The German Club Manila

Der Deutsche Klub Manila was formed in January 1906 by German members of its predecessors, the "Casino Union", a loose association of German-speaking expatriates, which dates back to 1880. As such the German Club is the oldest, predominantly foreign, social groupings in the Philippines, with its tradition of excellent dining and impeccable service. After occupying various locations around Old Manila, in 1979 the Club purchased its own prestigious premises in the penthouse of Eurovilla II building at Legaspi City, right in the heart of Makati.

(Photo caption: this writer together with German Consul and Administration and Legal Department Head of the German Embassy Manila, Ulrich Koehler).

With its fine ding facilities, a comfortable bar area and a smoking lounge, members and their guests will surely enjoy dining and relaxing at the Club. Chess, the German game "Skat" and other card games are played regularly. Once a month, their German speaking members also meet for the "Wirtschaftsstammtisch", their regular business discussion. Members also enjoy preferential arrangements with out of town sport facilities for golf and tennis. The Club organizes outings to rural locations of cultural interest or with recreational amenities for members, their families and guests.

Yes, German visitors to Manila are indeed encouraged to contact the Club to arrange privileges for their temporary enjoyment of first-rate dining and bar facilities.

For more news and events of the German Club, please visit

www.germanclub.ph

Why can’t we have this stuff on TV?

By Nick J. Lizaso (The Philippine Star)

 1  1 googleplus0  0 

John Arcilla plays the title role in the box-office hit Heneral Luna

MANILA, Philippines - ‘The positive acceptance of Heneral Luna throws a gauntlet on the stage of the entertainment world. The Filipino audience is not intelligence-challenged. It’s time to raise the ante by offering them films and TV dramas that engage them emotionally and intelligently. And who knows, by igniting their brain synapses more frequently, they may start thinking and making decisions with greater discernment, such as in selecting our future leaders.’

When people I knew peppered me with glowing notices and exultant reviews about the film Heneral Luna, I was very skeptical. My past experience tells me that when a Filipino indie film is overly praised, it will turn out to be a big disappointment. I can’t recall how many times I have fidgeted in my seat and even walked out early in the movie. So finally, when I went to see Heneral Luna, I was prepared to be disappointed.

Lo and behold, I sat through the entire movie, without fidgeting. Not only that, I came out of the theater with my hopes raised high regarding the future of Filipino films. The last time I felt this way was when I saw English Only Please. But this time, I felt moved to root for Pinoy filmmakers.

This is a rare film by a Filipino team of filmmakers that knows how to tell its story visually. From script to characterization, production design, lighting, sound and cinematography, I tip my hat off to the director and his team. From the perspective of a film director like myself, I pronounce it as a superbly crafted work. I may quibble with minor details but they are minor and can be overlooked. In short, over all, it’s an unqualified success. Huwag sanang masayang ang talent niya sa pagtanggap na mag-direct ng mga teleseryes.

I am happy to learn from news reports that Heneral Luna has reached over the P200M mark in gate receipts. This should help the producers recover the cost of making it. I am happy for them and I only wish more producers will be encouraged to take risks on films with meaningful topics or subjects.

With the undeniable box-office success of Heneral Luna, who can now categorically say that the Filipino viewer is not ready to see works of this kind? It flies in the face of what major TV network programming executives in effect have been telling their creative teams: Dumb it down, cater it to the taste of themasa, the so-called “bakya” crowd. I have always believed that there are no “bakya” audiences, only “bakya” producers.

Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Which brings me to my next point. Why can’t we have similar intelligent fare on television?

TV networks want to play it safe so their choice of content is limited to komik soap opera stories which they believe will maketeleseryes appealing to the masa, and sustain their audience ratings. So what televiewers get is more of the usual: A beautiful lass and her ugly alalay, fair-skinned protagonist versus dark-skinned rival, cliché plotting, sketchy caricaturing of characters, raising-an-eyebrow-and-pouting school of acting, the expected servings of slapping from time to time, sabunutan, the exchange of mahanghang na salita (all of which I am still seeing inteleseryes as recently as yesterday). I have also observed that problems are solved by the young, who seem to know better than their adult mature elders. Why rock the boat and raise the ante? Why try the untried? Why bother coming up with more intelligent fare and lose the ratings game? So let’s just continue feeding them the same old junk content.

Now, our political analysts and commentators don’t have to wonder why our electorate does not make intelligent choices in picking our leaders.

This is probably a long shot but I am hereby proposing another type of teleserye, wherein we dramatize selected and well-known Filipino classic literary works (novels and short stories) by famous Filipino writers such as Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Bienvenido Santos, Wilfredo Nolledo, Kerima Polotan, Estrella Alfon, Edgardo Reyes, Rogelio Sikat, Efren Abueg, just to name a few who are at the top of my memory-challenged mind right now. So many great Filipino novels are languishing on shelves of libraries:Dugo sa Bukang Liwayway, Ang Mundong Ito Ay Lupa, The Pretenders, Villa Magdalena, Poon, Woman Who Had Two Navels, The Bamboo Dancers and more. And for crying out loud, why not adapt award-winning Palanca plays, many of which have never been staged or produced? 

Maybe we can dramatize each story to run for a few weeks or months, but let the program be flexible, basing it on the natural and logical progress of the adapted story.

