Many of the advocacy films produced are mainly because of the need to inform and be known what is happening to a specific organization or group. Many of which are sometimes negatively stereotyped like boring or too-chatty or wordy film. Probably that was in some advocacy campaign film. So, with this Called to Rescue Philippines (CTR PH) which happens to have launched a short film at the KMC Armstrong Cafe will have a film to talk about. The short film stars popular young celebrities Donny Pangilinan and Nourijune Hooshmand that aims to raise awareness on the recovery and reintegration of human trafficking survivors to the society.

Written and directed by international filmmaker Dean Colin Marcial, the film ‘GRADUATION’ is about a young woman played by Nourijune, who fell into depression after surviving human trafficking. Through the support of her brother, played by Donny, she was able to slowly get back on her feet.

Beyond Rescuing
GRADUATION was the brainchild of Marcial, CTR PH Advocacy Head Abby Anciano, and CTR PH President Anthony Pangilinan. The three, advocates and active volunteers of CTR PH, found the need to bring emphasis not only to a survivor’s rescue, but to their reintegration to society as well.

“Bakit hanggang rescue nalang? Yung after-rescue rin kailangan. [This project] was out of frustration for me, and is one of the reasons I decided to do this,” Anthony explained.

“Our main focus [was on a] survivor’s reintegration into society. It’s something that I drew on, something Donny and Nourijune drew on as well,” Dean expressed.

From there, the two gathered a team of volunteers to bring the short film to life. With help from family, friends, clients, and donors, Graduation was set out to be one purpose-driven production.

Heeding The Call
The short film centers Cinemalaya actress Nourijune Hooshmand and Star Cinema actor Donny Pangilinan. Donny is a long-time anti-human trafficking advocate, while both are currently active CTR PH volunteers. Director Dean Marcial, script-writer and director of the film, handpicked the two for the starring roles.

When asked about participating in the project, Nourijune and Donny expressed no hesitation whatsoever.

“When Dean accepted to go through this project, alongside Nour, it’s not something I had to think twice about,” said Donny, “I specifically chose to do this. I really believe this is something we needed to do.”

“This [advocacy] is really important work. I’m very thankful that I had this opportunity. I’m really happy to be a part of this,” Nourijune shared.

Everyone Is Called To Rescue
Doctor Cyndi Romine, international director of Called To Rescue, noted: “The film is for everybody because we all know somebody. To assume we don’t know somebody would be an error on our part.”

Though people might wonder who this film is truly for, whether it’s for those rescued or those taking care of the rescued, Graduation is a film made to touch all audiences who view it. It sheds light on the significance of aftercare work and a loving community — a part of healing that is more often than not, overlooked.

“Once a person is rescued, you need to meet a lot of people and still go through the journey with the help of people who love you,” Donny noted.

“The bond of family is different, and knowing someone is there for you can really help what you’re healing from,” Nourijune adds.

Through the 5-minute film, CTR PH hopes to draw attention to the post-rescue challenges of trafficking survivors and promote the collective role of community (especially family members) in addressing their needs, supporting their rehabilitation process, and cultivating a safe space for their ongoing journey of healing.

“It takes a village to raise a child: It takes a village to heal a child,” Anthony shared. Everyone is called to rescue.

GRADUATION was made possible with the generous donors: Magic Crackers, Jollibee, Grab Philippines, KMC Solutions, Cabalen, MediCard Philippines, and LabX Corporation.

The newest and an aspiring film production company, AQ Prime, now ventures with the streaming platform where they showcase their original movies and shows.

AQ Prime Entertainment offers originally produced films, together with some legacy Filipino movies, rent-to-view on-demand shows, pay-per-view live events, and cable channel subscriptions.

AQ Prime provides thousands of movies and shows to stream on different devices, like smartphones and TVs across the Philippines, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Korea, and North America.

AQ Prime uniquely offers classic Filipino shows and movies, as well as new and exciting independently produced films.

