Zanjoe Marudo’s indie film "Altar" opens on Oct 29

Isang suspense-drama ang kauna-unahang independent-film na ginawa at pinagbidahan ni Zanjoe Marudo, ang Altar. Sa ilalim ng direksyon at panulat ito ni Rico Maria Ilarde noong 2007 pero magkakaroon ito ng theatrical release sa IndieSine, Robinsons Galleria from October 29-November 4, 2008.

Zanjoe plays the role of Anton, isang boxer na aksidenteng napatay niya sa ring ang kanyang kalaban sa U.S. Nang magbalik siya sa Pilipinas, wala na siyang bahay at trabaho. Doon naman siya ini-hired ng mysterious foreman na si Erning, along with Lope (played by Nor Domingo) upang mag-renovate ng bahay na puwede ng mapagkamalang haunted house.

Dito na nila nadiskubre ang isang lihim na altar na nagtataglay rin ng kakaibang lihim at misteryo.

Ayon kay Zanjoe, ang director nila na si Direk Rico Ilarde, son of Eddie Ilarde, ang siya raw nagga-guide sa kanya with his character dahil towards the end, medyo naging dark rin ito.

"Si Direk Rico, siya ang tumutulong sa akin. Ini-explain niya sa akin ang bawat eksena. So, hindi ko alam kung nagampanan ko ba ng tama o ano," plaiwanag ni Zanjoe sa ginanap na press conference ng Cinema One para sa Altar.

Hindi kontrabida si Zanjoe sa Altar, contrary sa impression ng ilan sa kanyang role. In fact, ayon nga kay Zanjoe, bida na may pagka-hero ang dating ng kanyang character.

Tinanong ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) si Zanjoe kung ano ang mga experiences na hindi niya makakalimutan while doing Altar?

"Unang-una, ‘yung makatapos ako ng isang full-length film in eight days, ‘yun pa lang, hindi ko na makakalimutan yun, eh. Isang camera lang ang ginagamit. At saka, yung lahat-lahat halos...iba kapag indie film. Iba lahat. Mararamdaman mo yung paggawa talaga ng pelikula.

"Hindi ka ituturing na parang artista rito, lahat kayo, tulong-tulong."

Kung si Zanjoe raw ang masusunod, type raw niyang masundan pa ang nagawa niyang Altar ng iba pang mga indie films na matsa-challenge pa siya ng husto.

"Oo, gusto ko ng isa pang magandang movie na gagawin ko ulit. Kasi, medyo matagal na rin kasi itong natapos kaya gusto kong iba naman."

Dapat abangan ang magiging ending ng Altar na para sa amin ay hindi ordinaryong napapanood sa karamihang suspense-drama. Ang Altar ay bahagi ng 2007 Cinema One Originals at pagmamay-ari ng Creative Programs Incorporated. Aside from Zanjoe and Nor, kasama rin sa movie sina Dimples Romana, Dido dela Paz, at Kristalyn Engle.

Si Direk Ilarde naman ay masasabing nahasa ang directing skills sa pamamagitan ng television drama anthology ng kanyang ama noong araw. Nakagawa na rin siya ng mga movies tulad ng Dugo Ng Birhen (1999), Sa Ilalim ng Cogon (2006) at ang "Aquarium" segment sa Shake, Rattle and Roll 2k5 (2005).

Last year, marami rin nominasyon na natanggap ang Altar at nagwagi ito ng Best Music for Malek Lopez sa Cinema One Originals. Naging entry rin ito sa 2008 Vancouver Film Festival at Udine Far East Film Festival sa Italy.

Source: http://www.pep.ph/guide/2794/Zanjoe-Marudo%E2%80%99s-indie-film-Altar-opens-on-Oct-29

Glydel Mercado goes mad in "Lukaret"

Synkronicity Films' Lukaret marks the return of award-winning actress Glydel Mercado to moviemaking after a few years of being away from the big screen. Recently though, she has been doing teleseryes, most recent of which is GMA-7's Gagambino.

One of Glydel's movies, Sidhi co-starring Nora Aunor and Albert Martinez (directed by Joel Lamangan), gave her a number of best supporting actress trophies.