I am sure having a drama program like this will go a long way in bringing these masterpieces to a wider audience, or the new generation, who I understand have been shunning reading these works in favor of handheld mobile devices.

Why not? I’ve been there and I’ve done it decades ago, at ABS-CBN under the late Genny Lopez during the old pre-Martial Law days. The big guns of ABS-CBN then were Jun Hizon, Jimmy Navarro, Ben Aniceto and Frankie Evangelista. I was given the opportunity to direct a program called Obra Maestra, which served as a window or a vehicle for world masterpieces and Filipino literary classics adapted and made accessible to Filipino TV viewers. I remember we dramatized such works as Rashomon, Wuthering Heights, The Visit by Durenmatt, Medea and others. Our acting talents then included Charito Solis, Vic Silayan, Dindo Fernando, Ronald Remy, Nestor de Villa, Nida Blanca, Armando Goyena, Tony Santos Sr. and other greats.

Mind you, that program enjoyed high audience ratings. That was because we did not present them as literary masterpieces to be treated with awe and reverence. Rather, we focused on the stories. That was the key. Ignore the fact that they were written by literary serious artists. Just zero in on the fact that these works have the elements of great and compelling storytelling. Isn’t that what makes any work appealing?

So in conclusion, the positive acceptance of Heneral Luna throws a gauntlet on the stage of the entertainment world. The Filipino audience is not intelligence-challenged. It’s time to raise the ante by offering them films and TV dramas that engage them emotionally and intelligently. And who knows, by igniting their brain synapses more frequently, they may start thinking and making decisions with greater discernment, such as in selecting our future leaders. It could be the key to the bright future we’ve all been wishing for.

Refugees

Mindanao Daily Mirror:

Refugees

Jacob Benedicto Finds Career an 'Emotional Roller-Coaster"

By Amadis Ma. Guerrero (The Philippine Star)

 0  0 googleplus0  1 

Jacob Benedicto learned discipline in theater and coping with irregular hours from his TV work

MANILA, Philippines - The moment he appeared on stage, the screaming among his fans, mostly girl students, began. It was hard to follow the dialogue, although the plot was familiar.

The venue was SM Southmall in Las Piñas City, and the young singing actor was Jacob Benedicto, 23, ABS-CBN talent. The production was Gantimpala Theater’s Kanser the Musical by Jomar Fleras, a take-off on Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. Jacob was playing Crisostomo Ibarra, the idealistic hero of the novel who sought to uplift his hometown through education and, in the process, rekindle his romance with Maria Clara (played by Myramae Meneses).

The love scenes were tame (remember this is the 19th century), but even these set the fans screaming. A dramatic highlight of the play had Ibarra, all alone on the stage, singing and emoting, down on one knee, agonizing on whether to continue with his reforms or to call for a revolution against the cancerous state (“reporma ba o rebolusyon”).

At the curtain call, all the cast members were applauded, of course, but Jacob was clearly the crowd favorite (along with the actors who played Sisa, Basilio and Crispin), maybe because there were more girls than boys or because they recognized him from his TV projects.

Finally, as they left the stage, Jacob let loose with a flying kiss; and pandemonium reigned.

The play was the singing actor’s first starring role in theater, and in classic Tagalog at that. He had to ask the help of colleague Michael Pangilinan (the other Ibarra) to improve his Tagalog, and the latter was happy to oblige. Thus, Jacob was able to acquit himself in the challenging role.

Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

“I really internalized my character, my role,” he recalls. “Ako talaga si Crisostomo Ibarra. I learned the message he was trying to convey. I really wanted to be authentic before the audience (no trace of a foreign accent) and give them my interpretation of the songs and the role of Ibarra. I really felt the character.”

Of Visayan-Tagalog parentage, Jacob (real name is Josemari Jacob Gayanelo) was born in Manila but at the age of five, his family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia because his father, a Unilab official, was assigned there.

He and his siblings studied at the International School in Jakarta. All their teachers were Americans and Europeans, so the young Gayanelos acquired an American accent. They stayed there for 10 years and Jacob returned to Manila a teenager, starting a career in theater with English-language companies like Trumpets and Repertory Philippines. “Michael Williams gave me my start in professional theater,” he says. “I owe a lot to him.”

A memorable experience for him was appearing for a year in Resorts World Manila’s The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein, in which he was with the ensemble, playing a young Nazi, a dancer and even a baron.

After that, he was ready for showbiz, appearing on TV5’s Baker King and Kanta Pilipinas and then in a slew of ABS-CBN shows and teleseryes like Ningning, Dream Dad, Ipaglaban Mo’s Akin Ka Lang episode, Maalaala Mo Kaya’s Manika episode, the Pure Love series, Pinoy Big Brother: All in and The Voice of the Philippines.

Last year, he appeared in Star Cinema’s Past Tense with Daniel Matsunaga, and is now preparing for a role in an indie film. Jacob as a singer is into pop, soul and OPM, has cut an album Pagka’t Ikaw, with songs by Jeffrey Hidalgo and is a Star Records talent. In between these commitments, he managed to finish Communication Arts studies (TV production, films and radio) at De La Salle University. He is also an events host.

“I learned discipline in theater,” he says. “And in TV, I learned to cope with the irregular working hours. My life is an emotional roller-coaster!”

Greatest PINOY Love Songs Collection - by Rockstar 2

The Making of HENERAL LUNA