“We are excited to provide Filipinos across the world the most complete access to entertainment content a streaming platform has to offer,” said Atty. Aldwin Alegre, President, and CEO of AQ Prime. He adds, “This exciting undertaking will be aided by multi-cultural partnerships with the Korean entertainment industry and other foreign filmmakers for a unique and diverse programming experience.”

In every calamity, problem, or event happening, Filipinos find ways to turn it into opportunities. If the pandemic has made us lose a lot of things, the pandemic has also taught us to be more resilient and adaptive.

The pandemic brought the best in everyone, for the entertainment industry, from the artists to production companies, they all strive through and find ways to work out things. Their creative juices were squeezed into a glass jar and brought new concepts in film making.

Viva is one of the film companies that expanded its horizon and adapted today's technology as their main platform in bringing the entertainment of movies from cinema to viewers' comfort, whether in houses or outdoor. Thus, the creation of Vivamax!

Vivamax became the platform where Viva Films can showcase their creative and entertaining films in the movie industry. In this pandemic, Vivamax became the cinema houses of every mobile phone owner or work-from-home individual.

Comedy, drama, action, thriller, or sexy movies, Vivamax has it. What's more interesting is that the film company created more movies during the pandemic for its patron viewers.

Sexy stars were given more attention. Remember the Viva hot babes? Well, Viva brought in more into their lineup of hot babes. Not sure if they have coined it already, but let's probably call them the Pandemic Beauties. These beauties that I know are Sunshine Giumary, AJ Raval, Rhen Escano, Cindy Miranda, and their latest star Ayanna Misola.

From one film to another, Viva Films gave and are still giving their actors and actresses the break they need, from the pandemic and in their careers.

From pandemic to opportunities, that's resiliency in the movie industry.

Good day mga KaToto! Here's a heads up for all movie buffs! The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) returns to cinemas this year, with eight official entries to watch.

Here is the list of the films shortlisted for the 2021 lineup:

1. "A Hard Day" (Viva Communications, Inc.)
Starring: Dingdong Dantes and John Arcilla
Directed by: Lawrence Fajardo

 

Romance is in the air as SKY presents the first cinematic collaboration of the New Gen Phenomenal Love Team, Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano, in Star Cinema's newest offering, "Love is Color Blind," which premieres on SKY Pay-Per-View on Dec. 10 (Friday).

DonBelle is back—this time on the big screen—in their newest love film, directed by John Leo Garcia, as best friends Ino (Donny) and Cara (Belle), who are fresh off the success of their web romantic series "He's Into Her." Cara is there to help him add color to his life and show him that he is not too blind to find love, despite his vision problem that prevents him from seeing vibrant colors. However, along the way, they both meet others who attempt to blur the lines of their relationship.

Regardless of these not-so-colorful instances among them, will Ino finally find the colors of happiness and love he's looking for with Cara?

Find out how their vivid love story will unfold in the world premiere of "Love is Color Blind" starting December 10 on SKY Pay-Per-View.

Catch all of Ino and Cara's sweetest and most colorful moments together in the comfort of your homes in high-definition and commercial-free for a discounted price of P199 per pass (regular rate at P249), which comes with 48-hour access upon purchase. Avail of the pay-per-view discount promo from December 10, 2021 until January 10, 2022.

To subscribe, visit mysky.com.ph/skyppv or text SKY PPV to 23662.

For more details, follow SKY on Facebook (fb.com/myskyupdates), Twitter, and Instagram (@myskyupdates).

Per DTI Fair Trade Permit No. FTEB - 133131 Series of 2021. Standard Platform Terms and Conditions Apply.

One of the official entries in the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival, Nelia, which starred Winwyn Marquez, officially released its movie trailer last December 1 on its official Facebook page Nelia. The film garnered more than 1,000,000 views in its first 36 hours and so far it has reached nearly 2.5 million views.

