45th Chicago International Film Festival puts spotlight on 2 Filipino directors
By Ted Regencia
Chicago, IL -- Celebrating the 45th year since its founding, the Chicago International Film Festival shines its spotlight on two independent films from the Philippines.
Cinemalaya Special Jury Prize winner, The Rapture of Fe (Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe) was selected for the After Dark Program, while the gay-themed, The Thank You Girls was picked for the World Cinema and OUTragegous categories.
"Chicago is a great global society. We live in a great immigrant community and we are very diverse. It [festival] represents the whole world," Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Jr., said during the opening night, where he also welcomed actress Uma Thurman, the Career Achievement Award recipient. Thurman also came for the premiere of her new movie, Motherhood.
Film festival founder Michael Kutza praised the participation of young Filipino filmmakers at the festival, the oldest in North America. "We have two great movies at the festival. One terribly, terribly dramatic ghost story, and the drag film which is a riot," he said.
A the same interview, Kutza recalled how he helped former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos organize the Manila International Film Festival.
Kutza stayed in Manila for two years, including the time that the controversial Manila Film Center was built. "I love her [Imelda]. She's fun. We had a lot of fun with Marcos, the family and everybody. We brought a lot of stars and directors there," he said.
"I love the Philippines. I've been there in some amazing monsoon, so I'll never forget that," Kutza added.
At the international premiere of Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe, the film's executive producer Alem Ang, dedicated the work to the typhoons victims in the Philippines.
"The film is a testament to the Filipino people's resiliency," Ang said during a short presentation.
In an earlier interview Ang said that they wanted to present a "world-class" film that does not only center on poverty. "There's so much more about Filipino culture that needs to be discussed. So we thought of adding a new element to our story about battered women, which is Philippine folklore," Ang explained.
"We're very, very excited when we received the news," Ang recalled after hearing from the Chicago Film Festival committee. The next stop for the Alvin Yapan-directed film is Egypt for the Cairo Film Festival.
Meanwhile, The Thank You Girls, a story about drag beauty pageant contestants, had its Chicago premiere Monday, October 12. The Visayan-language film is directed by Charliebebs Gohetia, and backed by Brooklyn Park Pictures.
The festival runs until October 8 to 22, and will feature an estimated 91 films from around the globe. An Oscar buzz is already swirling around its festival centerpiece, Precious, a story of a 16-year old African American girl who defied the odds of poverty and personal tragedies. The film is backed by Chicago-based Oprah Winfrey.
The Chinese box-office hit, Red Cliff was featured in the Gala Presentation, attended by Director John Woo.
Last year, the eventual Oscar Best Picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire, premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival. Earlier this year, Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds was also featured at its Summer Gala.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Letters from Chicago
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Letters from Chicago
Some of the best things in life are still for free, like a full rendition of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 by the Grant Park Orchestra, at Frank Gehry's iconic Pritzker Pavilion. Welcome to Chicago, where winter is characteristically brutish, and summer's infinitely rewarding, particularly to those who endured it's yearly cold blast.
Last Saturday was one of those hard-earned and much-deserved days of recreation. The sun was up and the afternoon air cool, just perfect to cap the official end of spring, and hail the beginning of summer, which was almost thwarted by a fierce thunderstorm the night before. It was unthinkable to stay indoors. Everyone was out, from die-hard Cubs fans who congregated at Wrigley to the Boriqueños for the Puerto Rican Day parade. And so we packed our picnic bag, took the "L" train and headed downtown.
Unlike many cosmopolitan areas, this city of three million people, puts premium on its public space. Parks are sacred grounds, and malls are anathema. So while Chicago boasts of a magnificent skyline, it also has an excellent and expansive greens that the whole population can enjoy. It was the industrialist Montgomery Ward who first led the fight to keep the lakefront free from obstruction. And so it has been since 1836.
At the heart of it all is Millennium Park, an over-priced but ultimately priceless piece of real estate that's becoming a draw to both locals and tourists. Situated right next to Lake Michigan, it is home to Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate, a.k.a The Bean, a sculpture that has managed to capture the hearts of the art cognoscenti and the masses alike. It's interactive nature is sure to make even an adult feel like a kid again. A week ago the infinitely youthful Ellen Degeneres even made a stop there, putting a stamp of approval to it's must-see status. The Crown Fountain by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa is also another hit. It's almost entertaining enough to just sit and people-watch. And if you have a camera, practice your lessons in apperture and shutter speed.
The entertainment we were there for on that particular afternoon, was Grant Park Orchestra's summer-long music festival. Appropriately enough, it was being played at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a masterpiece by the world-renowed Gehry that opened in 2004. Echoing the sound of Rachmaninoff's concerto, the Pritzker Pavilion soars into the sky like an undulating clouds of steel. Every Chicagoan who has been there can attest to its massive size and its exclamatory impact. The open-air music shell is further enhanced by a trellis-like network that encompasses the Great Lawn, and carries the high-tech sound system, which makes it possible for the entire audience to hear the same quality "indoor" sound as those seated in the front row.
