A delicious treat of a film

American Adobo, a movie as tasty as the dish, centers on the lives of five Filipino-Americans over the course of an eventful year. American Adobo is truly a film that will appeal not only to Filipinos but to other cultural groups as well who try to preserve their customs but at the same time adapt to their new homeland. Set in the Big Apple, it deals with the daily struggles of Americanized Pinoys who try to assimilate western culture into their Filipino heritage.

In this slice-of-life comedy, the plot begins with Tere Sanchez (Cherry Pie Picache), who’s still single in her mid-forties, hosting a sumptuous dinner in her Queens apartment for a special friend visiting from Manila. Invited are their New York City-based friends and former college classmates – Mike Manalastas (Christopher de Leon), a boyish newspaper editor in his 40s, Gerry Payawal (Ricky Davao), a struggling advertising copywriter with an over protective mother (Gloria Romero) and Marissa Tuazon (Dina Bonnevie), an attractive yet vain socialite. Also expected is Marissa’s charming womanizing cousin, Raul Arboleda (Paolo Montalban).

As the year progresses, the long-time friends continue their get-together parties which become more and more intimate as they start opening up to each other, sharing innermost secrets, unfulfilled dreams and conflicting choices. Finally, Mike has admitted his discontent over his life and marriage to his mahjong-driven wife, Gigi. Tere still yearns to share herself and find meaning in life. Marissa continues to long for a faithful man worthy of her love and trust. Gerry remains frustrated with his career and at the same time unsure about whether he should reveal an innermost secret. Raul eventually comes face-to-face with his mortality and the shallowness of his short-term romances.

Only time can tell if these five friends will find true happiness and fulfillment in their adopted homeland.

American Adobo is a joint venture among people and companies considered authorities in the entertainment industry. No less than Kevin Foxe, executive producer of the highly-successful The Blair Witch Project signed up as one of the film’s executive producers upon reading the script. Charo Santo-Concio, EVP of the Entertainment Group of ABS-CBN is also executive producer of American Adobo.

The film, presented by ABS-CBN Entertainment and Unitel Pictures (headed by Tony Gloria) in association with Magic Adobo Productions, was shot entirely in New York and even captured the World Trade Center in its former glory. American Adobo was written by Vincent Nebrida, a Filipino immigrant living in New York since the early ’80s.

Directed by Laurice Guillen, American Adobo is being shown in Manila and in major US cities as well.

The US film industry remains the world’s biggest market and the toughest to penetrate, especially since thousands of American movies and foreign films vie for theatrical distribution. And of course, Americans are very meticulous in their choices of movies to watch. I hope American Adobo will finally place us in the international movie world. Who knows, it may also give us the elusive Oscar nod for Best Foreign Film. Good luck, Laurice and company!

Watch American Adobo! I’m sure you’ll enjoy this delicious treat of a film because I sure did!

Tribute to a mother’s love

The Marian grotto at Mirador Hill in Baguio has always been a sacred place for many travelers. Visitors to Baguio make it a point to climb the difficult steps leading to the statue of Mother Mary, where they light candles and pray for their deepest intentions.

Indeed, the grotto on Mirador Hill is the perfect setting for the latest music video from Jesuit Communications, Inay.

The team responsible for the Inay music video is the same one that created Pananagutan, recently awarded in this year’s Catholic Mass Media Award as Best Music Video. Director Davd Hukom juxtaposes images of the pilgrims at Mirador with images of motherhood and of Mary, as Inay reminds us of the warmth of a mother’s love.

The song Inay is written by Arnel Aquino, SJ and interpreted by RJ Hizon, SJ.

Let Inay rekindle the fire in your hearts with the flame of a mother’s love. Inay is featured in the album Far Greater Love and produced by Jesuit Communications.