There's already a buzz from the netizens with Nelia's unique theme. A glimpse on its trailers tells about a shrouded mystery of Hospital Room 009, where Nelia works as a nurse. Apparently, all patients admitted in the room end up dead. "Is there a ghost or is there a killer in the hospital?" is a question netizens commonly ask.

The film also tackles the issue of mental health, which is a hot topic on social media these days, as the prevalence of anxiety and depression among people continues because of the ongoing pandemic. “In a way, our film is also educational because of its underlying theme on mental health disorders. Hopefully, through our film, the audience will be able to broaden their understanding of people dealing with mental health problems,” said the film's director, Lester Dimaranan.

 

The film Nelia was starred by beauty queen and actress WinWyn Marquez, portraying the title role, her womanly instincts and gut feel are aroused because of the mysterious cases happening in the hospital where she works. To what revelations her curiosity led her to uncover things that you can also uncover if you watch this film directed by Lester Dimaranan with a screenplay written by its producer Melanie Honey Quiño.

The people of Hermoso have had their faith in Bro tested and restored in “Huwag Kang Mangamba,” but Mira and Joy’s (Andrea Brillantes and Francine Diaz) mission is far from over with evil faith healer Deborah (Eula Valdes) still on the loose.

Mira and Joy will find a path to healing after the battle between good and evil reaches new heights in the final week of ABS-CBN’s inspirational teleserye on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and TV5.

After staging her own death, Deborah promises to come back and end the lives of those who opposed her reign in Hermoso, particularly the group led by Mira and Joy. Deborah previously tried to kill Mira but ultimately failed after Bro immediately healed Mira’s stab wound.

Despite their ongoing struggles, Bro assured the sisters that everything happens for a reason and that they should stop worrying their lives away as long as their faith remains unshakeable.

Mira and Joy’s prayers will also get answered as they reunite with their deceased mother Fatima (Dimples Romana) in heaven.

Don’t miss the healing finale of “Huwag Kang Mangamba,” which figured in the list of the most watched TV programs among U.S. multicultural Asian homes in September.

In the Philippines, the show airs at 8:40 PM until Friday on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, Kapamilya Online Live, iWantTFC, WeTV, and iflix. Viewers who use any digital TV box at home such as the TVplus box only need to rescan their device to be able to watch “Huwag Kang Mangamba” on A2Z and TV5. Viewers outside of the Philippines can also catch it on The Filipino Channel on cable and IPTV.

For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok or visit www.abs-cbn.com/newsroom.

 

In this age of digital, our social media sites are our tool to share, to give information, and also to brag. But because of the hype and the fame, sometimes we're not actually thinking about what we share with the online world. This new film from Vivamax will let you think twice before posting something on the internet. 

A celebrity house tour is one of the most entertaining vlog contents that is sure to gain a lot of views. But opening one’s doors to strangers, albeit virtually, is taking a risk of attracting danger.

Roman Perez Jr., the director of much talked-about erotic thrillers like “Adan” (2018), “The Housemaid” (2021) and “Taya” (2021), is back with a sexy, heist thriller movie, “House Tour”. Starring a good-looking bunch of actors, namely Diego Loyzaga, Sunshine Guimary, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Marco Gomez, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, and Cindy Miranda, it is premiering and exclusively streaming on Vivamax starting October 22, 2021.

Great news to all KaToto movie fanatics out there! I'm sharing this interesting information about a Filipino-made independent horror/ action film created by award-winning writer and director  Pinoy filmmaker Vincent Soberano. The movie will have its US theatrical release starting October 22, 2021 in ten major cities. 

Comedy and Andrew E rhymes together whether you rap it, or simply say it! 

 

Andrew E.’s original song which has turned into a hit TikTok trend, is now a VIVAMAX original movie! SHOOT! SHOOT!: DI KO SIYA TITIGILAN! is the latest movie collaboration of comedy director Al Tantay and the ultimate pakboy, Andrew E., together with VIVAMAX Goddesses AJ Raval and Sunshine Guimary.

