The bus was just fast, snaking its way in and out of lanes in Edsa one night when suddenly, it’s momentum was just enough to not make it stop on time as the driver kicked in the brakes. A few seconds later, we went down, refunded of our fare and took another bus since it inched beyond what is safely possible to a taxi and damaged its rear.
Despite this, no one was heart except the taxi driver’s demeanor.
April was a bit lean when it comes to the movies that I watched compared to the previous months. Well, I was quite busy and for about two weeks, I was also on a collecting trip in Mindoro and Banaue since two visiting foreign friends came. Anyway, 11 movies and 1 short made it this month. No specific country, language or director, but it was a mix of different genres, types and works.
I was in fact planning to view a number of Japanese films from such acclaimed directors as Akira Kurosawa, Takashi Miike, Takeshi Kitano and others but I was only able to watch 2. In the Valley of Elah, Don’t Tell, Tsotsi are also good films. As for The Forbidden Kingdom, well, as soon as Americans star as heroes in martial arts films and even with the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li as back up, its always bound to fail.
In the Valley of Elah - Paul Haggis, 2007 (US)
The Virgin Suicides - Sofia Coppola, 1999 (US)
The Forbidden Kingdom - Rob Minkoff, 2008 (US)
Tsotsi - Gavin Hood, 2005 (South Africa)
Tasogare Seibei (Twilight Samurai) - Yoji Yamada, 2002 (Japan)
46-okunen no koi (Big Bang Love, Juvenile A) - Takashi Miike, 2006 (Japan)
The Other Boleyn Girl - Justin Chadwick, 2008 (UK)
Vers Le Sud (Heading South) - Laurent Cantet, 2005 (France)
L’Homme de sa Vie (The Man in My Life) - Zabou Breitman, 2006 (France)
Gegen die Wand (Head On) - Fatih Akin, 2004 (Turkey)
El Bestia nel Cuore (Don’t Tell/Beast in the Heart) - Cristina Comencini, 2005 (Italy)
Short: The Storekeeper - Gavin Hood, (South Africa)
I applied for the Diploma in Photojournalism program of Ateneo de Manila’s Konrad Adenauer Asian Center For Journalism (ACFJ) around the third quarter of 2007 but unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the cut off of 12 students per batch. Much to my surprise when Jimmy Domingo, the coordinator sent me a text message informing me that my application has been reactivated. I just have to respond positively and update some documents without the need for a face to face interview as I had it already last year. That was around March.
Also known as the ACFJ, the Asian Center for Journalism is dedicated to the promotion of excellence in journalism in Southeast Asia. It aims to foster a free, viable and responsible press that will nurture the public discourse essential to an informed practice of citizenship and democracy.
Letter of Acceptance After much waiting, I finally got a response in the 3rd week of April. In an email, I was informed that I was granted a full scholarship. I was just left speechless. I’ve been wanting to be in the program ever since I’ve known about it in 2006 and there I was in the internet cafe, reading such good news, wanting to shout with joy but just contained myself!
The Diploma in Photojournalism offers a unique opportunity to learn photojournalism in the context of the ethical and social values as well as professional standards which Ateneo promotes
The program is unique as it’s a hybrid on-campus/online class but the former is just around 2 weeks while the rest is via weekly readings, chat sessions, assignments posted in the discussion boards. Its a big departure from what I have had and really very challenging as there is very little face to face interactions.
Now that I am with the program, I really am looking forward to fulfill my dreams of making it in photojournalism. I am also grateful to Kitoy for the help and advise. Bai, dako kaayo akong pasalamat pud sa imo!
March was another fruitful month with a number of films watched, a total of 27 comprising 19 films, 5 shorts and 3 episodes for television. Most of these were the works of Kryzysztof Kieslowski.
This is England - Shane Meadows, 2006 (UK)
The Full Monty - Petter Cataneo, 1997 (UK)
Billy Elliot - Stephen Daldry, 2000 (UK)
Atonement - Joe Wright, 2007 (UK)
El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) - Guillermo del Toro, 2006 (Mexico)
10,000 BC - Roland Emmerich, 2008 (US)
The Eye - David Moreau & Xavier Palud, 2008 (US)
Love in the Time of Cholera - Mike Newell, 2007 (US)
Selda - Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos, 2007 (Philippines)
Short
Cwiczenia warsztatowe (Workshop Exercises) - Marcel Lozinski, 1987 (Poland)
March was another fruitful month with a number of films watched, a total of 27 comprising 19 films, 5 shorts and 3 episodes for television. Most of these were the works of Kryzysztof Kieslowski.
This month was Kieslowski month when I watched 10 movies, 3 episodes for television and 4 shorts of the Polish Kryzysztof Kieslowski, acclaimed and considered one of the greatest and important directors who ever lived. His works are intelligent, a social statement. Love, choice, consequences of one’s actions as well as the human struggle are recurring themes.
Speaking of Kieslowski, van den Budenmayer and Zbigniew Preisner are never far behind. The latter, Polish composer who has been collaborating with the director in many of his movies and whose works are just as good. As for van den Budenmayer, supposedly a 19th century composer that can be heard not only in the Trois Coleurs trilogy but also in one of the episodes of Dekalog and Veronique. He is actually a creation of Kryzysztof and Zbigniew, who created the music and attributed it to van den Budnemayer.
Blizna (The Scar), 1976 (Poland)
Amator (Camera Buff), 1979 (Poland)
Bez Konca (No End), 1985 (Poland)
Przypadek (Blind Chance), 1987 (Poland)
Krotki film o milosci (A Short Film About Love), 1988 (Poland)
Krotki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing), 1988 (Poland)
Dekalog 7, 8 & 9 (Decalogue Parts 7, 8 & 9), 1989 (Poland)
La Double Vie de Veronique (The Double Life of Veronique), 1991 (France)
Trois Coleurs: Bleu (Three Colors: Blue), 1993 (France)
Trois Coleurs: Rouge (Three Colors: Red), 1994 (France)
Trois Coleurs: Blanc (Three Colors: White), 1994 (France)
Shorts (Documentary)
Urzad (The Office), 1966 (Poland)
Tramwaj (The Tram), 1966 (Poland)
Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera (Night Porter’s Point of View), 1979 (Poland)
Gadajace glowy (Talking Heads), 1980 (Poland)
