Producer, actress Pilapil in new film
Glad. We are glad to see her lovely face once again on the big screen after years of being away from the acting field. Despite her age, her acting prowess is still evident and impressive. Cebuana star Pilar Pilapil plays Leona Calderon, which is also the title of her comeback (?) film. She is also one of its three producers. Pilapil’s character is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in London whose biggest dream is to return home and reunite with her son. But she could not fulfill it after unsuccessful cancer surgery. Pilapil is still so good at her drama and confrontation scenes and we could see and feel the depth of her role even in sequences where she doesn’t have to speak a word. OFWs and their families can easily relate to the entire movie.
Impressive. We understand that Leona Calderon is Jowee Morel’s maiden directorial assignment but he was able to turn in an impressive work. He has a unique style of telling the story or executing the plot without inserting unnecessary scenes that could have confused the viewing public. The cinematography and musical scoring should also be credited for their simplicity. In other words, the entire flick is direct to the point and therefore, easy to comprehend.
Challenge. Now that Pilapil is also into producing movies, we challenge her to try
making a Cebuano/Visayan flick, one that would feature our homegrown talents as stars. She may invite at least two Manila-based Cebuano actors/actresses like Pilita Corrales and Vina Morales to appear in such production if only to support our local stars and ensure a substantial national viewership. Hopefully, this could open the possibility of reviving the Cebuano/Visayan movie industry. But we concede that producing a movie nowadays is no joke, budget-wise, and we are aware that Pilapil knows this. Hopefully again, she’ll take up the challenge.
Workshop. At least four of the country’s big names in the film and theater scenes are coming to Cebu to mentor those that are interested to become movie and stage talents in the future. They will be sharing with those aspiring stars the proper techniques in acting, including the secret to eliminate stage fright. And who could question Leo Martinez, Boots Anson-Roa, Soxie Topacio and Anne Villegas as the workshop mentors? They have been in the business of acting for so many years already so nobody could question their capability and authority to teach us.
Commend. And we commend local actress/ businesswoman Aida “Angging” Patana of M Talent Events & Promotions (MTEP) for inviting Martinez, Roa, Topacio and Villegas over just to conduct the workshop from May 25-26 and from June 1-2, June 15-16 and June 2223 at the MTEP studio on S.B. Cabahug St., Ibabao, Mandaue City. The workshop rate is so affordable because Patana wants to make sure that a lot of us in Cebu could easily participate.