SHOOT! SHOOT! is about Jack (Andrew E.), a small town guy whose ultimate dream is to become an actor. After countless auditions, Jack finally gets chosen to play the role of an heir to his wealthy relative. While rehearsing his lines, his neighbor hears him talking about inheriting 100 billion dollars. Jack’s misadventures start when word spreads around town that he’s now a billionaire. He suddenly gets lucky with girls who just want his “money”, but he also gets in trouble with the wrong people.

After the success of “Pakboys: Takusa '' and “Sanggano, Sanggago’t Sanggwapo,” director Al Tantay is back with SHOOT! SHOOT!, for another sure-hit comedy film. With 6.5 million trailer views in just 48 hours, SHOOT! SHOOT! is definitely one of the most anticipated movies this year.

Manananggal has always been part of our rich culture, it may be negative, but still, it is something that reminds us of the unnatural things around us. But for this particular movie there’s nothing but love and laughter and the aswang in VIVA Films and blockbuster director Darryl Yap’s new romantic comedy film is really something else, titled as ANG MANANANGGAL NA NAHAHATI ANG PUSO. Starring two of the most in demand young stars of today, Aubrey Caraan and Marco Gallo.

ANG MANANANGGAL NA NAHAHATI ANG PUSO is about a college student named Giuseppe (Marco Gallo) who went to a small barrio to research for his thesis about the mythical Filipino creatures called “aswang”. There, he meets the eccentric barrio girl Giniper (Aubrey Caraan) who takes the opportunity to help Giuseppe with his research. With Giniper’s help, Giuseppe will not just learn about mythical creatures in the barrio, but he will also experience enchanting encounters with different people.

Also starring in the movie are comedians and viral YouTube vloggers Chad Kinis, Lassy Marquez, and MC Calaquian collectively known as the Beks Batallion, who play the roles of Gudong, Gingging and Gimo respectively; and Teresa Loyzaga as Guinta. With also the special participation of veteran actors Gina Pareño and Johnny Revilla.

 

Known for his dark and mysterious style of film, mostly thriller and horror movie. director Yam Laranas is back for a new romance movie, PARALUMAN. Starring one of the most promising stars of VIVA, Rhen Escaño, and 90s heartthrob Jao Mapa.

Peter (Jao Mapa) lives in with his partner Giselle (Gwen Garci), who’s a barangay worker. They will meet Mia (Rhen Escaño), the minor, younger sister of one of their friends. Not long after, Mia falls in love with Peter who is almost twice her age and is soon to be wed with Giselle. Before everything goes wrong, Peter must choose between Mia, who’s very much younger than him and who just came into his life very recently, or Giselle who has been with him for the longest time and wants nothing but to be with him for the rest of her life.

Things just got more exciting for movie fans and the whole Kumunity! Star Cinema, the Philippines’ biggest film production outfit, and kumu, the country’s leading social entertainment app and live streaming platform, collaborate for the upcoming Cathy Garcia-Molina film, ‘Love At First Stream.’ What’s more, two lucky Kumunizens have a shot at becoming the third love team in the movie. By joining the “LoveTeam Stream” kumu Campaign, one romantic duo will have their chance to be featured in “Love At First Stream”. That’s right, one Kumunizen pair will have a special guest appearance at the upcoming movie.

The power to decide rests in the Kumunity’s hands as the campaign officially opens, from July 16 to 26, 2021.

Top billed by today’s rising love teams such as KaoRhys—comprised of Kaori Oinuma and Rhys Miguel, and DanThony—comprised of Daniela Stranner and Anthony Jennings, ‘Love At First Stream’ is about the new normal, where life is digital. The movie partnership is set to be a first in Philippine cinema history, where audiences can participate and even decide the new talents to be featured.

The “LoveTeam Stream” is the first interactive digital project for “Love At First Stream”. It is open to all kumu users 18+ years old and above, based in the Philippines.

