GUILLEN. Espouses movies that make a difference.
Christmas lanterns evoke a warm feeling this season, with their lambent glow that promises hope, love and joy and all things bright and blessed!
It’s also a time to celebrate the people who mean the most to us. In entertainment, media and the arts, some celebrities have made a glowing difference in the viewing public’s lives, because they’ve gone beyond mere diversion to do work that has hit us where we live, breathe and love. We say special thanks to them – our Christmas Stars:
Boots Anson-Roa – she works indefatigably as Mowelfund head, making life better for hundreds of film workers fallen on hard times.
That goes literally double for Cinemalaya officials, Laurice Guillen and Robbie Tan, for making sure that the indie competition discovers genuinely gifted filmmakers and exciting movies that will impinge onviewers’ lives.
Against all odds, Robert Seña and Isay Alvarez put up the Spotlight Artists Center to discover and train theater-TV-film artists for this and the next generations.
National Artist Eddie Romero – thanks for proving that creativity is truly ageless!
ROA. Works indefatigably as Mowelfund head.
In this regard, we also express our admiration for another “overachieving octogenarian,” Eddie Garcia, for still being an active presence on our TV-film screens. And we pray that Adolf Alix Jr. finally directs Eddie in the big “legal action drama” that we’ve been pushing them to shoot for years now, because we believe that only Eddie can do full justice to the plum role.
Another octogenarian we’d like to thank is the famous visual artist, Araceli “Cheloy” Dans, for making her art her life – and vice-versa.
To say that Cheloy is a constant and abiding inspiration is to gift her with Swarovski crystals when only diamonds will do – but, we hope you get the point.
Partnership
Still in the visual arts, we thank glass sculptor, Roman Orlina, and his wife, Lay-An, for their creative and prolific partnership.
For “Travel Time” host-producer, Susan Medina, more telecasts and magazine issues to make Filipinos realize that domestic travel isn’t just educational, it’s truly inspirational and a great way to know not just our country, but ourselves.
Ditto for travel and cultural writer, Bibsy Carballo – and may she come out with her second film book next year.
Speaking of books, it’s our fervent hope that Behn Cervantes will finally write and publish his ultra-eventful and “colorful” autobiography in 2012. The only hitch is, he’s lived such a colorful and eventful life that it’ll have to be a 10-book recollection!