Benilde Film Tops IUF, Next Competes at Gawad Alternatibo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

A short film about a 25-year-old lesbian, who is having a hard time coming to terms with her traditional Filipino father, won Best Feature and five other awards in the Indie Un-Film Festival 2018 last July 21 at the Br. Andrew Gonzales Hall, De La Salle University.

Sa Pag-agos ng Panahon, a capstone project of Annika Yañez and Janna Lejano under the Digital Filmmaking program of the DLS-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts, also won Best Direction for Yañez, Best Cinematography and Best Editing for Lejano, Best Actor for Chase Salazar and Best Soundtrack for song composer M Laciste, song arranger Nick Lazaro and sound mixer and designer Veronica Valdez. 

Yañez, who graced the awards night with Lejano, thanked the organizers “for giving young filmmakers the opportunity to share our art to a bigger crowd, and for inspiring all of us to keep creating films – no matter how bizarre, vulnerable, charged they may be.” 

Meanwhile, Sa Gabing Tanging Liwanag ay Paniniwala, an entry from Far Eastern University, bagged Best Pamana Film, Best Cinematography for Rommel Ruiz, Best Production Design for Ron Alos and Best Sound Design for James Manalili. The inaugural Pamana category aims to bring forth stories of Filipino heritage and culture. 

Directed by Francis Guillermo, the film revolves around the continuous disappearances of townsfolk, prompting the local chieftain to find out who is behind it and where they are being brought. Upon conducting a search, he and his son came across a mysterious answer.

Another FEU short film, Dama directed by Trish Ruedas Antonio, bagged Best Production Design for Reopaolo Nuñez and Best Actor for Rolando Inocencio in the Feature category. Inocencio plays a father who adopts a stray child to cope with his son’s death in a crisis-ridden world.

The three films will next vie for awards in the 30th Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, also known as Gawad Alternatibo, from August 4 to 6 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Tanghalang Manuel Conde or CCP Dream Theater.
Also in the Feature category, James Allen Fajardo's Ang Lalaking May Regla sa Gitna ng Dagat won Special Jury Prize and Best Screenplay. In the film, a fishing community faces an impending demolition when the landowner plans to turn the place into a beach resort. One of the fisherfolks is a teenage boy who had a menstruation in the middle of fishing. Fellow UP Diliman films Bago and Kasama Ng Paglisan ang Pag-alala at Paglimot won Best Sound Design for Alejo Barbaza and Best Actor for Ruby Ruiz, respectively.

Al Basir from the Lyceum of the Philippines University won for Best Direction for Raymond Cultura and Best Editing for Ralph Quijano in the Pamana category.

Mapua University's entry Dory, which is about a 101-year-old transwoman who walks around the streets of Tondo, topped the Documentary category and bagged Best Direction for Beverly Ramos, Best Editing for Kristian Palma, and IUF People's Choice award.
Si Baste, a documentary on the 127-year old all-steel Basilica of San Sebastian, brought home Best Sound Design for Xamantha Asdisen from Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Deane Marie Yase of UP Cebu won Best Cinematography in the same category for Unscathed, which tells the story of resilience of the victims of the recent Pasil Fire.

Vince Entuna from UP Diliman won Best Experimental Film, Best Direction, Best Production Design and Best Sound Design for Ang Lisyang Edukasyon ng Pilipinas while John Peter Chua of Ateneo de Manila University won Best Cinematography and Best Editing for Liyag.
In the Music Video category, Ghost won Best Direction for Aaliyah Ybañez, Best Editing for Miggy Arnonobal, and Best Production Design for the UPD entry while Riel Louise Castalone of DLS Lipa took home Best Cinematography for A Place Somewhere.
Organized by the DLSU Green Media Group, the 15th annual intercollegiate digital film festival celebrates film by showcasing the competition’s finalists and a plenary talk involving the country’s renowned filmmakers. The IUF talks, held last July 14 at Warehouse Eight in Chino Roces Avenue, had award-winning scriptwriter Clodualdo "Doy" del Mundo Jr. and filmmakers Antoinette Jadaone, Pepe Diokno, Ice Idanan and Kaj Palanca as speakers. 

The award-winning entries will again be screened on August 3, Friday, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Waldo Perfecto Seminar Room, Ground Floor, Br. Connon Hall, DLSU. For tickets, visit the DLSU GMG booth at 5F Artist Commons of the same hall. Interested parties may also visit www.indieunfilmfestival.com or contact Jenni at 0915-1291021. 

BDO Bares Ways to Thwart Phishing

Wazzup Pilipinas! 

