THE COLLECTOR ] Charlie Cojuangco on his thrill-gotten wealth

Ang Bagong Herusalem, Alfredo Esquillo, from the personal collection of Carlos Cojuangco.

Do you remember what drew you first to collecting art?
Its colors and textures.

What was your first acquisition?
A Norma Belleza acquired in 1995. It’s a market/fiesta scene with vendors.

If you take a survey of your entire collection, would you be able to say if there is a common thread to them? Is there a particular style, school, you're attracted to?
I don’t limit myself or the collection to specific genres. What’s important is that one feels a connection to the artwork; if it appeals to the senses and tickles the intellect.

Has your taste in art/or what you look for in art changed over the years?
Yes, from flowers and landscapes to videos and installations.

Showing your personal collection, does this entail an initial sort of hesitation? Being a very private person, and art being a very personal inclination, do you feel at all that you are showing a bit of your private self to the public?
The reluctance comes from being compared to other collections’ particularly important, significant and interesting artworks and the criticisms. But I am confident that the exhibit will stand up to the critiques.

In this opening exhibition, you have chosen to show works that mirror or give commentary to Philippine society. Why have you chosen this particular group of your collection as an exhibition?
Because this field has captured my attention the most aside from the artistic and usual reasons, they document periods and events in our country (history).

You are officially opening Nova this January, what makes it different you think from all other art spaces?
We have yet to show that we are different in the way we work, although architecturally we want the audience (client) to feel at home and at ease.


First Hanging, pieces from the personal collection of Carlos Cojuangco is on show at the Nova Gallery, La Fuerza Compound, Pasong Tamo, Makati City.

WELCOME TO MONDOMANILA ] O kung paano ginawa ni Khavn dela Cruz ang pelikula...

Colorful characters abound in Mondomanila. One of them, the Tour Guide, is played by Pango, "tagapaghanda ng audience."

...halaw sa nobela ni Norman Wilwayco matapos ang mahaba-habang paglalakbay.

You've been wanting to do Mondo for years di ba? How many years?
Yup. Late 2002, early 2003.
2003: One aborted pre-production. one aborted production (one shooting day).
2004: Shortfilm starring Marvin (Agustin).
2006: Made Squatterpunk which is somewhat connected to Mondo.
2008: Finished Bangungot na Bangag, a Mondo psycho-delic relative, also starring Tony de Guzman (the nove;s lead character) played by three actors.

This comes from Norman Wilwayco's Palanca-winning novel which you also published. What attracted you most to the novel?
I see the novel as the postmodern version of Edgar Reyes' Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag.
I've been wanting to do a film about Manila, inspired by Bernal's Manila By Night and Brocka's Manila in the Claws.
And the novel impressed me as a perfect vehicle.

Clockwise from topmost left: Mutya, "unanong best friend ni Tony. Tanggero ng Tropang Praning. Magbabalut. Rockstar;" Rodney Aquino as Iskong Bugaw; Alex Tiglao as Sgt. Pepper; Tony Hunt as Third-World-hating pedophile Whiteboy.

You wrote the script based on the novel? What changes have you made? And did you have to consult Norman about the changes?
A lot of changes. Iwa (Norman) and i wrote the screenplay (that eventually got another Palanca) based on his novel. It features the main arc of the novel, starring the most important characters, set mainly in the slums, happening in a span of a few nights instead of a biopic.

Tell us about the film. A synopsis, if you will. And your treatment.
I have always wanted to explore Manila and its humanity. Not just its people, majority of whom are mired in poverty, but the whole rationale behind the irrational lives these people experience everyday.
There is the kind of human drama that extends beyond tragedy and plants its feet firmly in the territories of madness. In my film Mondomanila, I strived to present the truth as gleaned from the cracks in the celluloid curtain. But the “truth,” it is not "out there," as pundits from the outer realm put it, but in one’s own backyard.
And backyards can shock, specially if one doesn't go out much. I believe that Mondomanila offers one of the most horrifying backyards in the tradition of films made by one of the foremost Filipino directors, the late Lino Brocka. If Brocka's films a decade ago talked about the wounds of Manila, I would like to believe that Mondomanila belongs to new breed of storytelling that makes one feel as if one has actually touched that wound, a close-up view of all that gangrene and pus.
Mondomanila takes place in the slums and is inhabited by the denizens of the underworld (the crippled pimp, the lonely housewife, the neighborhood gay and his macho father, the prostitutes, the smalltime politician, the Yankee pedophile).
Mondomanila, however, is not about a celebration of self-destruction. Far from it. Decadence, after all, is the language of the privileged. Decadence is that which escapes from the clutches of bourgeois order. But what if there is no order at all? In Mondomanila, there are no happy endings and Death awaits in ambush at every corner. However, in my film, Tragedy lies not at the end but is a given situation. It is, I believe, not the usual "story that needs to be told" but is, in all accounts, simply a backyard full of lovable fuckers.

