Third World Cinema Club

What happens when a film critic commits words onto paper? Film critic (and friend of the pod) Richard Bolisay joins the gang to talk about film criticism in the Philippines, improving film literacy in the country, and his upcoming book, Break It to Me Gently – a collection of essays and other works from his film blog Lilok Pelikula. Let’s listen to another uncontroversial episode of Third World Cinema Club!

notes:

This episode was recorded at Hatch Hub along Maginhawa Street.

Break It to Me Gently launches October 19, 2019. Pre-order Richard’s book by clicking on this link!

In this episode of Third World Cinema Club, we look back at the latest edition of the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino! Is Pagbalik any good? Is LSS like a song that won’t leave your brain? What is it about the Panti Sisters that makes it appeal to so many? Join the gang as they talk about the ten competition films of the festival, and exhibition film Verdict.

Notes:

This episode was recorded at Hatch Hub over at Maginhawa Street.

Spoilers are present for all the PPP films discussed in this podcast.

It’s finally time for the gang to talk about Cinemalaya 2019! We talk about each of the films from the country’s largest independent film festival. Which movies stood out? Which movies ended up being disappointments? Find out in the first of many filmfest-related episodes for the latter half of the year.

 

notes:

This is the audio version of a video episode we did in collaboration with Contagious, Inc. The video isn’t out yet, but we’ll post it as soon as it’s available.

This podcast contains spoilers for all Cinemalaya 2019 films.

Crisel Consunji (left) and Ruby Ruiz (right)

While we prepare for our no-holds-barred Cinemalaya episode, we have a little teaser to whet your appetites. During the festival, we (and a bunch of other people) talked with Crisel Consunji, star of PH-HK collab Still Human, and Ruby Ruiz, Cinemalaya 2019 Best Actress. Crisel talks about the casting process that got her the job, and other challenges in playing such a role. Ruby Ruiz talks about character acting, her first lead performance, and “that” particular scene in Iska.

 

Notes

The audio was recorded during the Cinemalaya Eyeball event. We’ve tried to clean up the audio as much as we could, but please bear with some of the background noise.

Spoilers for Iska are present in this episode.

My personal views on Iska have changed a bit after rewatching the film, as seen in the upcoming discussion ep – John

The tables have turned in the first anniversary special of the Third World Cinema Club Podcast! While before we were the ones who asked the questions, it’s now our turn in the hot seat. Elora Españo asks us hard hitting questions of various kinds in order to get to know us better. Learn secrets from the zen master! What’s Tristan’s alter ego name? That, and more, in this special not-really-about-films episode of 3WCC.

 

NOTES:

We have a new logo, designed by our very own DJ Ramones.

L-R, front row: Samantha Lee, Gabby Padilla and Zar Donato

Our (belated) special for pride month continues! For this special episode, we interview Billie and Emma director Samantha Lee and its leads Gabby Padilla and Zar Donato.

Widely known as the first openly lesbian filmmaker of Philippine Cinema, Samantha Lee has caught the attention of audiences and critics alike. Her first film Baka Bukas was a surprise hit in the 2016 edition of the Cinema One Originals Film Festival. Her sophomore film, Billie and Emma, exceeded expectations and helped boost the careers of its two leads.

Sam, Gabby and Zar share their experiences working on Billie and Emma, and share their thoughts on representation and the need for more diverse storytelling in contemporary cinema. Bonus segment: We find out which LGBT films and performances stood out for the three. Enjoy!

 

notes:

We recorded this episode at Satchmi at SM Megamall.

Spoilers are present for Billie and Emma.

 

In celebration of LGBT month, Third World Cinema Club speaks with Joselito “Jay” Altarejos. He has directed films such as Ang Lalaki sa Parola (2007), Ang Lihim ni Antonio (2008), Kasal (2014), Tale of the Lost Boys (2018)0 and Jino To Mari (2019). We discuss Altarejos’ early life in TV and film productions, his filmmaking process, and behind-the-scenes stories. In addition, he also shares his favorite LGBT movies and performances.

 

notes:

We recorded this episode at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at Shangrila Plaza Edsa.

This episode contains mild swearing and descriptions of sexual situations. Viewer discretion is advised.

There are some audio issues in this episode, but we have tried to preserve audio quality as much as possible.

“Love can be a good thing and a bad thing, it can sometimes be a drug,” Rhian Ramos says about her new single ‘Body Crashes’. She knows many people will scoff at her newfound passion as an original musician, writing songs about love, but she’s unfazed. “For a long time I’ve been ashamed of my feelings… it takes a different set of guts to put something that you’ve written [out] because then everyone has the freedom to say, ‘You write bad’, or, ‘Your feelings are weird’.

Luckily, we’re all our [own] worst critics, so there’s nothing that anyone can say to me that will hurt my feelings anymore.” It seems that what’s driving her is a renewed sense of freedom. She has just returned from a half-year stay in America, where she made the music video for ‘Body Crashes’. “I was in a place where every person is free,” and she had imbibed this freedom so deeply that the ‘Body Crashes’ MV ended up being almost too passionate for Philippine TV. Rhian also brings up the same thing about the local music scene, noting how interesting it is that everyone has the freedom to mix genres, how inspiring it is that everyone is allowed to write their own music now.

In this special interview, Rhian talks about her motivations for pursuing a passion in music (“It’s nice to finally [sing], just to express”), her observations about the trajectory of the local music industry, and her source of ideas (and feelings) for the songs she writes—with bonus quips about ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Lost in Translation’.

***

Rhian Ramos is one of the most sought-after actresses of Philippine cinema. Her recent film “Kung Paano Siya Nawala” added to her filmography where she proved her versatility. In “Kung Paano Siya Nawala”, she plays Shana, the love interest of a man suffering from face blindness. Some of her other memorable movie and TV performances include Sally in “Saving Sally” (2016), femme fatale Valerie in “Silong” (2015), and Althea in “The Rich Man’s Daughter” (2015).

notes:

To see the video version of this episode, click here: Link

The official music video of Body Crashes is on Rhian Ramos’s YouTube channel

A writeup of the event over at Reverse Delay is available here: ‘Body Crashes’ and the freedom to self-express: an interview with Rhian Ramos

DJ’s live recording of Body Crashes: Link

DJ’s incomplete recording of Napagod: Link

It’s another random episode of Third World Cinema Club! In a full-length version of what have we watched recently? DJ, John and Princess talk about three recent films. Included in the discussion are: Matthew Rosen’s Quezon’s Game, Kim Tae-sik’s Sunshine Family and Simon Kinberg’s Dark Phoenix. It’s our breeziest episode yet! (Probably because we recorded this outside.)

 

Notes:

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers abound for all three films discussed.

Ani: the Harvest. From the official FB Page.

One of the most anticipated films in the upcoming Cinemalaya film festival is Ani: The Harvest. Cinemalaya’s first truly science fiction film looks and sounds like an absolute treat. In this episode of Third World Cinema Club, the gang talks with the cast and crew of Ani: The Harvest about their inspiration behind the film and the trials and tribulations of making a science fiction film in the Philippines.

Notes:

To see the production team’s earlier science fiction film, Dystopium, click here.

Guests:

Kim Zuniga (Writer-Director)

Toni Zuniga (Writer, Producer)

Sandro del Rosario (Writer-Director)

Miguel Valdez (Ani)

Zyren dela Cruz (Mithi)