ALL FILM & TV FEATURES
‘New definitions’: Ngilngig film festival makes fantastic return
After a two-year break, the Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival is back with a trove of fantastical stories from all over the regions and Asia.
No Hard Feelings: The (most vulnerable) time of your life
Faraz Shariat’s No Hard Feelings captures the inherent uncertainty and vulnerability of both the coming of age and the immigrant experience in a simple, yet honest and emotional film
12th Active Vista Human Rights Festival: Breaking the Cycle through Cinema
As the 12th edition of the Active Vista Human Rights Festival draws to a close, we imagine how cinema transforms art into resistance.
BINISAYA 2024: Mga Salida Para Sa Atoa
A Cebuano documentary about pottery, an absurdist Chavacano tale of animalism, and a Fil-Am filmmaker revising her script in the middle of production are some of the best shorts featured in the Binisaya Film Festival 2024.
Southern Lantern Studios shines a light in Cinemalaya
Indie film company Southern Lantern Studios spotlights stories of love, justice, and the unique Filipino experience in Cinemalaya 2024.
Finding a Place of Healing in 'Kono Basho'
Director Jaime Pacena II and actress Gabby Padilla talk about their Cinemalaya 2024 film, ‘Kono Basho’, and the many ways a geographical place bears witness to the hardest of human experiences.
Outpacing the Usual Steps through Cinemalaya
From skipping two sets of stairs to being immersed in an inimitable experience, the personal joy of going to movie theaters must be cherished more despite the addictive ease of our restless screens. With Cinemalaya nearing, there's even more reason to embrace it.
Student filmmaking is alive in Piling Obrang Vidyo XX
Missed POV XX? Let’s take a look back at the 20th installment of Piling Obrang Vidyo which took place last month at the UPFI Film Center.
Championing the Bisaya Language on Melai’s ‘Kuan on One’
Melai’s "Kuan on One" is a much-needed representation for the Bisaya community in local mainstream media as it highlights the Bisaya language and provides a platform for Bisaya talents to share their stories.
‘The Boys’: The Antithesis to Superhero Fatigue
The Boys’ gritty portrayal of a world where superhumans exist redefines our perspectives of power and heroism. It delivers a sharp cultural critique of today’s world and effectively subverts the concept of superhero fatigue in a raw experience.
Sailing the High Seas with MARG1N
We spoke with MARG1N, a new film magazine specializing in Southeast Asian cinema, about their maiden issue, the publication's origins, and pirates (the film kind).
'Hit Man' is all about romanticizing acting, and it's oh-so sexy
In ‘Hit Man,’ there’s something primitively entertaining — and sexy — about seeing Glen Powell act like he isn’t the new chiseled Adonis of Hollywood. It’s funny, irresistible, and genius as a consequence.
Contradictions Shape Us: Understanding Komorebi through ‘Perfect Days’
When struggles accumulate and shadows overlap, does darkness grow even more dimmer? If it’s indeed true, then why does the sunlight become more pronounced when shades of leaves rustle with each other from a branch of a tree?
‘The Roof (2006)’: Uncovering the Perspectives of Arabs in Israel
Arab citizens of Israel are being used as scapegoats to defend the genocide charges against the country. If it was genocide, they ask, why aren’t they being murdered as well? The Roof is an insightful documentary that explores the perspectives of Arabs living there and helps us understand their experiences in the midst of this conflict.
SINEPIYU XVI: College Students Celebrate Student Filmmaking
Held at the FEU Main Auditorium, veteran actors Bembol Roco and Rolando T. Inocencio were in attendance for the awarding of SINEPIYU XVI along with the selected cast and crew of the presented films.
Musings on music and physical media with 'Recto Records' director Jego Rafael
Amid minimalism and technology, Mang Greg continues to set up shop each day in Recto, surrounded by albums ranging from The Beatles’ Abbey Road to Avril Lavigne’s The Best Damn Thing. Read our interview with director Jego Rafael on ‘Recto Records,’ still streaming on Cinemata.
Fearless and Uncontained: The Ambitious Cast of Sinepiyu XVI
“Be liberated from convention,” goes Sinepiyu in their program invitation (arbitrarily translated by me). It’s not just a challenge posed to the filmmakers participating in the film festival, but it’s also a dare for future audiences: to suspend everything they think they know about student cinema and permit themselves to experience the new, the perverse, and the ambitious.
Behind Black Beret 2024: Talking to UP Student Filmmakers
In this year’s edition of Black Beret, student filmmakers from UP Film Institute presented stories about unconventional friendships, long-lost loves, and grief amidst personal transformation.
We interviewed three of the directors this year, namely Coby, Raia, and Hanns, read Sofi’s feature for more:
CINEKURO: Presenting Confident, Liberating Filmmaking
Kuro-kuro's CINEKURO presents four short films with one eye on engaging storytelling and another on the filmmakers’ advocacies, maintaining a confidence in their vision that their stories will resonate.
MUNICH: Evaluating Spielberg's Overlooked Take on Israel-Palestine
Munich can only wallow in its self-pity in its judgment of the Israeli-Palestinian “conflict”, bewildered by the cycle of violence. “There is no peace at the end of this”, concludes Avner. Spielberg and Kushner treat the conflict as if it is a natural state of things. As if there is no solution. Any student of history should know the culpability of imperial Western forces in perpetuating this cycle.