Cinemalaya Best Actor 2009 Timothy Mabalot plays Tony de Guzman, the foulmouthed lead character.

You were thinking about several other actors before finally deciding on Timothy. Bakit siya?
Dati, twentysomething ang gusto kong actor na gumanap kay Tony. Napagdesisyunan ko na gusto ko ng kinse anyos. Isa si timothy sa nag-audition. Hindi ko napanood ang twoearly films niya sa Cinemalaya. Namangha lang ako sa intensity niya. Huling-huli niya ang pagkatao ni Tony na may ticking timebomb sa loob ng dibdib.

Saan at pano mo nahanap si Palito and in what state?
Through (writer) Totel de Jesus. Ginawan niya ng feature for S magazine yata. Wanted to do a docu on him after I found out. Nagkita kami sa McDo malapit sa PAGCOR dahil nagtatambol siya roon.

Clockwise from top left: Palito as Pablong Shoeshine; Stefan Punongbayan as Naty; Ding and Jelai as Kambal P.; Whitney Tyson as Lovely Paybsiks.

And Whitney Tyson?
Sa audition. she fits the role like a chopped foot.

There is singing?
Yup.

Kelan showing?
Next year. Baka summer. Baka first sem.


Stills by Buccino De Ocampo & Allan Balberona

TARUSH! ] Social realism is just a "look." Or so says Manuel Ocampo

Background: 'Forward to the Sweet Tranquility of the Status Quo.' Foreground: Detail of 'Agent of Good + Bad Criticism: In Need of Plumbing,' 2009, mixed media, dimensions variable. From ongoing exhibit at Pablo Gallery.

Philippine Star:Who are currently your favorite Filipino artists?
Manuel Ocampo: If the world would consider Dan Flavin as a Filipino artist, since he uses the florescent tube (which was invented by a Filipino,) then he would be it. But jokes aside, at present among the post-painters I would mention Argie Bandoy and Jayson Oliveria. I like the way they’re rescuing abstract painting from the dregs of interior-decorator kitsch, corny spirituality, and high seriousness into something dangerous and tasteless, as well as obscene, funny, clumsy, and full of bad design and glaring missteps. If there is such a thing as abstract-jologs then their work would be it. I like Gerry Tan’s work in the way he reflects on paintings methods of anticipating and redefining its relationship to digital reproduction. He’s introducing new aspects and parameters into how we can use painting to question the digital barrage that is infiltrating our consciousness.

Robert Langenegger’s and Romeo Lee’s works are undoubtedly nihilistic yet there is an insane cheerfulness to their approach since their paintings are fantastically made-up jokes. It is astonishing, for example, how much the series of motifs employed by these artists overlap with those found in Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel. In the works, we encounter a humor of the immediately physical, and references to the topics of nourishment, digestion, sexuality, misery and death.

'How many depictions of farmers, workers, raised fists, chains, fat cats, evil businessmen and corrupt politicians can we take?'

I would also like to include the video works of Poklong (Anading). And the photos of MM Yu and Lena “D’hyena” Cobangbang.

Philippine Star:Who are the Filipino artists whose works you find abhorrent?
Manuel Ocampo: There are really no Filipino artists whose works I find abhorrent. I’m just puzzled by the hype surrounding the so-called “realists” — the type of works that are predominant at art auctions nowadays. I find their stuff retrograde and unimaginative. I’m also turned off by Social Realist paintings. I find the politics behind it naive and at times hypocritical. The way they are painted and the content, too, doesn’t appeal to me. How many depictions of farmers, workers, raised fists, chains, fat cats, evil businessmen and corrupt politicians can we take?

Social Realism is just a “look.”

From Igan D Bayan's interview with the artist Manuel Ocampo, published today in The Philippine Star. The entire story here. Manuel's Monuments to the Institutional Critique of Myself is on view up to the 26th of September at Pablo Gallery, Unit C-11 South of Market Condominium, The Fort.

EIGHT QUESTIONS ] Lyra Garcellano's people falling gracefully

Scenes from the September 9 opening.

Lyra Garcellano presented her latest works recently at the Finale Art Gallery: eight paintings, two drawings, and one installation piece. But everything was about the idea of falling and climbing, and a beautiful, kind of quietly glamorous, surrender. TheSwankStyle spoke to the artist about how she works, what makes her happy and that nasty thing called Old Pain.

What inspired these new works?Finale Art File’s Tall Gallery was inspiring enough. It’s a huge space and I wanted to work with the space. Likewise, I got ideas from dealing with my personal issues.

How long did you work on the exhibit?I did the actual production work for the paintings and drawings for only 4 months. But I worked on the concept for the show for about 8 months.

