Category. The story depicts and revolves around the struggles of the survivors of the Super typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban in Eastern Visayas.
This is Mendoza’s tribute to the survivors of the tragedy and his way of depicting Filipino’s strength of character and resiliency amidst a tragedy.
The film festival will be held on May 13-24 just in time for La Aunor’s 62nd birthday celebration.
Nora Aunor is the only Filipino actress whose three films were declared by international film festivals as one of the most prestigious and credible. These are “Bona” by the late Lino Brocka in Cannes; “Himala” by Ishmael Bernal in Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), and “Thy Womb” by Brillante Mendoza in Venice.
Nora Aunor was also honored by her fellow Asians artists as she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement by the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) 2015 last April 11 in formal ceremonies held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Veteran stage and film actor Bernardo Bernardo, Director Brillante Mendoza and Cherie Gil during the opening of Filmfest Café.
Coffee Shop
Speaking of film festivals, 2009 Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza explored his mettle in entrepreneurial skills by putting up a café and restaurant that will cater to local film celebrities’ fastidious taste.
Aptly named Film Festival Café and Restaurant, the place boasts of a delightful line up of food and drinks and an ambience that will transport you into a comforting and relaxing place to wine and dine.
Explore and Expand
Peque Gallaga, another Philippine film icon, has decided to explore and expand his artistic bent into another visual art form — painting.
Gallaga, prior to his being one of the most respected Filipino movie directors, has studied painting during his teen years. He took up anatomical drawing in Madrid, Spain.
In his first exhibit “Gray Matters” at the Verite gallery in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Gallaga chose HB graphite pencil as his medium because “it ideally serves his purpose. His main idea is the delineation of the human figure, and graphite pencil or charcoal is its primary instrument,” Cid Reyes, a well known author of coffee book tables of National Artists like Arturo Luz, BenCab and Napoleon Abueva observed.
Peque’s famous films include “Oro, Plata, Mata”, “Scorpio Nights”, and “Virgin Forest.”
Bienvenido Lumbera, a National Artist for Literature in the Philippines, described Gallaga as a “compleat cinema artist”, being a director, actor, screen playwright, production designer, and mentor of budding directors.
“Gallaga’s “Gray Matters” is used in the informal sense, meaning intelligence, and in aesthetic exercise where the human body, unable to lie, manifests itself as lucidly as the emotions that emanate from its every pore, as expressively as the light that glints from the subject’s eyes, the artist invites us to glean as many shades of meanings in the wealth of grays that he has enveloped in his images”, Cid Reyes continues point out of Gallaga’s work.
Celebrities from local showbiz and friends from Bacolod came to supported Peque Gallaga’s first solo exhibit.
What’s in a Name???
Filipinos whose names are so native and exotic sounding sometimes find it an issue when they go abroad. Foreigners find some names difficult to pronounce, that our dear Kababayans had no choice but to change their names and adapt to the international standards. Or some international names that are translated into our native language could sound hilarious. I’d like to share with you some of these names:
Lakambini Tatlong Hari = Queenie Epiphany
Federico Hagibis = Federal Express
Ligaya Anonuevo = Happy New Year
Maria Navidad = Mary Christmas
Demetria Dagdag = Demi Moore
Burgos Reyes = Burger King
Esteban Pagtakhan = Stevie Wonder
Juan Tampipi = John Samsonite
Victoria Malihim = Victoria Secret
Leon Mangubat = Tiger Woods
Casimiro Bocaycay = Cashmere Bouquet
Alfonso de Asis = Alzheimer’s Disease
Topacio Mamaril = Top Gun
Veneracio de Asis = Venereal Disease
Juanito Lakarin = Johnnie Walker
