so i finally got around to mount some of the movie poster postcards i got from the terryho ponozky shop in prague on a big frame. it’s so pretty. i decided to get 1 frame first and see how it looks and i think it looks awesome. will probably get two more frames so i can mount the rest of the postcards and another set of andy warhol male nude sketches on postcards somebody gifted me (except im still trying to remember who gave it, the note it came with got lost through time). so cool.
karlovy vary is about 1.5 hours from prague in the czech republic. i had but recently only realized that czechoslovakia had divided itself in 1993 (i blame sleepy afternoons and not concentrating in history). so there is the czech republic and there is slovakia on the map. awesome to learn something every day, right?
karlovy vary is known for their spas and medicinal spring waters and a lot of their tourism is towards people seeking wellness and therapy. however, every july their sleepy little town gets to throw a big party for the summer crowd and because it hosts the karlovy vary international film festival.
this is Hotel Thermal, home of the karlovy vary international film festival. the hotel is kinda like CCP, except with a hotel and is near everybody else.
our film, KAPATIRAN (Brotherhood), was screened this year, ive blogged about it already. this post would show a little bit of karlovy vary instead.
one of the ballrooms in the grandhotel pupp with a big ass morgan freeman portrait. one of the biggest spa hotels in karlovy vary and where a lot of the parties during the festival were hosted. it’s awesome for 1 festival to have most of the whole city so involved. you can see a lot of their poster billboards all over. the theaters are spread out and not just in one venue.
another one of the venues where we had our 2nd screening of karlovy vary. goofing outside the cafe, we were joined by hubert poul (6th from left), programmer in karlovy vary and the one who was responsible for bringing us to the czech republic. also in the photo in lucille (rightmost) who was in-charge of our schedules and car transfers. very organized and with a bmw sponsorship for transfers, we were major alta in karlovy vary haha
early morning and the crowd had just partied the night before. still some few souls traversing through the venue and gardens, others sunbathing for their life. im pinoy, no thanks, i have my umbrella to shield me from the sun.
the view outside hotel ruze, where we enjoy our breakfast buffet of cheeses, hard bread, and yohgurt. plus goulash and different kinds of sausages as well.
another of the collonades that feature a spring of water, supposedly medicinal and which you can drink (if you buy them touristy ceramic mugs).
we stayed for 4-5 days but wish we could stay the whole week. got to watch brillante mendoza’s ma’rosa (heartbreaking) and swiss army man, directed by dan kwan and daniel scheinert (amazing). then of course, the new edit to kapatiran, which we saw for the first time in karlovy vary. during the q&a, pepe likened the philippines to shattered glass, an archipelago of broken people, separated by seas and subcultures yet connected by affiliations. and then there was a proposal that occurred. but that will be another story.
for the rest of the photos i took in karlovy vary, head on to my fb photodump album.
while doing research and working out the production design for the feature film, heneral luna, i got inspired by a scene from the script and decided to draw a sketch with antonio luna lost in thought playing his guitar and is about to be interrupted by his mother at the door. sketch is obviously unfinished but up to today i dont have the heart to finish it.
the next installment to the behind the scenes videos for ABOVE THE CLOUDS was released a few days ago. here it is:
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the 1st video is posted here.
still shooting pepe diokno’s above the clouds in the mountain province with a trek up mount pulag to culminate the shoot. i cant post most of the photos yet as we are still shooting a few more scenes down in baguio but here’s a shot of the art department at the peak with a view of the sea of clouds. it pays to not work a day in your life with projects like this.
clockwise from left: arman montallana, mikee supetran, carlo tabije, ramon recana, docdoc, russel amis, randy, and me
it’s day 9 for our shoot of pepe diokno’s above the clouds with protegé’s ruru madrid and philippine rock legend pepe smith. we started with about 5 days of shoot in baguio before moving to sagada, also in the mountain province. altitude in baguio is about 1600 meters and attitude is ubber cool. temperature during the day is about 22 deg celsius and evenings drop to 14 although it felt more like 10 degrees.
One thing i love about pd work with locations is that we get to go ahead of the team and sometimes make stops when we like, like taking a photo at the famous Lion head along the highway. With carlo and me is ramon recana, art director.
One of our main sets in baguio was pepe smith’s character’s house. It had to look rundown and textured and his emotions are boxed up in storage for a later reveal. It was challenging not to go overboard with the clutter and it was fun shooting in that location in camp allen, not to mention it wasnt as cold as shooting the exterior scenes at night.
Photos from home used as a prop. At the upper left corner is a photo of my sister, tina, when she was about 3 years old.
Me standing in so i could have this shot
Director Pepe Diokno takes a break on our set
first time for us to work with Pepe Diokno, who directed his first film Enkwentro that got him the Lion of the future award in 2009 at the venice film festival. This would only be his second film and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. Producer bianca balbuena was the one who brought us into the project along with the motley crew from jerrold tarog’s other films: ben tolentino (script con), nicholas varela (sound recordist), cris aquino (ad), and on-set mascot oniel parker (pm). First time to also work with dop carlo mendoza, tonee acejo (lp), mark locsin (sound recordist and engineer), and a slew of others.
This man is a revelation. Pepe Smith on his guitar between takes.
Me doing a pepe smith while playing the chords to a nirvana song (the only two guitar chords i know how to play)
currently we are now in sagada prior to climbing mt pulag. really enjoying the shoot. I thought id freeze to death in the mountains but i slowly adjusted to the weather and im enjoying the company of friends. It’s true you’ll never have to work a day in your life if you enjoy what you’re doing, like art directing the forest and designing for a film about a boy orphaned and finding where his home now lies above the clouds.
this is A MAP FOR SATURDAY, a 2007 documentary written and directed by Brook Silva-Braga, about backpacking solo around the world and living an unending weekend for 365 days. unlike most of us who would only dream of doing such things, Braga decides to quit his day job and go see the world. this movie comes at a critical time in my life when i just came from a trip in siem reap, cambodia and am already itching to pack my bags again and travel.
this is feeding on my current state of unrest (and a bit of insomnia) and further aggravating my need to fly away. this, despite im actually on my way back to baguio and sagada this month and climbing mt pulag all for a film shoot. after this “work project”, im already dreaming and planning a trip to boracay with co-workers in may, and a pre-scheduled trip to cagayan de oro and camiguin in june. ive currently semi-recruited two other people to join Carlo and me to backpack to batanes towards the 2nd half of the year. next year, we’re hoping to be trekking down southeast asia again. or maybe paris, who knows? these ideas are keeping me awake longer, you know?
i need to sleep already.
benjamin padero 