Supreme picks
Where to go: Malasimbo
MANILA, Philippines - Last week’s 7107 International Music Festival was so intense that many are still hung over from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And exactly a week later, another huge festival is happening, this time in the sun-drenched beaches of Puerto Galera. This time, it’s the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival, the chillest and most laidback music fest out there. Imagine the crystal waters, the sandy beaches, and the grass-terraced amphitheater mixed with jazz, soul, and funk music, and you’ve got a heady mix that will soothe anyone’s soul. This year’s lineup is composed of: Jose Gonzalez, the Robert Glasper Experiment, Ron Ayers and Lonnie Liston Smith, Osunlade, June Marieezy, Mishka Adams, and 28 other musicians. The festival will stretch until Monday so if you have time to get on a boat to Puerto, head on over now. Malasimbo will also feature installation art from Gus Albor, Billy Bonnevie, Agnes Arellano, Kawayan De Guia, Niccolo Jose, and Risa Recio. Whether you are there for the music, the art, or the beach, there’s something at the Malasimbo for you.
What to follow: #oscars2014
Forget the trashy movies you’ve seen recently, and clear up your hard drive for this year’s nominees of the 86th Academy Awards. Tomorrow, the official ceremony will take place, announcing the year’s best in film. One local channel or the other will broadcast the live telecast, but for those too lazy to switch on the television, you may follow the hashtag on Twitter to catch up on the latest from the awarding ceremony. Plus, you can get the catty commentaries you can’t see onstage. The hashtag also comes with links to photos, news, and video clips to help you understand what’s happening if you haven’t seen any of the movies. Critics, directors, and news outlets are already using #Oscars2014, so it might be a good source if you’re making bets with cinephile friends on winners. Who knows, you might emerge victorious.
What to watch: ‘August: Osage County,’
Our bandwidths will be stretched to the limit as we download the nominees and winners of this year’s Oscars. Of course, by the time the films reach our cinemas (assuming they will), we will have seen the early favorites like 12 Years A Slave, Dallas Buyers Club and Blue Jasmine. One of the films we’re looking forward to seeing on the big screen is August: Osage County, a black-comedy drama film written by Tracy Letts and based on his Broadway play of the same name. The film deals with the Weston family as they gather in their hometown of Oklahoma after the patriarch mysteriously disappears. Family dynamics (more like neuroticism) come into play as they try to support each other amid personal issues and emotional meltdowns. If you’re waiting to see it on the big screen, we suggest you see it on stage first, as Repertory Philippines will stage a local adaptation of the original play, with a stellar cast of Filipino thespians: Baby Barredo, Pinky Amador, Tami Monsod, Liesl Batucan, and Leo Rialp. If the movie was good, we’re sure the stage play will be better. Just ask the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the five Tony awards it won in 2008. August: Osage County will be staged at Onstage Theater, Greenbelt 1 until March 16.
Where to get your French fix: Francophonie
February may be the month of love, but French is the language, and it will be celebrated this March. This month, the French embassy, along with other European embassies, is holding the Month of the Francophonie to honor the French language. This month is packed with free activities, including French animated film screenings at the Rizal Park open-air auditorium all weekends, and a concert series featuring Swiss-French musical duo Laurent Brunetti and Mario Pacchioli from March 13 to 25. On March 14, director Lito Casaje will direct a stage adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit at the Rajah Sulayman Theater in Fort Santiago. For poets, the Alliance Française de Manille will hold a poetry night on March 25. And most interestingly, the embassy is holding a video documentary competition, and the grand prize is an all-expense 10-day trip to France. Details are available on the embassy’s website. Better brush up on your French, you’re going to need to know more than omelette du fromage to survive.
Where to spend your next 10 minutes:
Short + Sweet Manila
People’s attention spans have gotten so short that any film lasting more than an hour and a half elicits exasperated sighs. It’s the era of fast fashion, fast media, and fast everything. Short + Sweet Manila understands the quick turnaround of attention, which is why they created the theatrical initiative, a theater, dance and music festival with acts that last for 10 minutes or less. Based in Australia, the world’s biggest little play festival has productions in the Philippines and in India. For its first Manila run, S+S will host 28 plays by local playwrights, directors, choreographers, composers, and musicians, both aspiring and established. We’re curious to see how they would create something that would last for 10 minutes tops, but it’s great because we could see as many as we can (possibly all). Week 2 of the festival will be from March 4 to 8 at the Palma Hall, UP.
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