filmmaking, musings

ive just finished a lot of my assignments for the week thus i can afford to write a little something for this page. it’s such a guilt trip to be doing so much extra-curricular work to write for other stuff when what youre supposed to really do is not yet done. im not making sense. ill start over.

finally i found time to update you on some news about me. i just finished my cancer awareness project for editorial design and it’s such a relief. ive been struggling with that assignment, my work was eternally not good enough thus my professor just kept disapproving it. i wanted to understand what he wanted to see from my work and everytime i thought i got it, there was always another thing. we just didnt meet on the same level and it frustrated me. eventually of course we met and agreed on something and i got a pretty good grade for it. though the grade is important to me, the work and effort i put on my work is worth much more. sometimes i dont pass assignments on time, and risking getting the deduction for it, just because im not happy with my work. im happier with a really nice plate and a low grade than an ok plate with an ok grade. and of course at times i just dont make anything good. =)

im also getting pretty busy with preparations for this film project we have to do for our electronic media class. my group mates mike, jojo, marco and b3 and i are still working out a lot of kinks in pre-prod. i made a script and did the story treatment out of jojo’s concept and i think it’s coming out pretty well. one problem though, it’s hard to whip up dialogue. especially since it has to be in filipino! i never thought it could be that hard. anyway, we’re still trying to get pen medina to play the tatay role for this film. i actually texted him yesterday but up to now, he hasnt replied back. bad sign? im just hoping he ran out of credit. we will still have to consult with my professor but if in two day’s time we dont find him, i go to next actor on the list: gammy viray. him i know may be well in reach and might actually work with us. his wife is ama quiambao and is my first choice for playing nanay in the film. at least this way, we get them both in a film, and i guess that’s cool. are we being too ambitious in this project? i do think that you reach for the stars but keep your feet planted on the ground. if i dont get all these great actors then perhaps i can move on to lesser players. unfortunately i still dont have a plan B. what happens if i dont get them good actors? i dont want to think about it.

in the meantime let me share some poems i did years back. the math poem i did while sitting out a calculus exam (probably) that i flunked (expectedly). you see, since i couldnt find a way to answer them problems, i was thinking what i waste of space it is if i pass in an almost empty blue book. solution? write. i wrote a lot of poems and short essays in math exams. unfortunately these are all i kept. so here it is, the math poem (click on the link down below)! the other poem is one i did while trying out the typewriter i brought here from home. wanting to feel more of a writer, i lugged around that heavy piece of machinery on the boat and through the journey to katipunan. years later since i never really got to use it, it started to rust and i was actually saddened by that. anyhu i wrote some interesting pieces with it and here’s one of them. i hope i could put in the other stuff i wrote with that. actually that period of my life was when i was most angsty. this poem, staring into you, is the non-angsty thing i did when i was ‘angsty.’ i guess im using the term too much but just for kicks, here’s another coming your way: angsty! read on!
math exam poem
staring into you

ps. got news from my professor. just now i was text-conferencing with him (cesar hernando, production designer in batang west side) and he suggested that if we cant get pen medina perhaps we could try ricky davao. i was pretty excited with the idea of working with the actor. then if ever we get ricky davao, ama quiambao is definitely too “mature” for him as a wife so we have to get somebody of ricky’s age. sabi ni sir hernando baka si jacklyn jose nalang daw. he’ll try to get in contact with their managers tomorrow. i was kinda worried anton might be too young for them. the only solution was to make anton younger than he really is, perhaps make him a highschool student. besides he looks pretty young for his age, 20, and he is not that tall besides. i guess he’d be a perfect troubled highschooler! this would really be a good experience for all of us. so i guess it’s back to work, gotta make the script much better than it is today. the prospects of making this film is getting scarier and challenging everyday! the good Lord help us all. =)

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movies, musings

later i will be going back to greenbelt to watch the winner in cinemanila’s film festival. anyway, just wanted to say i bought myself a vcd copy of “shakespeare in love,” one of the best films ive seen ever and loved. gwyneth paltrow won her oscar in this movie and so did the scriptwriters, i think. most memorable is dame judi dench who won best supporting despite the fact that she was in the film for only about 8 minutes daw. anyway, really great film and im happy to have money to buy and add it to my collection. next up is american beauty! hehehehe ill update you later on the day’s events after news central tonight on studio 23! joke lang.

