keep in mind the lessons of the lecture: randy pausch, 47

Again, no one is too prepared. Image from NYTimes' Tara Parker-Pope, from among many late breaking news and blogs. American college students — and the rest of humankind — are lucky to have had an inspirational, persevering and empowered human being live the way he did, in their lifetime. Our lifetime.

"You might be surprised by how little time you spend doing things you love most"

.....

Wishlist: The Last Lecture book excerpt.

Related entry.

Outbound:

Wired entry.

His personal page is currently not accessible, probably due to high traffic. The cached page is here.

Cinemalaya 2008: continuing the "golden age" of Philippine Cinema

Ongoing at the Cultural Center of the Philippines is the 2008 Cinemalaya Film Festival which, as we know, has recently been the source of many good films that's done the rounds, have been recognized for their excellence abroad and have made us proud.

Cinemalaya is the current flame bearer of its forebear, the much maligned Marcos-era ECP — the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines — and of the ECP's counterpart, at least in support of independent production, the MOWELFUND. In any case, all three entities produced unparalleled Filipino film classics outside of the mainstream.

From being one of the most prolific film producers in the 70s to the 90s, our local film industry's output has slumped, thanks in no part to the short-sightedness of many 80s film producers that made film after film that were short on depth but overflowing with mediocre acting and production values.

The counter-culture persisted nonetheless. Now, it seems that the indies are the heirs apparent to Jose Nepomuceno (left) 89 years later, much more reflective of the Filipinos and the so-called "national consciousness", but sadly still in search of the Filipino audience and of genuine patrons.

Screenings, conferences, retrospectives, best-of schedules, meet-and-greet sessions, world premieres, awards: they've got it covered. Jim Libiran's Tribu, Solito's Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Olivares and Pisay: the Movie, Dante Garcia's Ploning (another good friend, he), Joel Ruiz's Mansyon and Big Time, as well as Manuel Conde's classic films will be shown.

Download the full schedule here. (10 pp. PDF file. Schedules written as of July 7, 2008. May change without prior notice. Please check with the venue for day scheds. CCP Box Office: [63-2] 832-3704 and [63-2] 832-1125 loc. 1409 - 1410.)

Useful references:

• Philippines THE FIRST GOLDEN AGE AND AFTER
  
• Onlineessays.com History of Philippine Cinema
  
• Video48's entry on Jose Zialcita Nepomuceno
  
• Technorati's compilation of tags on Cinemalaya videos.
  
• The National Historical Institute's (NHI) biography on Jose Nepomuceno.

And lots of others, if you keep your fingers busy on the keyboard and can spare some time to read and watch, that is.

So, see you at the movies.

le Prix de l'Avenir 2008: Tribung Pinoy

A design colleague, a vice consul, and an invited director — ka-Tropas all — found themselves reunited at the ParisCinema 2008 rooting for the only Filipino feature-length film entry which was declared winner of le Prix de l'Avenir, the Youth Jury Award, at the 2008 Paris Cinema Festival in France on July 10, 2008.

Isabel Templo, Angela Ponce and Aureaus Solito, joined by Isabel's sister Margie Templo of Arkeo Films — an invited Festival workshop participant — were more than a happy tribe of Pinoys when Jun Libiran's Tribu was announced the worthy recipient of the jury prize.

Tribu, set in Tondo in the City of Manila, the 2007 winner of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, is a digital film about the violence rapper gangs live through. Tondo is often featured in the news for incidents involving violence, and in many cases used as the example of slum life and urban poverty. It is also Jim Libiran's birthplace. Having two gangs in the film — fierce rivals in real life — enact their off-screen realities on screen is in itself an amazing tour de force.

Tribu is Jim Libiran's MA thesis at the University of the Philippines under Media Studies and Film and is his first feature-length work.

The Philippines is this year's Festival's country of honor represented by the largest number of Filipino independent cinema delegates so far.

This year, after Brazil, Korea and Lebanon, the Paris Cinema IFF will celebrate the notable and noted renewal of Philippine cinema in a special tribute. A chance to discover the new talents and the emerging creative energy of this Latin, Catholic island in the heart of Asia...

With a screening program of about 30 films and the presence of numerous guests, this event will showcase both young directors and great names of Philippines cinema.

Our entries, delegates and participants did our country proud, the international viewers have spoken; it's our turn to do our share by patronizing our own films.

Top graphic montage: krvilla08

Poster: ParisCinema 2008 official poster: http://www.pariscinema.org/

Links / References

Cinemalaya entry review, The International Herald Tribune, Nov. 1, 2007: In "Tribu", real life Filipino gangs collaborate on screen" by Carlos H. Conde

Tribu details, synopsis, filmmaker's bio and statement from the International Forum of New Cinema, 2007 in PDF format

Filmdeculte.com