Now, Glydel is back at the movies as the title roler in Lukaret. A black comedy, this is written and directed by Felino Tañada, who also directed the indie film Hanggang Dito Na Lamang At Maraming Salamat (starring Nonie Buencamino and Jon Santos). Hanggang Dito is the film version of the Orlando Nadres classic play of the same title.

When Glydel first read the script offered to her by the writer-director, she fell in love with the character and said it was a different, offbeat role to do, hence she told her manager Lolit Solis that she'll do it even if it's an "indie" film, now the current trend in movie making.

The story of Lukaret is set in the remote town of Sta. Lucia. Glydel plays Marlina, a 40ish yet still alluring spinster, runs a small carinderia that sells various dishes made of "lamang loob" or internal organs. She keeps herself well dressed all the time for she expects her boyfriend to appear any day to take her hand in marriage. But that day never materializes. And so she waits...

Until she meets Daniel (played by newcomer Ralph Darell Mateo), an 18-year old orphan who recently moved into town to live with his uncle Peding, an aging funeral shop owner. His uncle passes on his skills in building cheap coffins which he learns very quickly. In the meantime, Marlina and Daniel become good friends. She develops a strong liking for him.

Soon his uncle dies and Daniel inherits his funeral shop. Unfortunately, the town is so small that there's hardly any need for his newly acquired funeral business. When Daniel tells Marlina of his plans to move his business somewhere else, she convinces him to be a little bit more patient. She says the need for his coffins will pick up soon.

And as she has predicted, deaths in the town has grown, albeit gruesome. Daniel's funeral business jumps back on its feet. But the local townsfolk are afraid a serial killer or an "aswang" is on the loose as the cause of deaths are strikingly similar. What makes the murders scary is the way the victims had been left to die, with their inner organs missing. The town lands on the national tabloids as local fumbling cops try to solve the murders.

This indie film also stars Johnron Tañada (of Viva's Men of Provoq) who was last seen in the digital film Kambyo of Viva Films.

Lukaret opens on October 22, Wednesday, at IndieSine, Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas, Pasig City.

Source: http://www.pep.ph/guide/2780/Glydel-Mercado-goes-mad-in-Lukaret

“Dayo” Animated Movie Character

From Cutting Edge Productions comes the first Filipino full-length animated feature film in an all digital studio equiped with the latest in animation technology.

“Our vision is to create an original film that would showcase world class Pinoy artistry in content development and animation: from pre-production to post-production, all the way to original music and sound design. With our state of the art technology, what was once an elusive dream is now within our reach.”

Cutting Edge Productions opened their doors to guests, showing us never-before seen raw clips from parts of the movie. I must admit, I sort of had a hard time keeping a solitary tear from rolling off the side of my cheek as the inks began to move with precision along side those goose-bumps-inducing original background music (I’m not even over exaggerating yet). Yes, it’s no secret that I cry while watching animated films, with “Meet the Robinsons” being my last wail-all-you-can fix. It’s thus a welcome relief that they only showed us four snippets.

During the “tour,” we were also made to listen to the movie’s theme song “Lipad,” done by Lea Salonga, and composed especially for this movie. “Lipad” + the “flying scene” = FTMFW!

There’s one other detail that made me bite my lower lip with delight. The director, Robert Quilao, had a visual readied on his monitor to show us how the composting process is done to bring together the separately drawn elements of the film. I wasn’t surprised when I saw them using Adobe After Effects: a powerful tool used by geniuses (saw what I did there?). Right then, an epiphany hit me: done right and with a liberal amount of OC-ness with the final render, this movie could most probably hold a special place in my heart, closing in as second to Titan AE, to be followed by the rest of my anime favorites (even if I’ve already read the entire synopsis).

Still off the “making” video, here are some of the actors portraying the characters in the movie:

Nash Aquas (Bubuy)
Katrina Legaspi (Anna)
Michael V. (Narsi)
Noel Trinidad (Lolo Meong)
Nova Villa (Lola Nita)
Igi Boy Flores (Mark)
John Manalo (Carlo)
Carl John Barrameda (Arvi)
Pokwang (Vicky)
Johnny Delgado (Carpio)
Peque Gallaga (Nano)
Laurice Guillen (Diwata/Bruha)

Source: http://fritzified.com/2008/10/09/dayo-animated-movie-character-photos/