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movies, musings

it was raining really hard today. the millennium storm (that’s the name of the storm) woke me up at 10.30 with splashes of water through my window. it started to flood in edsa, and so many other parts in luzon, and even in national bookstore katipunan (as usual). evidently classes were called off so tootsie and i stayed home and bored ourselves to death. i was actually relieved since i still havent finished my editorial assignment on the cancer awareness for kids. although i was finished a little after lunchtime and my classes were supposed to have started at 2.30, i wasnt rushed thus i worked better. i did a lot of emailing today also. then again, ive been doing a lot of emailing the past few days. my classmates in highschool and i have gotten connected by email and we’ve been reminiscing on past comedic episodes. it’s so nice to hear from some of them, and i do hope i hear more from the rest! paging aileen! paging janjan, fabe! paging sonvie, jill, erika, madlos!

when cuzin toots and i went to greenbelt, we caught up on watching “hollywood hong kong” and “what time is it there.” the first film was from hong kong (obviously) and was really really bad and boring. perhaps it was the familiarity of the place that rendered it ordinary and not even the raw, so-they-say animalistic visuals could make it any better. there were funny instances but i guess i just had to force myself to laugh, the pains we took to get to greenbelt was not funny! we were caught in traffic in cubao, we got lost in makati and the people who worked in greenbelt didnt understand the difference between greenbelt 1 and greenbelt 3. we practically missed 10 minutes to the film! anyhow, thank God for taiwan, they sent a much better fare than their asian contemporary.

the other film we saw, “what time is it there” was a far far cry from the so-pinoy-movieness of hollywood hongkong. the film told the story of a boy whose father just died and developed a ‘hobby’ of setting clocks in taiwan to paris time after meeting a beautiful girl who left for france. the film was shot with really really long takes and there werent even much of a score. in fact, i dont remember hearing any musical scoring except at the closing credits. the prod design was simple and sparse, colors were distinct and interesting. the long takes was really nice, it cradled the film in a way that elevated it to almost surrealism, yet the dynamics were really as it would be in reality, however you would take reality to be. the film’s twist at the end was interesting, something i didnt expect (although i read it off the poster before going in the theater). im babbling right now, i know. maybe im just hungry, i dont think any of the things i said made sense. ill go make myself a tuna sandwich.

this isnt making sense. and tuna sandwich tastes soooo good!

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movies, musings

cuzin tutay and i will be taking the road less travelled to greenbelt today. i got hold of tickets for cinemanila, the international film festival here in, where else? manila. showing at 2pm is hollywood hongkong and it is said to be really good. so is the one showing after that at 5, what time is it there from taiwan. im prepping myself for a whole day thing and im sure we’ll have a good time. tita tems just saw Amelie yesternight also at the greenbelt and she had a great time. i guess that’s one more fan for the french film. it’s still on, if you wanna go watch. it’s been on for 6 weeks now.

i was doing research earlier on my project due in tuesday. we’re supposed to do a brochure or a poster or whatever material that raises awareness for kids regarding cancer. my first idea was to make a poster ad, giving cancer a human face. after consulting with my professor i realized that perhaps i should consider the coverage of my research and my output. poster can be so short-termed, and i dont even have a so-called major sponsor or a big NGO program backing up this poster. i guess i needed to hook up on an actual cancer awareness program to give my project more oomph, more reason for being. so ill probably adopt the kythe foundation’s program, following their goals and actual education program. i was focusing on the seminars and educational tours they take to schools around manila. i decided to do a sort of newsletter or fun magazine for kids that talk about cancer, causes and prevention, coupled with some games, fun art, and spiritual insights. im still thinking of contacting kythe for more information on their actual programs. yes, im still thinking… (tik tik tik boom). i also still

have to consult with my professor regarding this. ill go see him tomorrow. =)

