Daniel Padilla Starrer ‘Kun Maupay Man It Panahon’ Gets World Premiere in Prestigious Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Carlo Francisco Manatad’s first feature film “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine)” is part of the official selection of the 74th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, where it will have its world premiere in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present) section.

 

“Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” is the only competing film from the Philippines this year in Locarno, an A-List international film festival that provides a platform for auteur cinema. The Cineasti del Presente section for first or second feature films by emerging global talents will bestow the traditional Pardo d’oro and award for directing as well as prizes for Best Actor and Best Actress.

 

Starring Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol, and Charo Santos-Concio, the drama on the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Tacloban City, Leyte was filmed in the Waray dialect.

 

In the aftermath of Yolanda in November 2013, Miguel (Padilla) roams the ruins in search of the two women in his life: his friend Andrea (Rifol) and mother Norma (Santos-Concio). Miguel is determined to flee to the big city before another storm approaches.

 

“Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” is written by Manatad, who hails from Tacloban, together with Giancarlo Abrahan V and Jérémie Dubois. Its producers are Josabeth Alonso, Vincent Wang, and Armi Rae Cacanindin who remarked, “After seven years, finally, we’ve come to this!”

In 2019, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) selected “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” for the FDCP Project Market while in 2021, the FDCP’s FilmPhilippines Office named it as a recipient of the International Co-production Fund (ICOF) worth PHP 2.5 million.

 

“We are tremendously proud of the journey of ‘Kun Maupay Man It Panahon,’ which is a milestone in Philippine regional cinema. FDCP is honored to have supported Carlo Francisco Manatad’s journey from the development and production of this project until now when it’s ready to be shown to the world. We thank Locarno for giving it a world premiere and express our heartfelt gratitude to all international film labs, programs, and organizations for believing in and extending support to a Filipino regional film,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

 

The production companies behind “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” are Cinematografica, planc., iWantTFC, Globe Studios, Black Sheep, Quantum Films, and CMB Films from the Philippines, House on Fire from France, AAND Company from Singapore, KawanKawan Media from Indonesia, and Weydemann Bros. from Germany.

 

It was also selected at Sorfund Pitching Forum, Talents Tokyo, Cannes Cinefondation L’Atelier, and Hanoi Project Market and was developed at La Fabrique des Cinema du Monde, Torino Film Lab Feature Lab 360, Semaine de la Critique Next Step, and EAVE Ties that Bind.

 

It has also received support from Aide aux cinemas du monde managed by the Centre national du cinema et de l’image animee and Institut francais, Torino Film Lab | Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Brot fur die welt - Bread for the World Protestant development service, Visions Sud Est supported by SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), Doha Film Institute, Asian Cinema Fund for Script Development, Talents Tokyo Next Masters Support Program, and Berlinale World Cinema Fund, an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and with further support by the Goethe-Institut.

 

The “Kun Maupay Man It Panahon” co-producers are Ling Tiong, Yulia Evina Bhara, Milena Klemke, Yvonne Wellie, Jakob D. Weydemann, and Jonas Weydemann while the executive producers are Carlo Katigbak, Cory Vidanes, Roldeo Endrinal, Jamie Lopez, Ginny Monteagudo-Ocampo, Olivia Lamasan, Quark Henares, Jan Pineda, Alonso, Cacanindin, and Arleen Cuevas.

 

Other members of the team are Patricia Sumagui (line producer), Lim Teck Siang (director of photography), Whammy Alcazaren (production Designer), Benjo Ferrer III (editor), Andrew Florentino (music), Roman Dymny (sound design), Sam Manacsa (art director), and Thesa Tang (wardrobe).

 

The Locarno Film Festival, to be held from August 4 to 14, has been showcasing arthouse films since 1946. In 2015, Manatad’s short film “Junilyn Has” premiered in Locarno's Pardi di Domani section.

 

Philippine Post Office releases commemorative stamps to mark the 75th Anniversary of PHL-U.S Relations

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The Philippine Postal Corporation (Post Office) has released a commemorative stamp to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Philippines-U.S. Diplomatic Relations on July 04.

 

Postmaster General and CEO, "Mr. Postman" Norman N. Fulgencio represented by Postshop, Philately and Museum Division Chief Elenita D.L. San Diego presented the Commemorative Stamp Frame to US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d'Affaires John C. Law held at the Independence Flagpole in Luneta Park Manila.

 

July 4, 1946 marked the formal beginnings of Philippine-US diplomatic relations when the Treaty of General Relations and Protocol (or the Treaty of Manila) was signed by the Philippines and the United States of America.

 

The official logo which was incorporated in the 75th Anniversary of the Philippines-U.S. Diplomatic Relations commemorative stamps highlights the common colors of the Philippine and American flags, which symbolize the two countries’ shared history, and the sun, stars, and stripes that represent hope for the future of this deep relationship.

 

The Post Office has printed 30,000 pieces of the stamp. In-house graphic artist Ryman Dominic Albuladora did the layout of the commemorative stamp which is now available at the Philatelic Counter, Manila Central Post Office in Liwasang Bonifacio. 

ePLDT enables Vaccination Rollout App of Santa Rosa, Laguna

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

In its bid to safeguard residents and help reduce the number of COVID-19 cases hitting their city, the local government of Santa Rosa, Laguna launched its website registration portal for its vaccination program powered by ePLDT—the industry-leading enabler of digital business solutions in the Philippines. This initiative is part of ePLDT’s ongoing efforts to support LGUs across the country to help curb the rising cases of COVID-19 through reliable and secure technology.

With the hashtag #LetsGetVacSANTAROSA, the city has launched an online registration portal for qualified Santa Rosa residents for its vaccination rollout. The portal is deployed in Microsoft Azure Stack which is hosted in ePLDT's VITRO Data Center and is secured via ePLDT Cybersecurity solutions such as DNS Security and SSL-Certificates. 

Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President & CEO and SVP & Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups explains the urgency of equipping local governments with PLDT and ePLDT solutions, saying that “The need to quickly deploy the vaccine registration portal of Santa Rosa City is a priority, especially now that vaccines are available. PLDT Enterprise & ePLDT are committed to enabling the government's pandemic response and efficient vaccine distribution through our digital solutions that ensure public services are delivered securely and at-scale to the citizenry."

“Now more than ever, we in Santa Rosa are looking forward to fully protecting our residents from COVID-19,” according to Mayor Arlene B. Arcilla, City Mayor of Santa Rosa, who expressed gratitude for the partnership with ePLDT. “Through the untiring efforts of ePLDT and the reliable technology available, we hope to be able to vaccinate many of our priority groups, and eventually most residents, in due time. Let’s get back to normal, let’s get vaccinated!”

Microsoft Azure Stack, a partnership between ePLDT and Microsoft, is a locally-hosted, flexible, enterprise-grade and globally-renowned cloud computing infrastructure that allows users to develop, deploy and manage applications in real time. Enterprises and governments alike can be more agile by using Microsoft Azure cloud services to build modern infrastructure and refresh legacy applications, with the confidence that the infrastructure is hosted in VITRO datacenters and managed by ePLDT’s certified cloud experts.

ePLDT remains at the top of the local ICT industry in delivering best-in-class cybersecurity solutions as it becomes the first DNSSEC-compliant provider of DNS Security in the country. Having an SSL Certificate enables encrypted sessions to protect data privacy and authentication of servers and applications to promote trust.

For more information, please log on to epldt.com.