Cinemalaya Film Festival 2013

Every July, I always wish that I was in the Philippines. Every year, I always wish I was in the Philippines for the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.

I love watching Filipino independent films because the filmmakers show issues that Filipinos face in the Philippines and in other parts of the world. 

It's always been my dream to make documentaries about the Philippines. Unfortunately, I live in Canada. But I'll find a way. I'll find a way to make a documentary or film that shows a different side of the Philippines. For now, I'm happy watching Filipino indie films who continue to inspire me to make my own films.

The videos below are some of the films at this year's film festival.

Transit - Directed by Hannah Espia

  Sana Dati - Directed by Jerrold Tarog

In the meantime, I can always watch Filipino indie films on the Internet. The next time I visit the Philippines, I'll make sure that it's during the Cinemalaya film festival. 

Sir Paul McCartney in Winnipeg - A Dream Come True

Five days have passed, and I still couldn't believe that I watched Paul McCartney's concert at the Investors Group Field on Monday, August 12. It was the most surreal and best experience I had.

I still couldn't believe that I saw him. Okay, maybe I only saw him on the big screen because I was too far, but I still saw him. I was there. I already accepted that I could never watch The Beatles live because Lennon was already dead before I was even born. It was already embedded in my mind that I could never watch a Beatle live. And then Sir Paul decided to play in Winnipeg after 20 years.

That's not even the best part. I was able to share the experience with my family. I'm glad my parents were able to watch Sir Paul's concert. I'm glad that my sister and brother were there to watch the show with me. Watching Paul McCartney sing our favourite Beatles songs while sitting next to my family was amazing. It was indescribable.

Will the experience ever sink in? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I may forget the experience but I will always remember the feeling.

I know I'm asking too much, but I hope Paul never dies. Or he could live up to a hundred and do tours and can still sing. Or maybe he and Ringo can tour together. 

Andrew Garcia and Joseph Vincent in Winnipeg

The two YouTube artists visited Winnipeg to perform at Driven, an after-market car performance show on July 13, Saturday. As an intern for the Filipino Journal, I had a chance to speak to them.

Andrew Garcia, Ron Cantiveros, Lora Quitane, and Joseph Vincent

(I asked Sally Tran to take our picture)

Andrew Garcia is a YouTube artist and an American Idol Season 9 finalist. After Idol, he continued making collaborations with other YouTube artists. He is a member of YTF Legacy (Yesterday, Today, Forever) with Ryan Higa, Chester See, Victor Kim, D-Trix, and JR Aquino.

What made you join American Idol?

Before Idol, I did YouTube videos and the response was really good. My cousin told me to try a bigger scale. I wasn’t sure because I just wanted to do this for fun. He hit me up the night before the trials and told me to audition for American Idol. My friend was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going there tomorrow, do you wanna come with me?’ and everything just worked out. I was like, ‘I had to do it.’ It’s like there was a path provided for me. So I did and it worked out great. I got a great deal of exposure and beautiful fans that keep supporting so I’m glad I did it.

Any advice to those who want to pursue their dreams?

If you love it, just do it. You’ll always go through something no matter what. As long as you have a little push and support, you could go a long way.

Any tours or new projects you’re working on?

I’m doing a west coast tour with Travis Garland. YouTuber Josh Golden and I are making the song that I sang [at the event]. Dumbfoundead and I are talking about doing another collab. I also want to do another collab with Joseph Vincent because I love him.

When is your Turbulence album coming out?

I reached a speed bump with that. The producer that I was working with was just swamped with his regular job. I’m not gonna take him away from making money and make it out of his living so I told him to do what he gotta do and I’ll figure out a way and now I’m working hard to get my album out.

What can you say about Winnipeg fans?

Fans are cool. I love them. And there are so many women out here. You guys 

are so beautiful here, I mean, what is going on? Winnipeg, I love you.

Visit Andrew Garcia's channel at youtube.com/user/andrewgarcia to listen to his music and follow him on Twitter @andrewagarcia. 

Joseph Vincent Encarnacion became popular from his YouTube videos. He has gone a long way from posting videos in 2008. He still makes videos in his bedroom; the difference is that his channel now has 350,000 plus subscribers with over 50 million views on YouTube. His first album, Blue Skies, was released in October 2012.

Who inspired you to start singing?

My dad got me my guitar when I was 15. He was the one who directed me to YouTube. He showed it to me and said, ‘If you wanna do this for a living, it’s a start.’ So I said, ‘Yeah, maybe.’ I wasn’t sure because I just got to college and I was trying to transition from high school to college at that time. So I posted a couple of videos, got a good response, and I just kept doing it for fun. And now, I’m in Winnipeg, playing a show.  

How do you find the audience response?

It was awesome. I always get nervous before a show regardless of how long I’ve been doing it. It’s my first time here in Winnipeg and the fact that everyone was attentive, listening, and cheering was awesome.

You visited the Philippines in February for the Bayani Tour. How was it?

Gawad Kalinga and Seafood City put the whole tour together to bring Asian Americans back to the homeland. We grew up in America and we kind of lose sight of where we come from and it was eye-opening for me. If my parents didn’t move to America, my life would be insane. It would be so different. It made me thankful for what I have and thankful for what they’re doing.

Did you try balut?