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musings

hi everyall, medyo hello ako ngayon. ive been extremely busy doing nothing to actually do anything. my sleep cycle has been really bad, im freaking out. im sleepy in the morning and i cant sleep in the afternoon because that will really put off a lot of sleep time in the evening. then i want to do some computer work in the evening but then i have to sleep. it’s 2.29am and im supposed to be sleeping or if not, doing my school work. ok ok ill go right to it now… bye!

hello ketket, thanks for dropping by! hi also to ace, my cuz from cagayan who recently dropped by to see what i was up to. anyhu, i suppose the picture at the side is too obvious to not be noticed. it’s audrey tattou from amelie, a quaint, little giant film from france that has caught the world on fire. she’s said to be able to change your life. and in a way she has. the film’s really interesting, i hope my people in mindanao will get a chance to see it. actually i bought a pirated copy of the vcd in cagayan in the summer so i dont see why you cant get to see it.

i know i know, piracy is bad but we’re in a third world country. you cant help but buy (on occasion) those items! at least, i cant help it especially since i cant afford the original. it’s funny, now it’s a crime to buy pirated cds (video, audio, software or otherwise) but i bet your pwet computers in the government still use software installed from pirated cds. bill gates was shocked when he got here, that’s why he just donated a bunch of original Windows software for the government to use! really now, how can you really afford to buy say, an original adobe photoshop program at PhP20,000?!!! do the math, nobody can afford it! mabuhay ang piracy (or not)!

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musings

im home (obviously) and for lack of something productive to do i start defrosting our freezer while heating up leftovers for dinner. the ice in our vintage hotpoint ref has amassed all over and the freezer door wouldnt close for weeks now. weve seen worse when ever the chiller drawer beneath it couldnt be pulled out. it’s just that we havent really found time to do it and the rain has caused me to be very, very lazy (yeah, blame it on the weather). today’s my cooking day so i decided to do it while preparing dinner. on the menu today are about 5 pieces of thinly sliced pork cooked a la adobo a few evenings back, 3 slivers of pork tocino marinated in msg and pepper and cooked in a soy sauce-sauce by toots yesterday, 10 pieces of maling (not spam, not pure foods, MALING!) fried last sunday, and a saucer heapful of danggit that has aged months now in the vegetable crisper. add to that newly cooked steamed rice and a bowl of your favorite sawsawan, a real peasant’s feast! yum yum. it’s 8.31pm now, toots and ta tems have yet to check in our humble abode, there’s little ice left in the freezer now, and the tracks to “once on this island” and “youre a good man, charlie brown” has played its 2nd run on the winamp program now. i can hear chunks of ice falling off from the kitchen and that’s good news. i do speed up the process by knifing out whole chunks than just wait for it to melt. the electric fan positioned in front of the ref also helps. =) any time now the ref will run and freeze like new again.

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movies, musings

i am sam

i watched “i am sam” yesterday at the up film center and i was amazed at how smart that kid, dakota fanning, who played sean penn’s daughter was. it was incredible. at one point in the movie, sam (sean penn) tells lucy diamond dawson (dakota) she has grown a little taller and her eyes seem to have aged. she actually looked a lot like my little cuzin, tanya abcede. she has big, black curls and an inquisitive look about her. but her eyes, just like blonde and cute dakota fanning, seems to be older and way beyond her years. anyway, the movie was really touching and i could have been crying by my lonesome in the theater if not for the people around me. even at the first few minutes to the movie freshmen started sniffing and wiping their eyes and it zapped off me any empathy id normally have in a drama film. i was too disturbed by this big guy seated beside me with his girlfriend who was weeping more than she did. despite it i enjoyed the film, the soundtrack is a must-have, peppered all over with beatle staples and other hits from the 70s. at the last few minutes into the end dakota fanning finds a flying paper bird made of pink art paper. she picks it up, realizing it’s from her dad. she scans the trees above her but didnt find him. she smiles and moves on as her foster mom (laura dern from jurassic park) leads on. later a crane shot zooms up and we see sean penn perched way up in the canopy of leaves looking on. all the while sarah maclachlan sings a cover of the beatles’ black bird. really sweet, heartbreaking and uplifting, an irony of love and family. truly cinematic, it’s youre cue to sigh and blow your nose.