As an official kumu Campaign, standard campaign mechanics apply, where livestreamers must collect the specific virtual gifts to build up their diamond value. Only the diamonds from the “LoveTeam Stream” virtual gifts will be counted in the leaderboard. At the end of the campaign period, the streamers with the highest diamond count win the tier prizes of the campaign.

However, there is a slight twist- A love team duo must live stream together as an official pair, represented by one kumu account, or device. Only one representative account will be counted in the leaderboard; official winners must be a love team pair and kumu users. There is also a special consent form to be signed by the representative participantComplete details of the “LoveTeam Stream” kumu Campaign can be found on the campaign’s official in-app page.

BLACK SHEEP, a film outfit under ABS-CBN, is known for films that tell fresh stories with a vision that have no boundaries. And now, a first of its kind in our distributions we bring you BLACK SHEEP’S BLACK PACK, 3 exciting films in 1 exclusive access.

For the very first edition, we programmed Black Sheep’s 3 internationally recognized films: Raya Martin’s DEATH OF NINTENDO, Bradley Liew’s MOTEL ACACIA and Dwein Baltazar’s ODA SA WALA. After their World Premieres and screenings in various International Film Festivals, finally they’re home and will be available in the Philippines.

From Nostalgia of our youth and of the 90s in Death of Nintendo to suspenseful actionpacked adventure in a mysterious Motel Acacia to finding luck and love in stillness in Oda Sa Wala, Black Sheep is all set to take you to 1 cinematic journey this summer.

Black Sheep’s Black Pack is streaming on April 23, 2021 via KTX.ph and iWant TFC. Tickets are available on solo.to/BlackPack with an EARLY BIRD ticket price of 250php (Until April 22 only) and with a regular ticket price of 300php

DEATH OF NINTENDO

Set in Manila in the 1990s, DEATH OF NINTENDO takes us into the colorful pop culture world of four teenage friends, back in the days when video games were still a novelty. During a summer, Mimaw and her friends Paolo, Kachi and Gilligan go on a journey of self-discovery together as they try to one-up each other's high scores and face life's obstacles, including puppy love, peer pressure and balancing family tradition with self-identity.

Runtime: 98 min
Language: English, Tagalog/Filipino with English Subtitle
Genre: Period, Comedy-Drama, Coming-of-Age

Festivals and Screenings:

(WORLD PREMIERE) Berlin International Film Festival-Generation Kplus
Toronto International Film Festival-Next Wave Canada
Busan International Film Festival
Sarajevo International Film Festival
Cineteca Madrid
Pesaro, Italy
Buster, Copenhagen Denmark
Calgary, Canada
Odesa, Ukraine
Urbanworld, NY
LA Asian Pacific, CA
NY Asian, NY
Taoyuan, Taiwan
Hawaii
Minsk, Belarus
QCinema International Film Festival
Hainan Island, China
Cinematheque Macau
Colorado Dragon Boat
Portland Film Festival
BAFICI Argentina
Milwaukee, WI

CREW CREDITS

Director Raya Martin
Writer/Producer Valerie Castillo Martinez
Producers
(Black Sheep)
Marizel Samson-Martinez Kriz G. Gazmen
Marjorie B. Lachica
Executive Producers
Carlo L. Katigbak
Olivia M. Lamasan
Co-Producers
Lope Juban
Nikolo Juban
Jeremy Chua
Associate Producers
Alexander Nishioka
Dan Sima
Joseph Zamora
Jeremiah Oh
Kang Xin Ying
Director of Photography
Ante Cheng
Assistant Director
Timmy Harn
Production Designers
Whammy Alcazaren
Thesa Tang
Editor
Cyril Aris
Sound Designer
Andy Sisul
Composers
Zeke Khaseli
Yudhi Arfani
CAST CREDITS
Kim Chloe Oquendo.... Mimaw
Noel Comia Jr............. PaoloJohn Vincent Servilla... Kachi
Jigger Sementilla........ Gilligan
Elijah Alejo................. Shiara
Cayden Williams......... Jimbo
Jude Servilla............... Badong
Agot Isidro................. Patricia
Nikki Valdez............... Maribel
Angelina Canapi.......... Shirley
Ramon Bautista........... Kuya Johnny
Lou Veloso.................. Mang Pido
***

