The Philippine Online Chronicles

COMICS

Pinoy wins Best Asian Comic Book Award

Comic artist Gerry Alanguilan first learned about his nomination to the Association of Comic Book Journalists’ Prix Asie-ACBD 2011 after he came upon an online post about his work. "Since the site was in French, I didn’t know exactly what it meant, even when I translated it through Google. I really don’t trust robot translators all that much. It wasn’t until Budjette Tan and my French publisher confirmed what it meant and I saw it mentioned on the Comics Reporter site…I finally knew what it was," he wrote on his blog.

His publisher, who attended the Japan expo awards, was the one who received the award in his behalf.

“Elmer,” according to its website, is “a window into an alternate Earth where chickens have suddenly acquired the intelligence and consciousness of humans, and push to recognize rights for themselves as the newest members of the human race. Elmer tells the story of a family of chickens who live and struggle to survive in a suddenly complicated, dangerous and yet beautiful world.”

“Elmer” is also nominated for Best Graphic Album in the 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award.

FILM & TV

Progressive filmmakers convene in international film fest at UP

Agitprop: International Film Festival on People’s Struggles which features progressive films from all over the world starts today at the University of the Philippines. Among the filmmakers attending the event is Brazilian activist-filmmaker Iara Lee who was among the passengers of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla attacked by the Israeli navy last year. Her film “Cultures of Resistance” will headline the opening night.

Lee and her crew were able to preserve a footage of the said attack which will be released after being screened at the United Nations.

Other attending filmmakers are Malcolm Guy and Marie Boti of Canada’s Productions Multi-Monde. The two had already guested at a pre-Agitprop forum in UP last Thursday. German filmmaker Mustafa Kilinc’s “A Smiling Face in the Circle of Fire” features the guerrilla group New People’s Army while Filipino-American Eric Tandoc’s “Sounds of a New Hope” tells the story of a Fil-Am rapper who went back to the country to learn about grassroots movements.

Local films included in the festival are Joel Lamangan’s “Dukot” (Desaparecidos) and Mayday Multimedia’s “Ka Bel.”

The film festival will run from July 2 to 4 at the UP College of Mass Communications Media Center. More information on the festival may be found here.

PETA on Rafa Santos and his catty comment

Indie film director Rafael “Rafa” Santos’ “skyflakes and catfood” remark continues to raise eyebrows even after his public apology. The young filmmaker wrote, “I recently made an unfortunate remark about your Community that, to say the very least, I am not proud of. I was trying to be funny, but what I didn't realize at the time is that an artist's passion is not something to be humorous about.”

Santos, in an interview for ANC, said, theater actors are better to work with because they don’t complain...You can feed them SkyFlakes 3 meals a day and pay them in cat food basically.”

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) said in return, “The insensitive statements of Rafael Santos does not only demean our craft as actors but reinforces the prevalent view with which society, the entertainment industry in particular, regards theater actors and artists—that we are mere commodities in the realm of television and filmmaking.”

The group added that Santos’ apology should be made in the same venue (television) “that he maligned us.”

Charice not in Glee anymore

Meanwhile, news came out that Charice Pempengco will not be returning to the hit television show “Glee.” Glee creator Ryan Murphy told reporters that Pempengco’s character Sunchine Corazon will not be included in the upcoming 3^rd season and that there will no longer be celebrity guests.

The season will have the old characters graduate, giving way to new actors and actresses for the musical series.

Amigo premieres in Trinoma

International independent film director John Sayles’ Philippine-American war film “Amigo” premiered last week at the Trinoma mall. Veteran stars attended the event including the film’s lead star Joel Torre.

Sayles, an American, said, “Generally, we win a war, we celebrate. There's [only] 2 other American movies ever made about this war in 110 years. It tells you that it’s something very controversial in the United States to the point that they buried the history.”

Department Secretary Brother Armin Luistro said, "There are many fresh insights and lessons to pick from the film for anyone who dares to live life's questions today.”

Torre also said that the film tells the stories never mentioned in history books and that it needs the support of Filipino viewers.

THEATER

Filipino baritone in US operetta

Baritone Andrew Fernando stars in Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s operetta “Moscow, Cherry Town” produced by the Long Beach Opera in California.

Fernando plays main character Sasha, a Soviet housing-unit dweller in 1980s Moscow. A couple of years ago, he played the titular role in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The play addresses the period’s chronic housing shortage through the lives of Sasha and his friends.

Tanghalang Pilipino’s 25^th season

In commemoration of Jose Rizal’s sesquicentennial and the theater production’s own 25^th season, Tanghalang Pilipino will be opening in August with Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere.”

The play will be directed by Audie Gemora while singers Mark Bautisa and Gian Magdangal will alternate as Crisostomo Ibarra. Cris Villonco will play Maria Clara.

The musical’s libretto was arranged by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera and Ryan Cayabyab.