The Philippine Online Chronicles

FILM

The Tunnel

Most of us remember him as host of sports show Gameplan but it has been six years since Carlo Ledesma left the Philippines and his hosting career, to live in Sydney, Australia. Then an aspiring filmmaker, Ledesma has made a name for himself. In 2007, his film The Haircut, won the Best Film Award at the Short Film Corner of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. And just recently, his innovative horror film “The Tunnel” is said to be shaping up as the viral movie of the year, even listed into The Internet and Movie Database’s (IMDB) Modern Masters of Horror.

The film is set in the underground tunnels of Australia. A team of reporters set out to discover the cause of Sydney’s water shortage only to find something else.

Using the “found footage” genre (same as Blair Witch project), Ledesma played with the dark setting and the plot of survival horror.

Instead of releasing it commercially, Ledesma sold 135 frames of the film to raise funds for its completion. As of the moment, its torrent site has gotten more than half a million downloads.

Instituto Cervantes’ 44 Filipino Filmmakers

On Tuesday, Instituto Cervantes de Manila launched its trilingual coffee table book Cineastas Filipino, Filipino Filmmakers,Mga Sineastang Pilipino. It is a compilation of portraits taken by Spanish photographer Oscar Orengo since he first came to the country in 2008.

The book is accompanied by biographical sketches and filmographies of filmmakers written by Shirley Lua.

Featured Filipino cinematographers include both veteran and newbie directors such as Eddie Romero, Jose Javier Reyes and Celso Ad. Castillo, Byron Bryant, Raya Martin, Brillante Mendoza, Ellen Ramos and Paolo Villaluna.

THEATER

Bedroom politics

Katrina Stuart Santiago’s new article tackled Floy Quintos’ “Evening at the Opera,” directed by Jomari Jose and debuted at the Virgin Labfest 7.

Santiago wrote about how the play’s characters, mainly a governor and his wife, brings politics inside their bedroom, eventually revealing the different dynamics of their public and private life.

Set in a stage with a king-sized bed, a dresser and an ottoman, “Quintos' story of one evening inside a bedroom unfolds and seamlessly includes the audience as an integral part of it: instead of being voyeurs, the political narrative forces us into silence because we are its victim, we are complicit in it, we are doomed to it,” said Santiago.

FASHION

Filipino-German designer Jonathan Christopher Hofwegen made it as a finalist at this year’s “Designer for Tomorrow” award at the Berlin Fashion Week. American designer Marc Jacobs personally picked five finalists, including Hofwegen who uses elegant fabrics and barely-there prints, seen only under a black light.

Hofwegen and the other finalists presented their collections last July 6. It was Alexandra Kiesel who was chosen as the Designer for Tomorrow, with her colorful and geometric designs using modular toy necklaces as accessories.

Hofwegen was born in Manila but grew up in the Netherlands where he is completing his Masters degree in design studies.

ART

Filipinos in Hong Kong Art Fair

Contemporary Filipino artists are making a mark for themselves abroad, drawing their own following from different nationalities. This month, ART HK 11, a four-year old art fair paved the way for transnational art exchanges.

Eighteen Filipino artists were showcased in the fair by galleries from Milan, Hong Kong and Manila.

Manila-based gallery Drawing Room featured a selection of sculpture, paintings and installation by Alfredo Aquilizan, Diokno Pasilan, Mark Salvatus, Roderico José Daroy, Kawayan de Guia, Riel Hilario and Troy Ignacio.

Owner Cesar Villalon Jr. said galleries regularly participate in art fairs to get more exposure. “Thousands of people from different countries will see Philippine contemporary art in this small space of a booth so people get to know us much faster,” he added.

Italian art gallery Primo Marella devotes space for Ronal Ventura’s paintings, sculptures and installations.

“Much of his work starts from a religious departure but somehow he can speak to those who are not Christian as he achieves a language that is totally universal and touches what is at the base of humankind,” gallery curator Elena Micheletti said.

A handful of Filipino art collectors also attended the event.

Local galleries

Philippine Star featured several artists and their scheduled gallery openings. Among them is Roberto Chabet with his yoga-inspired installations “Sitting Standing Lying Walking.” It opened on July 6 at the Corredor Gllery, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. The show will run until August 5.

It is part of his “Chabet: 50 Years,” a series of exhibitions in celebration of his 50 years in pioneering conceptual work and his role in Filipino contemporary art.

Photographer John Silva will also be showing his collection in “A Token of Our Friendship: Philippine Photos of Male Affection, First Half of the 20^th Century.” It will be on view until July 30 at the Silverlens Gallery in Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati City.

Galerie Anna of SM Megamall also featured Vicente Pado Jr.’s “Terra Mater” while Mag:net Katipunan will showcase Pete Jimenez’s life-size sculptures from automobile body parts, aptly entitled “Body Parts.”