Collector Rina Ortiz and the gallery's Evita Sarenas meet halfway.

What's the idea behind the ladder, if you don't mind me asking.
The ladder alludes to the perception of the difficult climb that one faces when one is in an emotional rut. If you look closely at the ladder you’ll see the first four rungs are broken. But the “cast” shadow is done differently. It is complete and “unbroken”. Plus the distance from each rung to the next gets further apart.
I wanted to imply that despite all the difficulties one can eventually “lift” oneself up but every step is going to be a challenge. What is ironic though is once you’ve reached the top, you ask yourself “what’s next?” The bottom again?

Can you give us an idea of how you work?
I work within 2-3 hours after I wake up. I like to putter around the house first before doing “real” work and I call it a day by sundown. I don’t have great lighting in the room where I work so I rely on natural light. It’s awful when it rains because that means I don’t get to work that much since it gets dark in the room. Summer’s a great time to work given the longer days and shorter nights so I get to paint more hours. Nope, I’m not really a “mood” worker. If I relied on my moods, I’ll hardly work. Although, there are days I have intense food cravings. Some days I have the “need” to eat mac & cheese while I work. Other days I “need” my favorite chocolate cream beverage to rev me up. That’s all carbs and sugar. No wonder I’m fat now. I often listen to the same music for months at a time. And the past year the one I love most in my CD rack is Flight of the Conchords’ Season 1 songs.

What did you want to explore with this new batch of paintings?
I was in a funk for a long time. So I needed to process that feeling and that experience brought me to thematically deal with the idea of falling, losing control and eventually getting out of it.

What is your current state of mind?
I’m in a neutral state of mind right now. Which, I suppose, is better than usual. Better than being upset or feeling dis-orbited. Neutral is a good place for me. I take neutral anytime.

How would you describe your studio/workplace?
Very small and very cramped. It’s not really a studio. It’s a room in the house that’s not really being used so I paint there. The thing is everybody’s junk is in that room.

What makes you happy lately? Watching Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited again made me happy recently. Looking forward to an eat-all-you-can pasta buffet makes me happy too.

Photos courtesy of the artist. Old Pain is ongoing up to September 30 at Finale Art File Warehouse 17, La Fuerza Compound (Gate 1), 2241 Pasong Tamo, Makati City (across Philippine School for Interior Design).
Makati City

THE SHIRT TALE ] Rhett Eala on why yellow is the new black

Eala and (right) his biggest hit.

The simplest ideas are often the biggest hits. Put the country’s map on a shirt and get ready for the cash registers to ring non-stop. Whowouldathought? Well, Rhett Eala did. His collared cotton pique shirts with an embroidered Philippine map on the chest for Collezione C2 is turning out to be this year’s sartorial staple. No small thanks to the Aquino grandkids who made it almost a uniform during the length of the wake of their much beloved grandmother in August. And thanks to the elder Aquino, the Senator Noynoy, who wore one when he announced his presidential bid last week. A week before that, it was Mar Roxas, declaring he was stepping down from the presidential race to make way for Noy, in a blue number. From its fansite at Facebook, it looks like it’s not only the Aquinos who are sporting the shirt: it is increasingly becoming the uniform for people doing something good for the country. And now that Noy is leading in the presidential race survey, it looks like we’ll be seeing more of Rhett’s hit up to election season next year. Here, TheSwankStyle talks to the guy who put the shirt with the map, well, on the map.

How do you start your day?
I usually wake up around 6am. I go to the gym for about an hour then I'm in the office around 8:30

A moment/time/activity in the day you look forward to?
I really enjoy going to the stores and checking on whats moving and talking to clients and getting their feedback.

Describe your work station?
My desk is piled with swatches, color charts, pantone books and colored markers. I also have my laptop in front of me most of the day.

How do you work? Is there a certain time of day where you feel you are more inspired? Do you need music?
I work best alone if I'm working on some ideas. No particular time in designing. I always have a sketch pad when I travel. I usually have music on, mostly Coldplay sometimes Kanye West. I walk a lot when I'm abroad, in Manila I don't walk much.

What inspires you?
Anything can inspire me, a piece of art, music, a gesture, an old picture or something I've read.

Your favorite source of inspiration.
Books about fashion designers on how they work and develop their ideas. Right now I'm reading about Martin Margiela. Before that it was Cristobal Balenciaga.

Your favorite smell.
I love the smell of coffee in the morning

Like father, like son. Ninoy wearing Collezione (a screencap from docu The Last Journey of Ninoy) and Noynoy at the Club Filipino Wednesday last week. Noy photo by Patrick Uy.

What is your favorite yellow object/memory?
I saw a Coldplay concert earlier this year and when they sang "Yellow" they threw out about 50 giant yellow balloons to the audience and they were tossed around the concert hall until some of them burst then out came yellow confetti.