We found ourselves in the middle of the lawn, in the sea of wine-sipping, biscuit-munching concert-goers. Our picnic mat was half too small for four people, my mom included. But we still managed to leave enough space to spread our own nourishment. All that was left to do was to listen to the music.
I've been to a few of these concerts before, and they never grow old. I'm not even schooled enough in the classics. All I know is that it's soothing to the ears. It took a little convincing for some of my folks to come along with me. Now they are already planning for the next picnic.
It must have been Carlos Kalmar's animated movement that provoked their interest. Or his frizzy hair that moves mightily as he takes on his principal conductor's role. But the music he created with the 100-people strong orchestra and Christopher Bell's Grant Park Chorus surely made an impression on them. This year marks the twelveth time that Kalmar appeared on stage at the festival, and his tenth as principal conductor. A native of Montivideo, Uruguay, Kalmar also led the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra and Stuttgart Philharmonic. Concert pianist Jon Kimura Parker gave justice to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, with a heart-pounding finale that moved the crowd to a standing ovation. After the intermission, Michael Torke had his World Premiere of Plans, an equally powerful work that highlighted the voices of lyric soprano, Jonita Lattimore and tenor Bryan Griffin.
For a $4.50 per person train ride, it was certainly worth the trip. And much more.
For the same ride, a visit to the venerable Art Institute of Chicago can be had. During summer, Thursdays and Fridays are for free from 5 to 9 pm. But more than the tag price, the opportunity to admire great works of art is priceless. My personal favorite is Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Grant Wood's American Gothic is also housed here, as well as Monets, Picassos and Giacomettis.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the museum also opened its new Modern Wing, an architectural marvel by Renzo Piano. The building alone deserves so much admiration, with its very clean lines, its open and bright interiors, and its location that offers you a fresh and majestic view of the city. Willem de Kooning's Excavation has found a home here, as well as Jackson Pollock's The Key. Not to be missed is Charles Ray's Hinoki sculpture, an enormous piece of a tree trunk, and Lucian Freud's Sunny Morning. So far, I have visited twice, and this Friday I am coming back for more.
On a summer like this, it's hard not to fall in love with Chicago.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Photo published in the Chicago Public Radio website
Photo published in the Chicago Public Radio website
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Exclusive Interview: Leon Depres on meeting Trotsky, Rivera and Kahlo
Chicago's venerable alderman (retired) from Hyde Park, 101-year old Leon Depres, also known as "the conscience of the city" recalls his 1937 meeting with Leon Trotsky in Mexico, which led to his introduction to Diego Rivera and wife, Frida Kahlo. Rivera painted a portrait of Depres' wife, Marian. That painting now hangs at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.
Journalism in the time of Joe the Plumber
By Ted Regencia
The other day, I watched with concern, as the nightly news carried a story on Election 2008 everyman, Joe the Plumber, becoming a foreign correspondent in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. I became more troubled when I read online that Joe, whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, wanted the media "abolished" from the war zone. "I liked back in World War I and World War II, when you'd go to the theater and you'd see your troops on the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for them," the Washington Post quoted him as saying. He went on to accuse reporters of not being "patriotic" for reporting the war.
The spectacle surrounding the Ohio native's trip to Israel, highlights the perils of citizen journalism going out of control. Instead of covering the news, Wurzelbacher became the newsmaker, advocating an overtly biased opinion of the conflict. By confusing his celebrity status with his message, he undermined the essence of serious journalism: The delivery of objective, informed and balanced news. What's most alarming is, he actually believes that he's reporting the "real story."
In today's free-for-all media environment, the role of professional journalists as gatekeepers of information has become even more critical. The dominance of 24-hour cable news and the Internet, allows information to travel the world in an instant. And the widespread use of personalized gadgets, only ensures mass transmission while spawning self-proclaimed reporters. But the responsibility to guarantee that, that information is factual and fair, fundamentally rests on the professional journalists.
Cut-throat competition and ratings game, however, caused the media establishment to put its guard down, and shrink from its sacred duty of safeguarding the accuracy of the news. The race to make it first, has compromised the need to make it right. Thus giving critics some ammunition to accuse them, of being no different from fly-by-night blogs and partisan online muggers.
Take the case of CNN. Last October 2008, it reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs suffered a heart attack, causing a temporary drop of the company's stock price. The report was based on a posting on its innovative citizen journalist section, iReport. It turned out to be a hoax and was quickly yanked out. But not before doing some damage. CNN could have avoided the gaffe, by verifying the story with the source and cross-checking it with an Apple spokesman.
Notwithstanding the incident, citizen journalists are here to stay. It's a phenomenon that points to an empowered society, that refuses to take things sitting down. Indeed, it has transformed the meaning of democracy and press freedom. The challenge for professional journalists is to find a balance between advocating active public engagement, and preserving the sanctity of objective reporting in the service of the general public.
This new dynamics between professional and citizen journalists is still evolving, and if carried out right, could produce enormous benefits for greater public good. In cases of public corruption, citizen journalists can help expose dishonest politicians and bureaucrats. They can call attention to the government's inability to deliver basic services. Even prevent or solve crimes. They can also provide fresh and compelling first-person perspective of events, that might have been missed by the media, such as the Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Sichuan earthquake in China.