No. AJ (Rafael) did though. He’s like, ‘Come on, do it!’, and I was like, ‘I can’t.’ I probably could eat the egg part, but the bird part, I don’t know. Maybe. I was just nauseous that day. Next time. But I had Jollibee—burger steak for days. It was delicious. And a lot of chicken tocino.

When is your next album coming out?

I’m working on a 5-song EP right now. I’m trying to think about what to call the EP and just waiting for the right time to start going into recording it—mostly pre-production stuff.

When are you coming back to Winnipeg?

I don’t know. When are you guys gonna have me back?

Visit Joseph Vincent's channel at youtube.com/user/hoorahjencar or visit his website at josephvincentmusic.com. 

Would you like Andrew Garcia and Joseph Vincent to visit Winnipeg again? Let us know! Tweet us @FilipinoJournal or @loraquitane and comment on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FilipinoJournalFans. 

Asians Eat Weird Things

This made me want to go to an Asian supermarket and buy all the foods that I want. 


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Do you really eat all the foods featured in the video? 

Of course not. I'm Filipino so I grew up eating foods like dinuguan, jackfruit, pig intestine, and balut. I even wrote a blog post about these foods if you want to see some pictures. But I would love to try the foods in the video. 

Japan 2011 Earthquake aftermath

"It felt like it would never end and my friends and I ran outside crying as we waited for the shaking to stop," says Wakana Sato, an earthquake survivor.

On June 1, 2013, the Mirai 3.11 Committee hosted the Mirai 3.11 Benefit Fundraising event at the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (MJCCC).

The committee organized this event for the orphaned children of the Japan 2011 earthquake and to raise awareness of the current state of Fukushima City that the Canadian media does not cover.

There was also an exhibition to show the "Cloth Letters" made by the children from Minamisoma, Fukushima. 

"Two years after the nuclear accident, there are many problems in Fukushima. Honestly, the people of Fukushima are fed up with the slow progress of the repair work. Friends who lived near Sendai Airport and Ishininomaki City are still missing." - Wakana Sato, translated by Azusa Osawa

The event raised a total of $9,000 to be donated to Kodomo Mirai Kikin. If you would like to send your donations please email Atsushi Kawazu at activeatsushi@gmail.com. 

Philippine elections :: baffling

Former President Joseph Estrada won as Manila City's new mayor. (cue silence) Did I miss anything here?

I don't know how I feel about this news. He was the 13th Philippine president from 1998 until 2001. He was charged with graft and corruption so he was impeached in 2001. Filipinos protested for four days that led him to resign from his position.

I don't understand it.

Should I complain that the people voted for him when I don't live there anymore? Or should I understand their reasons for voting him? The former mayor was Alfredo Lim, and people didn't like him because he allegedly "decayed Manila".


Is that why Estrada won? Because Lim was his other opponent?

Everyone knows that Estrada is corrupt. Filipinos who saw his impeachment trial in 2001 knew that he was corrupt. That's why Filipinos who lived in Metro Manila protested in EDSA and forced him to resign. He's now the mayor of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. I don't know what's going on here.

Nancy Binay won a seat in the Senate on the May 13th election. She gained recognition because she is from a political family. Her father was the former Makati City mayor and the current vice-president of the country. Her mother was former Makati City mayor. Her brother is the current Makati City mayor. And her sister is a House of Representative in Makati (you get a sense of what Philippine politics is like. And you can read this Philippine Star article about Nancy Binay).

The Internet community (or Filipinos who have access to the Internet and use it wisely) knows that she is incompetent and inexperienced. She was her mother's personal assistant when her mother was the mayor. She became her father's personal assistant after he won vice-president. Now she's a senator.

She says she had a 20-year on-the-job training (or work placement) experience through her parents. And her dad is the vice president.

She's a senator. A senator. Granted, the official results are not yet released, but she's in the 5th place out of 12. So obviously she won. She won by going to rallies and traveling around the country. But she never showed up in any debates. Not one.

This is the political culture I grew up in.

Philippine elections :: Dirty politics

The Philippines will have a midterm election on May 13, Monday.

This is a general election where Filipinos will vote for senators, House of Representatives members, provincial governors, provincial legislature members, city mayors, city vice mayors, City Council members, municipal mayors, municipal vice mayors, members of the municipal council, and party-list representatives. In the southern region of the country, voters will elect their regional governor, regional vice governor, and regional assemblymen. (1)

This is why I don't like Philippine politics.

Philippine election epitomizes "dirty politics" literally and figuratively.

Every time there's an election, there are flyers, stickers, posters, and handouts everywhere. When you're waiting for a bus, someone would give you a handout or flyer. When you're walking on the street, you'll see posters and stickers on the walls of business establishments, local stores, and sometimes even on the cement.

And there are people who die during the election period.

In Batangas, south of Manila (the capital), a campaign coordinator was on his way home when he was shot by men riding on a motorcycle at noon Sunday. According to the news source, local police have not yet determined if the crime was "politically motivated". (2)

I wouldn't be surprised if the incident was politically motivated because I hear news of people dying in every election. People who lost their lives for a mere vote. They would never be given justice because the rich and the powerful always wins.

It's been a while since I've read news about the Philippine elections. When I read the news about the person who died, it made me think that nothing has changed. Philippine politics is still dirty.


Sources:
(1) Wikipedia: Philippine general election 2013
For more information about the Philippine elections, visit Commission on Elections
(2) Philippine Star: Campaign coordinator shot dead in Batangas