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musings

finally i was able to go to tandang sora to get my sandals. i had them resoled since i lost my other beloved pair of mojos, the one that i really liked and recently bought and was stolen on my first night in camiguin. yes i really miss that pair. now im back to my old one, and i was getting really tired of wearing just my islander slippers or my cheap faux leather sandals i bought from gaisano especially since the rubber has started to smell (naman, after all the rain!). im a sandals person and ive already been branded and identified to wear mojos. i wouldnt mind shoes at all but really, slippers are more comfortable. i might inspire a return to the olden times where people walked around in their wrap-around (grecian style ba) leather flip-flops you know.

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musings

im bored. it’s been a really long time since i had anything to say here. obviously a lot has happened. im now a junior in fine arts. just when i thought schooling was easy and i could wing it, first day of classes i meet most of my professors and they are really serious about their careers! i cant afford to take it easy so i might have to work harder still. im off to a promising start (it really helps if youre older than most of your classmates) and i hope i can go the distance. the Lord has been mighty great to me, i believe i got great teachers and great opportunities. one of my anticipated projects this year is doing a short film. my group mates and i havent decided on what to do but i thought it would be better for the group if i let go of major responsibilities. i kinda made a vow to myself that come the next project i wont be leader again. unfortunate for me now i wont get to be director. then again, if they put me up as director i might have a hard time saying no. giving up being director, are you kidding me? anyhow it all really depends on my group mates. ill be happy working anywhere. really.

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movies

malena

have you ever heard of that little film called malena? malena is the story of a young boy’s coming of age, who speaks of her as the girl he’s always loved and will never forget despite the fact that theyve never really known each other. it starred super gorgeous model monica belluci. you cant forget the face. she’s so beautiful and it was painful to see her go through so much in the film. indeed it’s no small wonder the townsfolk stop to look every time she passes by. literally she stops traffic. the film opens to establish the period of the film where provincial italy remains idyllic as the father purchases a bike for his son, while outside in the city towncenter, speakers blare out addresses from military leaders regarding news about the war. the bike signals the boy’s promotion towards being regarded as a youth rather than a kid– although we would later find out that his short pants keep him from really leaving “boy” status. nevertheless, he is soon accepted to join the older kids playing adults and wolfing the beautiful lady living by the sea. here we first gape and be mesmerized at malena as she walks the whole dusty length of the seawall road to town in her pretty white dress. as if by magic we are enthralled, just like the boy, on the vision of ultimate beauty that just passed by our eyes. throughout the film, malena just takes our breath away even without meeting our glances or even engaging us in conversation. the rest of the movie surfs through malena’s downward spiral from goddess to pond scum (to borrow from my best friend’s wedding) and we stand witness, like the boy, admiring human perseverance and spirit, to empathize, and most importantly, to love.

the film was done by director Giuseppe Tornatore of cinema paradiso and it evoked a lot of the spirit and power of italian cinema at its best. my classmates have teased me about my preference to sad movies (sad, not melodramatic) with bittersweet endings like american beauty, children of the marshlands, la vita e bella, and many, many others like it. i just think that pain has been perfectly captured in these films and nothing can really beat the emotional rollercoaster ride an audience takes to enjoy these films. sometimes it’s so sad it gets me right there between my lungs and i cant help but be human.

the film also brings to mind another coming-of-age movie made in the 70s, summer of 42. other, the theme to the film, i dont remember much about it except that they actually got to consummate their quasi love affair. we could draw a lot of similarities between films– husband goes to war, he dies, boy spies on girl, boy falls in love with girl, etc. anyway, thank God malena is presently available in video rental stores and is also sold at PhP 150.

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