MOTEL ACACIA

JC, a young Filipino man, is forced to take over the family business set by his estranged tyrant father, a lonesome motel in the remote wilderness, providing shelter to illegal immigrants on behalf of the Government. Butas JC and the guests soon discover, Motel Acacia is home to a dark and ancient spirit trapped in a bed, which devours men and impregnates women. After the death of his father, JC is set with an impossible task–stopping the men his father failed to kill from escaping whilst still keeping everyone alive. With food running out and a violent blizzard preventing the guests to leave, a desperate fight for survival begins. In an attempt to rid himself from his father’s shadow, JC risks losing his own humanity.

GENRE: Supernatural Horror, Suspense
LANGUAGE: English, Filipino, Thai
RUNNING TIME: 88 min

Festivals and Screenings:

(WORLD PREMIERE) Tokyo International Film Festival4
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
Taipei Golden Horse Film FestivalJogja Netpac Asian Film Festival

CREW CREDITS

DIRECTOR Bradley Liew
SCREENPLAY Bradley Liew & Bianca Balbuena
PRODUCERS
Bianca Balbuena
Bradley Liew
Jeremy Chua
BoštjanVirc
SinišaJuričič
Kriz Gazmen
Marizel S. Martinez
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Olivia Lamasan
Carlo Katigbak
Bianca Balbuena
Jeremiah Oh
Yeh Jufeng
BoštjanVirc
Quark Henares
Joe Caliro
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS
Ivy Y.H. Chiang
Armi Rae Cacanindin
Kang Xin Ying
Sam Tzu-Hsiang Yuan
Rica Salvador
Lee Chatametikool
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Larry Manda
SOUNDVincent Villa
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Benjamin Padero & Carlo Tabije
EDITOR
Benjamin Tolentino
MUSIC
Chris Letcher
CAST CREDITS
JC Santos.................... JC
Jan Bijvoet............... The Father
Nicholas Saputra...................Don
Agot Isidro...........................Angeli
Vithaya Pangringarm..........................Sami
Bront Palarae......................Bront
Will Jaymes......................James
Talia Zucker..................Cathy
***

ODA SA WALA

Sonya is an old maid stuck in a town that long ceased to recognize her existence but only until one fateful morning when a mysterious corpse arrives at the footsteps of their family-owned funeral shop. Bringing forth strange luck and fortune, Sonya instantly gets drawn to the corpse’s mystique, reinvigorating not only her life but also that of her father Mang Rudy. But luck would eventually dry up, provoking further distress back to Sonya’s life. She faces the reality that her existence is nothing more that of the corpse, at the tail end of its mortality staring life wither away.

Genre: Drama
Language: Tagalog (Filipino)
Running Time: 92 mins

Festivals and Screenings:

(WORLD PREMIERE) QCinema International Film Festival
(INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Luang Prabang Film Festival
Exground Filmfest
Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival
Filmfest Hamburg

CREW CREDITS

Written and Directed By Dwein Ruedas Baltazar
Produced by
Bianca Balbuena-Liew
Iana Celest Bernardez
Kriz Gazmen
Marizel Samson-Martinez
Executive Producers
Carlo L. Katigbak
Olivia M. Lamasan
Eduardo Lejano Jr.
Manet Dayrit
Cinematographer
Neil Daza
Sound
Immanuel Verona
Music
Richard Gonzales
Colorist
Dia Dia Magsaysay
Production Design
Marxie Maolen Fadul
Editor
Dwein Ruedas BaltazaCAST CREDITS
Marietta Subong.............Sonya
Joonee Gamboa............Rudy
Angelita Loresco........... Old Woman/Dead Body
Dido Dela Paz................Theodore
Anthony Falcon...............Elmer
Iana Bernardez.......................Elmer’s Wif