There are many lessons learned in Lauren Greenfield’s illuminating documentary on Imelda Marcos. It is probably the most piercingly truthful, critically revealing, all-encompassingly no-holds-barred account of Imelda Marcos and her family. It covers her glory years as First Lady of the Philippines to her eventual downfall up to the current era with her son Senator Bong Bong Marcos recently running and losing the 2016 vice-presidency race.
Author: Rolmar Baldonado
Films for the cineaste. Were you moved, transported? Did you laugh, cry? Was it cathartic? Were you disturbed, affected, riveted? Did it make you think?
Freelance film editor, cineaste and cinephile
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Nope, this is not a Magnolia ice cream flavour of the month. UNBREAKABLE is an epic-length Filipino-style melodrama about female bonding and friendship as it stands the test of time. The plotline is engulfed in tragedies and plot twists that encapture you as an audience despite the uneven subtlety at some points of the story. Nevertheless, there are enough dramatic moments and conflicts peppered throughout the film to keep you involved through its climactic end.
Check out the following European films by female filmmakers as part of the Sydney Film Festival 2020 On-Demand program.
Check out these three documentaries competing for the Documentary Australia Foundation Award as part of the Sydney Film Festival 2020 On-Demand program.
Check out the following Australian shorts vying for the Dendy Awards as part of the Sydney Film Festival 2020 On-Demand program.
So we are still on lockdown. And despite certain restrictions being lifted, the vaccine is still so far away that it’s still best to stay at home. What to do? Aside from getting coronavirus TV news updates, Netflix marathon-watching is probably what most of you are doing. Based on my many conversations with my Netflix-loving friends, I present the three most popular shows to binge on while we are forced to stay safe indoors by this nasty pandemic.
The Oscars are here again, and it has been quite a competitive year, with many deserving hopefuls vying only for five nominee slots in each major category. Even the much-coveted Best Picture award has a healthy set of nine nominees, above the usual eight films, nearing its limit of ten slots.
Every once in a while, the cinematic stars will align and produce a perfect combination of drama, romance, and comedy in a film. A movie that will take the viewers through an emotional journey that will enthral them even way after that movie experience. In HELLO, LOVE, GOODBYE, it has done just that.
Finally, a documentary about Filipino cuisine is launched to the gastronomical delight of food and film critics. Filipino-American documentary filmmaker Alexandra Cuerdo helms ULAM: MAIN DISH. With this, she has deliciously concocted not only an immersion into Filipino cuisine but also an exploration of Filipino culture. It is also a study of the Filipino migrant experience and even a side trip into the history of Philippine politics and government.
THE ISLAND THAT ALL FLOW BY is an unconventional love story between a money-desperate toll booth collector and a puerile truck driver. This TV movie, written and directed by Chan Ching-lin, shines in all aspects with its delicate restrained scripting and excellent performances. It premiered on CTV and CTI Entertainment in April 2016.