Sid Lucero (Contributed Photo)(UPDATE) The “Kasambuhay, Habambuhay Short Film Anthology” presented by Nestle Philippines, in cooperation with Star Cinema and Cinema One, premiered last June 10 in Power Plant Cinema in Rockwell.
Nestle and ABS-CBN executives and stars Toni Gonzaga, Jake Cuenca, Mariel Rodriguez, Luis Manzano and Melissa Ricks graced the event. The ten short films showcased different genres and highlighted values embodied by each pillar brand.
Award-winning directors came up with ten-minute short films and worked with top actors like Eddie Garcia, Sid Lucero, Gloria Romero, Marvin Agustin and John Lloyd Cruz.
‘The Howl and The Fussyket’ directed by Chris Martinez kicked off the presentation. The film, starring Eugene Domingo, Gerald Pesigan and Kiray became an instant hit with the audience, thanks to the funny, yet heartwarming interactions between Eugene and her on-screen son Aaron (Gerald), who is determined to win a declamation contest despite his ‘f’ and ‘p’ speech defect. Gerald was such a natural he made the audience laugh, especially when he was preparing for the contest.
The melodrama ‘Unplugged,’ directed by Raul Jorolan, followed. This stars Eddie Garcia and Marvin Agustin as grandfather and grandson, respectively. They disconnect to the wired world to discover natural wonders and reconnect to a life they’ve missed. The film, set in the countryside, is refreshing as it takes you back to life’s basics.
Sid Maderazo’s ‘Isang Tasang Pangarap,’ is a twist on Nora Aunor’s classic film ‘Himala.’ It stars Ramon Bautista as a coffee psychic.
How did Sid come up with the funny concept inspired by ‘Himala’? ‘This may sound funny, but I got the idea while I was drinking coffee. I noticed the coffee residue formed interesting patterns in the bottom of the cup. From there, I developed the story and created the character around Ramon Bautista,” Sid told Yahoo! OMG Philippines.
Bautista provided comic relief as a financially-challenged man who turns into a new hero and hope of his town.
“I cannot think of anyone perfect for the role than Ramon, it was a great collaboration with him. And throughout the shoot, the character evolved more into his own persona, which made it funnier,” Sid adds.
“Silup”, or “pulis” spelled backwards, directed by Jun Reyes, shows the other side of a policeman most people perceive as tough and harsh. Sid as the title role switches from tough to sensitive while relating the day’s events to his grandmother (Gloria Romero). At first, the audience kept on guessing why he would routinely take cans of sterilized milk from the cupboard. Succeeding scenes established an image of a loving, dutiful grandson.
“Sali Salita,” directed by A/F Benaza is built around an irony. A mother who writes children’s stories cannot find time to bond and create moments with her own son. Then something happens and the mother makes it up to her son while further stimulating his rich imagination. Neil Coleta is Nicos, whose obsession with Mattina (Coleen Garcia) makes him pine for her while the family is on their way to an outing. His parents learn of his feelings in ‘Oh! Pa Ra Sa Ta U Wa Yeah!’ directed by Jeorge Agcaoli. The film takes on a musical genre, as Nicos and his family sing their way through the trip and go through an old manual about how men in their clan court women. A musical is pretty hard to pull off, but the plot, songs and the cast are effective in catching the audiences’ attention.
“Downtown,” directed by Stephen Ngo, is the story about an old man in a Chinese community who gets a second chance in love. Scene where the man works hard to improve and fix himself are inspiring and touching. ‘Tingala sa Baba,’ directed by Henry Frejas, captures the value of friendship between two children from different backgrounds. The simplicity of the scene showing the kids playing on the seesaw captures the simple joys of children.
“Cooking Mo, Cooking Ko” directed by Chris Martinez is the modern-day comedy version of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Two families try to outdo each other as the most popular ‘carinderia’. Their children are naturally caught in-between the rivalry.
“Sign Seeker,” directed by Carlo Directo, stars John Lloyd Cruz and Solenn Heussaff. The romantic film is about man (John Lloyd) who looks for odd signs to determine whether he will date a girl (Solenn) or not.
Free screenings were held in select SM Cinemas nationwide from June 11-12. With Maridol Ranoa-Bismark
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Short films anthology highlights Pinoy values
By Karen Valeza | omg! Philippines News Blog – Fri, Jun 10, 2011 6:06 PM PHTWhat's Buzzing
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