When you thought of putting the Philippine map on a shirt, what were the other thoughts that accompanied it?
I was thinking how I would feel wearing a the map on my chest.

Would you say the Pilipinas shirt is your biggest hit?
Yes I think so.

Has the orders/demand increased? Are there special orders coming from the Aquino camp?
We have been growing ever since we launched the map series last year. We have a hard time keeping the map shirts in stock but we manage. We do get orders from them.

Where are you taking the Philippine map stamp of Collezione? What’s in store in the coming months?
We are expanding the line to accessories and working on a bespoke line. We just opened two Makati stores in Greeenbelt 5 and Glorietta 3. We are opening a concept store in Rockwell on Oct. 8.

What are you doing this weekend?
Probably just watch the US open championship on TV.

STEAMING HOT ] Chris Martinez, the writer of Kimmy Dora, on what success tastes like

The surprise hit of the year is still pulling surprises at the cinemas. Kimmy Dora, with very little TV spots for its trailers and largely depending on word of mouth for promotion (and the shameless Facebook plugs that became increasingly irritating as the film came closer to opening day. OO NA MANONOOD NA KAMI!), is happily making a killing at the box-office, even convincing a few theaters to have midnight screenings just to accomodate persistent audiences. There are no final figures yet but everyone is talking about it (at least everyone we know in the office and half our Facebook friends). And they should be: it's the funniest film since, well, Joyce Bernal did funny for the movies.

The creator of the twins Kimmy and Dora is Chris Martinez, scriptwriter of 100, the film that won him Cinemalaya Best Director last year, and Jeffrey Jeturian's Bridal Shower and Bikini Open. He also penned the plays Intelstar (a one-woman show about a call center trainor which starred Kimmy Dora's lead actress Eugene Domingo) and the Palanca-winning Last Order Sa Penguin. He just released his new book, another Palanca winning play (2007), Our Lady of Arlegui, about a Muslim woman selling pirated DVDs in Quiapo's Arlegui Street. TheSwankStyle sent Chris a few questions and here he gladly responds.

What/who inspired Kimmy Dora? Are they based on real people?
Eugene Domingo is the only inspiration since the inception of the project. It was really written for her. It's not based on real people but more on my motivation to showcase her enormous talent. What better way to stretch her limits by giving her dual roles. It all started with my pitch: what if you have an evil twin?

There is always a glimmer of drama/heartbreaking truth in your comedy. Is this a conscious resolve?
I try to keep my characters as real as possible. They get hurt. They commit mistakes. They have desires, insecurities, despair, etc. I treat them as human beings. They are never perfect.

Was Kimmy Dora born from brainstorming with other people, or its just your own?
Over dinner at Taste of L.A. same time last year, Eugene, Joyce and I spent a whole evening brainstorming on what is the best launching vehicle for Uge. We came up with three pitch lines. Tig-wa-one sentence lang. Then Joyce called Piolo. Then Piolo arrived. Then we pitched to him. Then he approved Kimmy Dora. Then go na! Ganun lang ka-bilis at ka-simple. Smooth na smooth. I wrote the storyline when I was in Pusan where 100 competed and won. I wrote the sequence treatment in Marrakech where 100 was also competing. The script--sa bahay lang during Christmas time.

How do you write?
Very, very, very slowly! hahaha Sobrang bagal ako. Everytime someone asks me to write, I always tell them upfront -- I am the slowest writer I know!

Is there a certain time of the day?
Before I go to bed and right after I wake up.

Does this require a certain mood? Music?
Nope. Kailangan quiet. Quiet na quiet.

You walk a lot, talk to yourself?
Talk to myself, yes, a lot, a whole lot. So I can hear the rhythm.

The place you're most comfortable writing in? Unless comfort is not an issue and you can write anywhere.
Sa bahay lang. Dining room table. Or kahit saan. Di ako maarte, mabagal lang.

Kimmy and Dora in a scene from Kimmy Dora

What is your dayjob? Do you hate it?
I direct TV commercials. AND I LOVE IT!

How do you start your day?
Kape't yosi lang.

What do you look forward to in an ordinary day?
A good movie. An episode of Project Runway (US, ha?) and/or Top Chef. Good food!

What inspires you?
Hearing the audience's reaction -- laughter, sniffles, applause. It inspires me that I am able to move them.

Your favorite source of inspiration?
I always go back to the classics. For instance, Shakespeare. May kuwento pa ba na hindi niya nagawa? He's done practically everything. Mas contemporary naman, I also get inspired by Woody Allen's films -- lalo na the old ones.

Writer's block. What's the first thing you do?
Watch cable. Eat. FACEBOOK!

Your favorite scent?
Hermes Terre.