Leading up to the November 4 polls, I had the chance to attend a forum on new media at Northwestern University. During the discussion, I asked the panelists about their thoughts on the issue of citizen journalism.
Ben Goldberger of Huffingtonpost.com, raised an important point by citing the story of Mayhill Fowler, an Obama supporter and contributor of the website's citizen journalism section, Off The Bus. Fowler broke the controversial "they cling to guns or religion" statement, which almost derailed Obama's candidacy. "She's not a reporter in any traditional sense. She's certainly won't be taking the place of many reporters...but she did break legitimate news, and it was the sort of news that has affected the campaign cycle," Goldberger said, underscoring the value of citizen journalists to serious journalism.
Meanwhile, Peter Slevin of Washington Post and Tom Bevans of Realclearpolitics.com, said that "heavy-lifting" in journalism are still carried out by professional journalists. Vivian Vahlberg, managing director of Northwestern's Media Management Center, added that according to their studies, readers still "very much value what journalists did, far more than other sources."
While Vahlberg's findings may be reassuring, it also serves as a stark reminder that in this era of Joe the Plumbers, the professional journalists ultimately bear the responsibility of guarding the truth. In order to do that, they must possess the spirit of enterprise, inquisitiveness, hard work, and above all, the highest standard of fairness and objectivity.
The other day, I watched with concern, as the nightly news carried a story on Election 2008 everyman, Joe the Plumber, becoming a foreign correspondent in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. I became more troubled when I read online that Joe, whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, wanted the media "abolished" from the war zone. "I liked back in World War I and World War II, when you'd go to the theater and you'd see your troops on the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for them," the Washington Post quoted him as saying. He went on to accuse reporters of not being "patriotic" for reporting the war.
The spectacle surrounding the Ohio native's trip to Israel, highlights the perils of citizen journalism going out of control. Instead of covering the news, Wurzelbacher became the newsmaker, advocating an overtly biased opinion of the conflict. By confusing his celebrity status with his message, he undermined the essence of serious journalism: The delivery of objective, informed and balanced news. What's most alarming is, he actually believes that he's reporting the "real story."
In today's free-for-all media environment, the role of professional journalists as gatekeepers of information has become even more critical. The dominance of 24-hour cable news and the Internet, allows information to travel the world in an instant. And the widespread use of personalized gadgets, only ensures mass transmission while spawning self-proclaimed reporters. But the responsibility to guarantee that, that information is factual and fair, fundamentally rests on the professional journalists.
Cut-throat competition and ratings game, however, caused the media establishment to put its guard down, and shrink from its sacred duty of safeguarding the accuracy of the news. The race to make it first, has compromised the need to make it right. Thus giving critics some ammunition to accuse them, of being no different from fly-by-night blogs and partisan online muggers.
Take the case of CNN. Last October 2008, it reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs suffered a heart attack, causing a temporary drop of the company's stock price. The report was based on a posting on its innovative citizen journalist section, iReport. It turned out to be a hoax and was quickly yanked out. But not before doing some damage. CNN could have avoided the gaffe, by verifying the story with the source and cross-checking it with an Apple spokesman.
Notwithstanding the incident, citizen journalists are here to stay. It's a phenomenon that points to an empowered society, that refuses to take things sitting down. Indeed, it has transformed the meaning of democracy and press freedom. The challenge for professional journalists is to find a balance between advocating active public engagement, and preserving the sanctity of objective reporting in the service of the general public.
This new dynamics between professional and citizen journalists is still evolving, and if carried out right, could produce enormous benefits for greater public good. In cases of public corruption, citizen journalists can help expose dishonest politicians and bureaucrats. They can call attention to the government's inability to deliver basic services. Even prevent or solve crimes. They can also provide fresh and compelling first-person perspective of events, that might have been missed by the media, such as the Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Sichuan earthquake in China.
Leading up to the November 4 polls, I had the chance to attend a forum on new media at Northwestern University. During the discussion, I asked the panelists about their thoughts on the issue of citizen journalism.
Ben Goldberger of Huffingtonpost.com, raised an important point by citing the story of Mayhill Fowler, an Obama supporter and contributor of the website's citizen journalism section, Off The Bus. Fowler broke the controversial "they cling to guns or religion" statement, which almost derailed Obama's candidacy. "She's not a reporter in any traditional sense. She's certainly won't be taking the place of many reporters...but she did break legitimate news, and it was the sort of news that has affected the campaign cycle," Goldberger said, underscoring the value of citizen journalists to serious journalism.
Meanwhile, Peter Slevin of Washington Post and Tom Bevans of Realclearpolitics.com, said that "heavy-lifting" in journalism are still carried out by professional journalists. Vivian Vahlberg, managing director of Northwestern's Media Management Center, added that according to their studies, readers still "very much value what journalists did, far more than other sources."
While Vahlberg's findings may be reassuring, it also serves as a stark reminder that in this era of Joe the Plumbers, the professional journalists ultimately bear the responsibility of guarding the truth. In order to do that, they must possess the spirit of enterprise, inquisitiveness, hard work, and above all, the highest standard of fairness and objectivity.
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