PHLPost Releases CCP Golden Anniversary Stamps

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) releases new commemorative stamps to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the establishment of Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in the country.

September 8, 1969 marked the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ official inauguration. Since then, it has been the home to many gems of Philippine art. The CCP has housed acclaimed productions in music, theater and dance, iconic works of art, great artists, and irreplaceable resources on Philippine culture and history.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is considered as the national center for the arts. It has launched initiatives showcasing excellent art forms, the bolstering of art education and art appreciation.

Throughout its 50 years of existence, the CCP has stimulated the creation of artistic content now considered as pillars of Philippine art. Its programs include Production and Exhibition, Arts Education, Outreach and Exchange and Culture Content Development.

PHLPost has printed 30,000 copies of the commemorative stamp which are being sold at P12 each. Graphic Artist Irma Jane C. Junio designed the stamps featuring the digital rendition of the iconic façade and fountain of the CCP.

The stamp and official first day covers of the commemorative 50th anniversary of CCP are now available at the Philatelic Counter, Manila and Metro Manila Post Offices and look for Ms. Salome Arao (02) 527-0108; Postal Area 8 - Cagayan De Oro-Cecille Araco Cotapte-

09064966880; Postal Area 7 – Davao-Rey Navarez Basilan, 09999923035; Postal Area 4 - San Pablo- Nena Panganiban-09157096217; Postal Area 5 - Mandaue City- Rachel Betos;

09222401317-Postal Area 2 - Baguio City-Marites Paredes-09064805058. #pilipinasphilately #philippinestamps #philately.

Instituto Cervantes’ PELÍCULA Spanish Film Festival moves to UP Diliman

Wazzup Pilipinas!

On October 23 and 24, Instituto Cervantes will be holding the second leg of the PELÍCULA Spanish Film Festival, now on its 18th edition, at Cine Adarna, UP Diliman. A selection of films from the first stint of the Festival will be screened in their original Spanish version with subtitles in English. Tickets are free of charge.

The Festival will kick off on October 23, at 5pm with Salvador Simó’s animated film Buñuel en el laberinto de las tortugas (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles). Combining animation with actual footage of Luis Buñuel’s groundbreaking documentary Tierra sin pan (Land Without Bread), this movie depicts the filming process of the said documentary in 1932, in the county of Las Hurdes in Extremadura, Spain. Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles was preselected by the Spanish Film Academy for the upcoming Oscars.

At 7pm, the Argentinean black comedy El cuento de las comadrejas (The Weasels’ Tale), which won the “Premio del Público / Audience Choice Award” of PELICULA 2019, will be presented. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Juan José Campanella, this movie is loaded with caustic humor, revolving around the lives of four legends of cinema who are past their prime.

On October 24, at 5pm, the Festival will continue with the multi-awarded Spanish drama directed by Lino Escalera in 2017 No sé decir adiós (Can’t Say Goodbye). The film is about a daughter and her estranged father, both of whom cannot accept his impending death.

Lastly, at 7pm, the film series will conclude with the screening of Isabel Coixet’s latest film, Elisa y Marcela (2019). Based on a true story, the movie tells about two women who attempted to get married in Galicia, Spain, at the beginning of the 20th century. To achieve it, one of them had to adopt a male identity. It was the first same-sex marriage in Spain after the age of the Roman Empire.

During its first leg at Greenbelt 3, PELÍCULA 2019 offered a line-up of films ranging from romance (Elisa y Marcela) and comedy (El mejor verano de mi vida, Litus, Matar a Dios) to drama (Quién te cantará), thriller (El reino, 70 Binladens), animation (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles), and documentary (Apuntes para una película de atracos). Aside from its line-up of movies in different genres, PELÍCULA’s first leg also showed Latin American cinema with feature films from Argentina (Mi obra maestro, El ángel), and Colombia (El Piedra).

After its UP Diliman stint, PELÍCULA 2019 will come to a close with two more selection series in Iloilo and Davao.

PELÍCULA 2019 is presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, AECID, the UP Film Institute, UPFI Film Center, TurEspaña, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), PELÍCULA is made possible by Rustan’s, The PTC Group of Companies, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in The Philippines - La Cámara, UP Círculo Hispánico, TBA Studios, Netflix, and the Spanish restaurants La Picara, Barcino, Bar Pintxos, Tapella, and Pablo Bistro.

For the schedule, line-up of films and further information on the Festival, please visit the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila

Cinemalaya 2019 Best Film ‘John Denver Trending’ Competes in Busan

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The coming-of-age drama film “John Denver Trending” by TV writer-turned-director Arden Rod Condez competed at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)’s New Currents section, the festival’s main competition section.

“John Denver Trending” follows the tale of a student who is wrongly accused of theft. He then becomes a victim of cyberbullying after a video of him getting violent to his accuser goes viral.

To further globalize Philippine cinema, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) led the participation of the Philippine Delegation in BIFF this year after it oversaw the Philippines as Country of Focus in 2018. Producer Sonny Calvento, lead actor Janzzen Magpusao, and actress Meryll Soriano attended the opening ceremonies of BIFF.

A Facebook post from the film’s official page stated that the jury waived the rule stating that films should have a world premiere status to qualify to compete. The post says, “Requiring a world premiere status most of the time, the festival made an exception of allowing our film to compete even if it has already premiered in the Philippines. This is also the first Filipino film to be selected in the section after five years.”



Meanwhile, a ScreenDaily film review emphasized the dark reality the characters face in the era of social media. It says, “As the story darkens towards the fatalistic, we are immersed in easy outrage, fake news and doctored footage that makes one teenager’s plight chime with events in the wider world. The defiance in Soriano’s mother and the anguish of Jansen Magpusao’s demonised, ostracised teenager lend real heartache to a film that speaks to a generation who live by social media.”



Conducted by FDCP last April, “John Denver Trending” was also a featured project at the First Cut International Film Lab, an international project development and editing lab dedicated to improving feature fiction films in the editing stage.



The film brought home six awards during the 15th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival last August, including best film and best actor for Magpusao’s award-winning performance.



The 24th Busan International Film Festival ran from October 3 to 12, 2019.