Your favorite thing to see?
My cats.

Your favorite sound?
OST.

Your favorite writer.
Woody Allen.

What are you doing this weekend?
A sequence treatment for a Chito Rono film.

What does success taste like?
Chicken! Everything tastes like chicken!

OUT OF AFRICA ] Designer Vito Selma writes from Johannesburg

I don’t have a permanent spot in the office since I’m busy assisting George de Haast in all the site installations and client meetings. I work from every table and draw from the drafting corner that you saw in the photos. Everyday is a different day. There are days where we just stay in and I’m free to do anything i want (sleep and cook). Other days we work from 8am to 6pm. I also help at the furniture shop of George de Haast. I document the showroom and the new items coming in. While interning, I’m here also to take more photography lessons and other workshops. I’m planning on coming back next year for a longer time to continue my studies.

I love working here! For the past two years, the designs that I produced were from sketches and ideas from my last trip here three years ago. There’s something in the air and my surroundings that really inspire me. I love the balance of city and nature in Johannesburg. The city developed without too much altering in its natural surroundings. So when you drive by the city, you don’t feel like you are in Africa’s boom city. What’s different between working here and in my space in Cebu is that here I’m not working inside four walls. I feel like I’m working outdoors, which I love because I find most of my inspiration from nature. Everywhere I go and everything I see here inspires me, from the Mandela bridge to the redness of the African soil.

I am interning for George de Haast. He has been a designer since 1970 and was the pioneer creative partner of the iconic PLUS ONE stores. He spent years in the Middle East and Europe gaining an amazing list of clients from Nelson Mandela, Boris Becker, Sol Kerzner (owner of the chain of hotels that include Sun City), political families form all over the world, royal families in the Middle East. He has had projects from the South of Spain to the rest houses of the Saudi Arabian royals to vineyards in Cape Town. We (my family’s furniture company in Cebu) have been supplying George de Haast for 20 years now with furniture and accesories, and because of this, we can proudly say our furniture is in some of the most important homes in the world.

Under George de Haast, I try to learn everything I can. He has taught me everything i know about aesthetics. He brings me too meet the clients, the upholsterer, the contractors, in hopes that I learn something new and important from everyone. This is the kind of knowledge I prefer gaining and learning instead of books from school. I am a culmination of everyone I have met in my life so this way of learning is really the best for me. I have known George most of my life, he is family to us. My mom calls him "soulmate.”



This is my third trip to South Africa, a place I fondly call my second home. There is nowhere else in the world I feel just as much as home as I do in Cebu. Every trip here, I mature and learn more. I cannot explain what Africa does to you, it’s simply an experience that I wish everyone gets to try once in their life. They say, "You have to live in New York once in your life." I say Africa!

I think when you're in a different country, it definitely opens up one’s creative mind. You are more aware of things in a bigger perspective. When I’m in the Cebu, I always have to think "outside the box" but when im here I just have to soak everything in. I let ideas and inspirations freely flow into me and out through sketches. When I’m in a different country, it excites me. It excites my mind and my fingers. I wanna see everything and touch everything, everything seems to be almost "out of this world." That’s why I like taking photographs, I get to document everything I come by in life.

I love everything here. The people are warm and I guess I’ve never been to any other country where people are this polite. Another thing I love is the culture and how much of that culture people still carry around. They still proudly wear their clothes (costumes to us) on Sundays to church, they are proud of what they are and where they are from. When im not working, I go to the local markets, I go to the slums, I go to orphanages, I walk around the city, go to museums, basically meet people. I’m trying to soak in everything I can about the people and their culture.

Vito Selma is a young designer from Cebu training in Africa. In Manila, his pieces are sold at Ito Kish in LRI Plaza in Reposo Street, Makati City.

7 QUESTIONS ] Ina Feleo on directing, bribing dad and damn smart advice from Laurice

You just directed your parents, Laurice and Johnny, for your first short film Labing-labing. What was the first thing you required of them?
I don't remember requiring anything from them except for them to be there! Being with them everyday at home, and talking about the craft most of the time, I knew them both as individuals and as actors so it was very clear for me from the beginning that they were perfect for the role and how clearly they understood the material.

What was the worst thing about directing your folks?
Honestly, I dont think I experienced 'the worst' during our shoot. It was so easy to direct them and we were having so much fun. Hindi nila ako talaga pinahirapan. Akala ko patatagalin nila yung shoot sa kakachika or something, pero hindi! Si daddy, usually he has a cutoff (time) when he's working, but with my shoot he didn't. He almost walked out on me though! Kasi natatagalan kami sa pag set-up nung isang eksena sa hallway ng ospital. Mahirap kasi yun ilawan. Eh na-stress si daddy kasi may iba pa akong actors na pinaghintay. It was a big lesson for all of us in the staff. Malaking pasasalamat naman namin na hindi siya umalis. Binilhan ko siya ng malaking burger at fries at pagatapos nun okay na siya. At napaka ganda ng eksenang ginawa niya after the midnight snack.

