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4 Cinemalaya Awards

Brutus, the full length film directed by Tara Illenberger (my sister) and executive produced by Ronel Baylon (my husband) reaped 4 awards at the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. I feel myself puffing up with pride.  My gosh! My mother will be strutting like a peacock again. Yeheeeyy!  Yeheeey!

Here’s the list of awards: Jury Prize , Brutus by Tara Illenberger; Best Musical Score , Joey Ayala for Brutus; Best Supporting Actor , Yul Servo for Brutus; Best Cinematography ,  Jay Abello for Brutus.

For a film that almost never made it to its gala screening, getting four awards is not that bad. Not that bad at all. Just weeks before the film fest, a certain Non-Government Organization, upon the urging of a former American Peace Corps(who has no business meddling in Philippine affairs), threatened CCP with a Temporary Restraining Order. They didn’t want the film to be shown because of certain legal reasons that I cannot fully comprehend.  So my sister had to hire a lawyer to settle things  just a week before the opening of the festival. She said that she felt so tired and was ready to give up.  She told the Mangyans, whom she worked with and whose story she was telling, that she didn’t care about the festival anymore but if they wanted her to fight for the film then she would.  

I told my sister that her movie has a story that is worth telling. It is an honor that the Mangyan people have trusted her enough to allow her to tell the world of their plight. That thought should be enough to give her the  strength to fight for her film. It seemed that things got ironed out somehow and she was able to present her work to the public.

I haven’t seen it myself. I wish I could.   Still waiting to get a copy. In the meantime I just go to their website to find out what’s new.  If you’re curious you can click on this link: http://brutusthemovie.com/blog/?page_id=6

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Are you gameshow smart?

Lately my husband has been watching quiz shows on TV.  Sometimes I’d watch, too, while  washing the dishes.  I’d shout out my answers.  Most of the time they’re correct. And I would think to myself that if I could be on that show I could probably win a million.  One night I couldn’t sleep so I played around with the computer and found myself checking out  the “Who wants to be a millionaire?” website. I signed up to get free tickets to the show. Even contemplated signing up for auditions to the show.  Chickened out. Instead I clicked on the button that said “Play Online” .  I played the game over and over, but couldn’t win anything beyond $1000. So that brought me down to reality. Now I know. I don’t have what it takes to win a million. For now.  I’ll keep polishing my skills and just maybe I might get more than a thousand next time. 

If you think you’re better than me, try your luck. Here’s the link:http://millionairetv.com/playonline.html

You need to brush up on your facts so here’s another terrific site  where you can practice http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/quiz/ . They have quizzes on all kinds of topics, plus the all-important  TOP TEN LIST  that they usually include in the shows. Be sure to look into the “Coffee Break” portion at the bottom of the page.

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More Info on BRUTUS

I’m posting the email sent out by my  sister about the show dates of her film.  Please read if you’re interested.

Dear friends,

Finally, the official schedule for the 2008 Cinemalaya Film screenings is out!

I am inviting you all to watch my film “Brutus”.

It will be shown on these dates at the Cultural Center of the Philippines:

June 13/Sun    9:00pm   MKP Hall

July 15/Tues   9:00pm   Huseng Batute

July 16/Wed    3:30pm  Main Theatre

July 18/Fri       9:00pm  MKP Hall

July 19/Sat      6:15pm   Main Theatre

July 20/Sun     3:30pm Little Theatre

The GALA SCREENING of “Brutus” will be on July 19, Saturday at the CCP Main Theatre.  Please come early for the cockltails 

My short film “Durog” will also be shown at the CCP Silangan Hall on July 20, Sunday 3:30 pm.

Hope to see you there! Bring your kids.

Tara 

P.S.  Tickets are regularly at 100 pesos each. Contact me two days beforehand to avail of discounted bulk purchases 

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Watch Me, Watch Me, Watch Me

That’s a just one picture from Brutus, a full length film entry to the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.  My sister, Tara Illenberger,  wrote and directed it. This year I’m praying that she wins an award at the competition. Last year she had a short film entry entitled Durog.

This is also my husband’s first ever foray into the world of showbiz.   He’s one of the producers.  He’s an overworked nurse, sick of his job sometimes,  and had been thinking of other fields of endeavor.  Then my sister’s project  came along….Actually he could have been one of the actors if he hadn’t chickened out at the last minute.   So now he has to be content with simply seeing his name on the opening credits. 

Anyway, if you’re in Manila and have nothing better to do, drop by the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) on July 11-20. For ticket info call 5517930 or 8321125 local 1800.

To find out more about Brutus and watch videos, please click on the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H02c9MZ1Nbc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F1Yek0yiZE

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/101419/PEP-Cinemalaya-2008-screens-10-films-July-11-20

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What a Piece of @$#%!

Pardon my toilet language.The title isn’t just an axpression. It’s really a piece of   @#$%  that you see at the top of this page. My husband was taken aback when I emailed him this picture so I think you might  react the same way.  

I’m keeping this for posterity because it is my two year old daughter’s first poo in her potty.  June 24, 2008. She achieved a milestone in her life when I least expected it.  The doctor told me that I will have a hard time toilet-training her because of her chronic constipation so I was mentally prepared that she might learn at around age 3 or 4.  On this particular day she didn’t just poo, but also went pee pee three times in her potty.

Who would have thought that a small thing like that could blast me off into cloud nine.  You can just imagine my ecstasy.  Lately I’ve been thinking of going back to work  and putting her in daycare. Most daycares, however, want kids who are toilet-trained.  So I’ve been feeling some anxiety.  This new development has erased some of that.

The day started like any other day. I told her for the nth time that she’s a big girl now and doesn’t need her diapers. I always say this with the hope that she will understand me somehow, without really expecting much.  The day before the 24th  I made her wear panties instead of her pull-up diapers. Those training pants don’t make her feel the need to use her potty so I decided to do it the messy way.     My husband complained loudly that she was peeing everywhere: on the bed, the couch, the floor, the dining room rug, and the kitchen. He insisted that I make her wear her diaper since he had just cleaned the carpet the week before with a steam vacuum that he rented at Vons.  I could understand his concern, but what else could I do?  And I wasn’t wrong.  Going down and dirty was the best way to make her learn.

Thanks to Molly Matthews.  What a gem she is!  She’s the star of the book entitled “Big Girls Use The Potty”, written by Andrea Pinnington.  We read it several times a day.  My toddler  runs to look for her potty everytime we do.  She  loves it. After just a month of reading she has already grasped the idea that I want her to learn. Of course  she still has accidents. Just a little more practice and she’s going to be perfect.  When I feel anxious about it, I try to remember what Molly Matthews said, ” Some days are wet, some days are dry. The most important thing is that you try.”

Phhew! That’s one developmental task accomplished.  Now if I can only get my daughter to understand that hitting people is not good… that would be another milestone.