Acting vehicles at indie showcase

AUSTRIA. Effortless portrayal.

Eboy Donato, film enthusiast, shares his notes on some Cinemalaya entries: “Aureaus Solito’s ‘Busong’ is an eye-opener about the plight of our indigenous brothers and sisters in Palawan—the threat of modernization, discrimination and indifference they face.

Loyalty

“Loy Arcenas’ beautifully crafted ‘Niño’ is a great vehicle for Fides Cuyugan-Asencio, whose unflinching loyalty to her brother (Tony Mabesa) is threatened by greed and family disintegration. The two films are the festival’s best entries.”

For his part, college student  Rene Asuncion, thinks that Lawrence Fajardo’s ‘Amok’ is the film to beat in the festival’s New Breed category: “The ensemble acting of the cast led by Mark Gil is uniformly excellent. It’s one of the most technically polished films in the festival.”

Other notes:

Lalaine Mascardo, an admirer: “The word is out—Nora Aunor has again canceled her trip back home, and it isn’t sure if she has also backed out from the film that she’s supposed to do. Whatever her reasons, we will still welcome her with open arms when she finally decides to return. Her superstar status may have lost some of its luster, but I believe that she still has a lot of aces up her sleeve!”

Michelle Sioson, real-estate agent: “With its powerful cast, ‘Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin’ is a winner in the acting department. Ronaldo Valdez, Amy Austria and Coco Martin are so good that you forget that what you’re watching is just a TV show.”

A personal note: Last Monday, we were treated to a night of big-band music, courtesy of Mel Villena and his 19-piece band, AMP, at Skarlet’s Jazz Kitchen. The biggest treat, however, was the awesome performance of Isay Alvarez. The show deserves a bigger venue the next time around!

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