People loved you in Endo, your first film for Cinemalaya. How'd you think people are going to receive you in Sanglaan?
I dont know yet. I always don't know how people are going to react. Sanglaan is very different from Endo. Iba naman yung character ko sa Sanglaan--mas paloob siguro (ang mga reaksyon). Very shy. Eh sa Endo sobrang hindi shy si Tanya. Sana magustuhan rin ng mga tao ang Ina sa Sanglaan.

Why direct?
I think time comes sometimes when you feel strongly that there's something you need to say, meron kang gustong i-share, o iparamdam. When I wrote Labing-Labing it was as simple as that. Hindi ko naman naisip na matutuloy yung pelikula, but it was so easy for me to write, parang may grasya talaga kung baga. It came at a time when my family was also really going through a tough period in our lives (nung magkasakit si daddy) but a period in our life also when love was so strong in our family. Ang sarap din na pakiramdam talaga nun. Hindi ko pa naman ikino-consider ang sarili ko na director, dahil ang dami ko pang hindi alam at hindi nagagawa. I think that directing is a dangerous profession. Your heart should always be in the right place. Kasi napaka- powerful niyang tool para sa mga manonood. Kaya ako, I'm taking my time and just learning every step of the way.

Do you have an anecdote about your strangest/weirdest experience while filming?
Nasa tondo kasi kami, Pritil, yung location ng pawnshop sa pelikula (Sanglaan). Tapos nagpapahinga ako sa may van, mga alas dose pa lang 'yun ng gabi. Biglang pumasok yung driver ko at sabi sa'kin 'Ma'm ililipat ko lang yung sasakyan kasi may lalaki sa labas na may baril. Parang kanina pa yang may hinihintay e.' True enough when I looked out my window, just a few feet away from the car was this guy nga na may baril talagang hawak at ni hindi man lang niya tinatago! E di linipat namin ang sasakyan. Mga dalawang minuto palang ang nakakalipas, nakarinig na ako ng gunshot.

Who's the better actor: mom or dad?
Pag nanonood ako sa monitor, may mga ginagawa sila na napapaisip na lang talaga ako na 'Shet. magaling nga talaga sila.' Ang layo layo ko pa sa talento nila. And I guess its really hard to tell from this film, kung sino ang mas magaling na actor, kasi they feed off each other talaga. At yung mga tingin nila! Jusko po. Ang mga tingin tumatagos. I guess what I can say is that they have individual strengths. May mga specialty sila kung baga. Si mommy I would say her strength is really subtlety. I love taking close-ups of her because she says so much with her eyes, and her breath. Hindi siya umaagaw ng eksena ever. But it's never flat. Andun ang buong pagkatao niya, pero hindi nagtatawag pansin. Si daddy naman, para sa akin ang malakas niyang puntos naman ay yung vulnerability niya. 'Yung bang kahit kunwari nag-iingay siya o nagpapatawa, pinapalusot pa rin niya yung underlying na takot at helplessness. And when he switches that on, ang lakas-lakas ng tagos sa screen. Pareho sila talagang napaka-heartfelt ng performance dito. Ang sakit sa dibdib.

What's the best advice you got from a director?
I get advice from my mother all the time who's also a director, pero other than her siguro ang susunod na natatandaan kong advice talaga ay galing kay Direk Marilou Diaz-Abaya. I dont remember the exact words (I'm forgetful talaga) but it was how when you write, or when you're directing a scene and you're choosing your shots, laging: "WHO do you LOVE, and what are the sacrifices you make for the one you love?" Sa akin nagstick talaga yun sa utak ko when I was making the film. Lalo na't Labing-Labing is a film about love. Siguro magkaakibat narin to at yung sinabi ni mommy kamakailan lang na, kapag wala kang malakas na mensaheng kailangang sabihin, that would be a good reason for you not to make a film.

Labing-labing premieres together with several other shorts from the Marilou Diaz Abaya workshops this Saturday July 25 at the Cinemalaya at CCP.

MUSIC TO OUR EARS ] Joel Toledo's second book is destined to startle

His poetry breaks our heart, but in a way we wouldn't mind having it broken again and again. TheSwankStyle does a little Q&A with the poet Joel Toledo who is launching his second collection of poems, The Long Lost Startle (UP Press), this Monday at the Happy Mondays night at Magnet Katipunan.

When did you first recognize that you can be a poet. Or when did you tell yourself, 'Uy, this is not so bad.'
I think the idea of trying out poetry started during my national workshop years. But I was only a fellow for poetry once (fiction otherwise), so the confidence came from the comments of writer friends. Of course, the first Palanca really boosted it further.