BDO Unibank said there are scams now circulating through email which attempt to lure bank clients into giving out their internet banking ID, password, bank account number, credit card account number, and other confidential information.

Known as "phishing", these email scams are designed to obtain sensitive banking information and other personal data from unsuspecting clients, with the objective of committing fraud or theft.

The email messages usually contain links that, when clicked, may lead clients to what appears to be their bank’s Internet banking login page/website. Some links may generate a pop-up window requesting clients to enter confidential personal and financial information.

BDO is taking extra measures to thwart if not minimize the impact of the said fraudulent activity such as monitoring the Internet for the phony messages and sites, and implementing additional authentication procedures.

Tomas Victor Mendoza, senior vice president of BDO transaction banking group, said the bank has already taken actions but would like to remind the clients to exercise caution in providing personal and financial information on suspicious sites and to check for signs of fraud.

"We urge our clients and the public to be vigilant when banking online to prevent their critical information or their funds from being compromised,” Mendoza said.

He added, "To protect the clients against these email scams, we advise them to be alert to any type of communication that solicits information about their account."

Following these reminders would be useful:

•        BDO will never contact clients by phone or emails to ask for confidential and sensitive information such as Internet banking Username, Password or One-Time Password.

•        Likewise, the Bank will never ask clients to change their password through an email request. The change of Internet banking passwords should be done only after they have successfully logged on to the secure BDO online banking sites. Please do not respond to emails requesting for the above information.

•        Watch out for URL redirects where the objective is to divert clients to a different website with identical design.

•        Do not click on any link provided by such emails. Make sure to personally type the website address (or URL) in the address bar of the browser to get the desired website.

•        If clients suspect that an email they have received is an attempt to phishing, please report immediately by forwarding the said email toReportPhishing@bdo.com.ph and if clients think they may have responded to a suspicious e-mail, change their password as soon as possible by logging in to BDO Personal Online Banking.

Mendoza underscored that the clients' best defense against fraud is to keep their personal and financial information confidential at all times.

Kygo to Perform in Manila

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The hottest electronic dance musician in the world will finally play on the Manila stage on October 25 as part of his Kids In Love World Tour. His latest song Born to Be Yours with Imagine Dragons has been a consistent No.1 on iTunes for over five consecutive weeks.

Kygo is a world-renowned Norwegian producer, songwriter, DJ and music marvel who has turned himself into an international sensation in a span of three short years. He was crowned Spotify’s Breakout Artist of 2015, as songs including “Firestone (feat. Conrad Sewell)” and “Stole The Show (feat. Parson James),” which was certified gold or platinum in sixteen countries, helped him become the fastest artist in history to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify. Kygo’s first album, Cloud Nine, debuted at #1 on iTunes Dance Albums Chart and at #1 on Nielsen Soundscan’s Electronic Albums chart. 

The album received tons of positive attention from critics, one of which was Rolling Stone who called it “unfailingly gorgeous.” Kygo made his U.S. television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden where he performed an acoustic version of “Stole The Show (feat. Parson James).” He has since booked several high-profile gigs such as Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 

Additionally, Kygo landed on the cover of Billboard Magazine last year surrounding his colossal success. His Selena Gomez collaboration “It Ain’t Me” remains his most successful single to date, reaching Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has amassed over 736 million Spotify streams as of writing with USA Today declaring the song one of 2017’s most potent contenders for the official song of summer, explaining that the tropical house-flavored beats “scream summer.” 

His single, “First Time” with Ellie Goulding charted at #1 on iTunes in 14 countries and debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and the music video has garnered over 55 million views. 

On September 22nd, Kygo released his Stargazing EP which included new tracks ‘Stargazing,’ ‘This Town,’ and a collaboration with U2, ‘You’re The Best Thing About Me’ rounded out with ‘It Ain’t Me’ and ‘First Time.’ 

His latest album, “Kids in Love,” debuted at #1 on BIllboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. All eight tracks from his sophomore album hit Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, bringing Kygo’s total number of charted titles to 25.

Kygo’s Kids In Love Tour Manila is produced by Ovation Productions, the same promoters of Swedish House Mafia and the annual Road To Ultra Festival that has featured the best EDM artists in the world such as Skrillex, Zedd, Hardwell, Alesso, Fedde Legrand, Tiesto, among others.

#KYGOManila

https://www.kygomusic.com/

https://www.youtube.com/kygomusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp6QsXHar9Y

Link to the Official Concert TVC FOR SHARING:https://www.facebook.com/ovationproductions/videos/1938345239519078/