Is there an ideal setting/time/mood for you for writing?I'm an uber-nocturnal homebody so it would have to be in the wee hours of the morning in front of the PC at home. Occasionally while I'm out with friends and we do little poetry exercises.

Meron ka bang mga rituals before/during/after writing a piece? Music? What kind?None, really. But it does feel really good when you've written something you think has potential. It's not of course the final version so my usual ritual would have to be to have the poem workshopped.

People (meaning me) say there is a very strong female voice in the way you write, the language. Do you recognize this? Where do you think this comes from?Haha. i'm not really sure. I do remember Juaniyo Arcellana saying the same thing when he wrote about his Palanca shortlist years ago and my collection was mentioned. He said to the effect that it was written by an "obviously lady poet". I guess the sincerity of tone and the prevalent nature strain in my poems are not usually associated with masculinity in poetry.

Name a favorite Filipino poem you know by heart and write down a paragraph here.Here's the final couplet from the last stanza of Carlos Angeles' Landscape II: "I touch your absence here/Remembering the speeches of your hair."

You're a teacher and host of Happy Mondays poetry night at Magnet. Anong sinasabi mo sa mga nagpapakita sayo ng tula at talaga namang hindi mo nagustuhan? I would usually workshop poems with a constructive mindset naman. If I don't like a line/image/insight I would challenge the writer to revise. Most of the people who do approach me for comments know the dictates of revision so I try to be open as well to a poem's potential.

Anong kinaibahan ng bagong libro sa una? Iba rin ba ang state of mind mo habang binubuo ang koleksyon?Most of the poems in this book are written during my NCCA Writers Prize grant and i think they are generally less personal and more craft-driven. There are more experimentations with form and the themes are more universal. This collection are made up of poems from 2006 to 2008, so i guess i was also conscious of experimenting with the voice and the musicality in the verses' syntax.

Can you share a poem from the book?
Here's the title poem from the collection, a poem that experiments with half rhymes and a staccato beat:

The Long Lost Startle

Oh my, the familiar, the face of grandfather
the clock declaring its singular point, the hour,
the now again it is midnight, full minute of it,
fulfilled and finishing. It has never been
a matter of fact; even the initial shudder
passes, pauses permitted by the pendulum,
the slow, slow sway then ending, hands resting
again on his forehead, as in prayer. And,
finding nothing to fear, you lean back into
the silence that comes next: the lack of clock,
the rest.

We love Joel.

THE APARTMENT HUNT ] Joel Ruiz orders an investigation

We all have secrets. But what forces us to reveal our true identities is a mystery in itself. Joel Ruiz attempts to shed light on the matter of unraveling closeted skeletons thru his first full-length film Baby Angelo, one of the eight movies in competition last year at the Cinemalaya at CCP. When an aborted fetus is found in the dumpster of a rundown apartment complex, an investigation on the lives of the tenants ensue. The story is inspired by a true event that happened in the office building of Arkeo Films, the production company that Ruiz co-owns. This is his second time to compete in the yearly independent filmmakers’ festival; his debut effort Mansyon won Best Short Film in 2005.

Who are your influences in cinema?
Robert Altman for seeing connections between people and his ability to show us the entire lives of characters with just a few shots and lines of dialogue. Mike de Leon because he's fearless and is the right kind of strange. John Sayles, Ang Lee and Jim Jarmusch, because they're offbeat. My friends in Arkeo because I listen to everything they say.

What has making films taught you that watching their films did not prepare you for?
The chaotic, migraine-causing machine that is low-budget, independent filmmaking in this country. Everything has to be done in a hurry, with very little time for preparation, and no money to pay for it. It really pushes you to the limits of your resourcefulness, your adapting skills, your mind.

Ruiz with his star Katherine Luna

Of the stories you've cooked up in your head, why Baby Angelo as first full-length feature?
The story of Baby Angelo developed first, mainly because Cinemalaya had its deadlines. Also because Baby Angelo was born out of an actual event, a dead baby was found in our building.

Your film is made up of character studies of the residents of an apartment building. Can we find you in any one of them?
You'll find degrees of me in all of my characters, from the crazy old man to the lazy drunk slob. But mostly in the lead character of Bong—played excellently by Jojit Lorenzo—a man who never really grew up and who tries his best under his circumstances.

Tell us about a real life neighbor with whom you have been unusually struck by.
I blocked them all out from memory.



What's the biggest misconception about independent filmmaking in the Philippines?
That it's only for the artsy-fartsy types and that it doesn't speak to the people. Many of the indies challenge the way you think movies are, and Pinoy audiences are ready. No one's watching local movies anymore! Sure, many of the films are difficult, but you'll find they're way more original and real than what the movie factories are regurgitating over and over. Another misconception is that somehow independent films aren't "real" movies. It annoys me no end that in mainstream filmmkaking, we are treated as if we're a fluke or as a lesser form of cinema. Some award-giving bodies even have separate categories for "digital" films. We make real movies. And like it or not, there's an upheaval in local cinema coming and it will start with the independents.

A friend who's seen the rough cut said Baby Angelo is weird.
I like that it's weird. Who cares about normal? When you watch the movie, on the onset it feels like a familiar type of film but it takes a left turn and becomes something else. It's definitely not for everyone but I hope that people who dig it won't soon forget it. I like my movies just a little off-center, enough to throw you off, all the better to make you think and feel.

What's the next story in your mind?
We're in the development process of my next full-length film called Akyat-Baba, Paikot-Ikot and I've found a foreign co-producer for it. It's an old-fashioned love story. Except it's not that old-fashioned. And again, it's a little weird. Just a little.

Baby Angelo is the featured film for the month of June at Indie Sine. All-day screenings from June 3-9. Special screenings at 1 PM everyday for the whole month.

THE MULTI-TASKER ] Marlon Rivera and the story of a collection

Why go into fashion design now?
I've been interested in fashion long before all my other interest came (theater, make up, interior design, education). In the early 80's my sister took a course in SLIMS so I was exposed to her plates and the magazine Manila Women's Wear. Since then I've been sketching and designing for friends. When I got to theater, the interest moved to costume design. When I got to advertising, the interest expressed itself in styling for shoots. Finally, I became a stylist for shoots, fashion shows, and editorials.While watching one of the shows in the last fashion week, I just decided to do it.

How does the process begin for you? Inspiration first before fabric? Fabric before silhouette?
It always starts with an inspiration, usually a piece of garment in my closet. Something I really like and want to wear over and over again. Ergo, the menswear influences in my collection. Then I go to Divisoria to buy fabrics that I really like, it's always the things that strike me. I bought as many and as much fabric for two months. Then I create the overall idea of the collection, sketch like mad then go back to Divisoria for more fabrics. Once the sketches are final, I go to Fanbi to complete the fabric requirements. Then the pattern development starts. What I did was go to the ukay-ukay and bought clothes with construction that interest me, I take them apart and draw the parts I needed. By tweaking the parts and combining them I finalize the pattern. They're mostly simple shapes since I'm not good at this yet. I then turn them over to my pattern maker so he can finalize them and grade them to size. After that it's sampling and tweaking. I wish I could do more sampling to perfect things but I only have one mananahi.

Tell us about this debut collection.
I call this collection 'the editor' collection. Actually more like a magpie collection. I took four things from my closet: a tuxedo, a pair of jeans, a t- shirt, and my sweat pants. Then I took two things I bought in my recent travels: a pair of zoave pants from Marrakech, a yukata from Japan. The last shape is a pencil skirt with pronounced hips--I got from the idea from the cactus in the Majorel Gardens. Actually I also got the blue color from the walls of the house in the garden. With these seven shapes I made my collection.

Are you planning to do more shows in the future?
I hope the response is positive so I can do this on a larger scale. I'm doing ready to wear so I'll be producing the pieces in limited numbers for an end of August selling (this is a holiday collection by the way). I have no plans of opening a store yet, kasi mahal masyado. I will sell on line and in my place in Morato.

What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion is one of the things that truly excite me. I am a consumer, a really voracious shopper but not of trends but of classic pieces. I love the way fashion makes and remakes itself, constantly trying to make itself relevant and desirable. Clothing telegraphs in an instant certain assumptions about the wearer, sort of like subliminal calling card. I think that's powerful stuff.

What is your favorite piece of clothing?
I'm torn between khaki pants (I own a bazillion of them) and a nice fitted tux (which i always wear separately and dressed down).

Marlon Rivera is the president of Publicis Manila, creative director of Folded and Hung, a writer, a stylist and a lot more. His collection opened the Philippine Fashion Week 2009 last night at the SMX in Pasay. Photos of the collection here.

THE HOT SHOT ] Mark Nicdao

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Mark held his first exhibit recently at the Greenbelt 5 Fashion Walk. To see the photographs from Mark's show "Alive!" and most of his editorial and commercial works, visit wildbunchphotography.multiply.com ...Read more

RITE OF PASSAGE ] Paulo gets inked

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WHO IS PAULO? Paulo Vinluan is a 28-year old artist based in New York. Son of contemporary art titan Nestor, Paulo made a name for himself with his stylishly riotous portraits of social situations, peppered with iconic images of Pinoy culture. He considers himself a satirist, and knows a thing or two about wolves in sheep’s clothing—or in his case Joey Samson suits, a favourite image in his works. ...Read more