5th Cine Argentino: Revisiting favorites Relatos salvajes and El clan

The recently concluded 5th Cine Argentino at the Red Carpet not only marked its return to the Shangri-La Plaza, it also featured the comeback of a couple of films that have become favorites by Philippine audiences.

Argentine Embassy Chargé d'affaires Flavio Chomnalez

The two films that made a return for this festival are the ever popular Relatos salvajes and the chilling El clan. The first I could watch over and over again which I did during the press screening while the second one is something that I missed a few years ago when it was part of Película/Pelikula, Spanish Film Festival. And having El clan a part of Cine Argentino this year gave me another chance to see it on the big screen during the festival's opening night.

Relatos salvajes

This black comedy by Damián Szifron released in 2014 is still a delight to watch even if I've already seen this numerous times including in a previous edition of Cine Argentino. This anthology film is composed of six shorts namely Pasternak, Las ratas, El más fuerte, Bombita, La propuesta, Hasta que la muerte nos separe. They are unrelated narratively but otherwise thematically linked. My favorite part is the last one, Hasta que la muerte nos separe, since I've gone through the rest and there's nothing left but to enjoy a disaster of a wedding reception. Although it is sometimes hard to watch El más fuerte, with the two men's pride sending both to their demise, it is actually La propuesta, that brings out the disgust in me. All the characters, even the poor, innocent caretaker, made awful decisions thinking that they can get away with it because of their privileged lives.

The previous post about Cine Argentino had a couple of concept art from the film by comicbook artist Juan Ferreyra. Here below is the soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla for me to listen to until the next viewing of the film.

El clan

Directed by Pablo Trapero, El Clan features the chilling performance of Guillermo Francella as the patriarch of the Puccio family. As Arquímedes Puccio, Francella was creepy in his iciness as he pulled off kidnapping and murdering helpless victims while maintaining the guise of an ordinary family. What surprised me most about his performance was realizing that he was also in El secreto de sus ojos as the alcoholic Pablo Sandoval and that he is more known in Argentina as a comedian. A new discovery for me with this film is Peter Lanzani who made his film debut with El clan as Alejandro, the eldest son who was portrayed as the reluctant accomplice in his father's schemes.

The film selection for the past five years of Cine Argentino have been impressive so far but this festival needs to catch up with the latest technology since having DVD copies for screenings especially at the upgraded Red Carpet cinema is just not cutting it in 2019. And while the return of audience favorites are a welcome treat, may there be more contemporary and obscure films offered in future editions.

The 5th Cine Argentino was presented by the Embassy of Argentina, Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Shangri-La Plaza.

Music treasures for PPO's 2019-2020 concert season

CCP President Arsenio Lizaso (1st row, 3rd from left)
with Alexa Kaufman (2nd row, 4th from left) and PPO members

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra formally unveiled its 37th Concert Season 2019-2020 with a golden lineup of music and artists in keeping with the upcoming 50th Gold Anniversary celebrations of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Billed as Gold: Classical Music Treasures, the upcoming season will see a few PPO members take the spotlight, the return of previous guest artists, a glimpse of the future of classical music, a collaboration with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, and a whole lot more.

Bassoonist Adolfo Mendoza with members of the PPO

Leading the highlights this season are the upcoming performances as featured soloists of PPO members namely violist Rey Casey Concepcion, bassoonist Adolfo Mendoza, and percussionist Aimee Mina-Dela Cruz. Making a return to the PPO stage are cellist Ray Wang, violinist Ryu Goto, and conductors Michaël Costeau and Gerard Salonga.

Soprano Alexa Kaufman

Also in the lineup are two sopranos namely Andiòn Fernandez-Ching, who rose to prominence during the 1990's and is now based in Berlin, and Alexa Kaufman, a promising 10 year old singer. Pianist Noriko Ogawa and the SORA Ensemble will lend some Japanese presence to a couple of concerts as well. Lastly, this season also sees a collaboration between the PPO and the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.

At the press launch held at the Century Park Hotel, CCP President Arsenio J. Lizaso proudly announced the locations around the country wherein the PPO will hold outreach performances. He even hinted on plans to bring the PPO to China and the Middle East. Ever since becoming CCP President, Lizaso has spearheaded performances of the PPO, and other CCP resident companies as well, to various parts of the country getting closer to the goal that every Filipino should have access to the arts.

PPO strings section

The upcoming concert season of the PPO will be the fourth under Music Director and Principal Conductor Yoshikazu Fukumura. All performances will be held at the CCP's Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

Here is the schedule and lineup for the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra's 37th Classical Music Treasures 2019-2020 Concert Season.

September 13, 2019

Featuring:

Noriko Ogawa, piano

Yoshikazu Fukumura, conductor

Program:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Overture to Don Giovanni, K. 527

Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, B. 141

October 25, 2019

Featuring:
Rey Casey Concepcion, viola
Michaël Cousteau, conductor

Program:
Richard Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde WWV 90

Hector Berlioz Harold en Italie, Op.16 H. 68

Hector Berlioz Scène d'amour from Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17, H. 79
Franz Liszt Les préludes, S. 97

November 15, 2019

Featuring:

SORA Ensemble

Yoshikazu Fukumura, conductor

Program:

Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No.9 in E-flat major, Op.70

Franz Joseph Haydn Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat major, Op. 84, Hob. I/105
Arturo Márquez Danzón No. 7
Arturo Márquez Danzón No. 8

December 20, 2019

Featuring:

Aimee De la Cruz, percussion

Alexa Kaufman, soprano

Herminigildo Ranera, conductor

Program:

Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings

Samuel Barber Die Natali, Op. 37

Darius Milhaud Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra, Op. 109

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien, Op. 45

January 24, 2020

Featuring:

Adolfo Mendoza, bassoon

Yoshikazu Fukumura, conductor

Program:

Antonín Dvořák Serenade for String Orchestra in E major, Op.22
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191/186e
Cesar Franck Symphony in D minor

February 14, 2020

Featuring:
Andiòn Fernandez-Ching, soprano
Gerard Salonga, conductor

Program:
Lucio San Pedro Ang Buwan sa Kabundukan
Franz Schubert Erlkönig, Op. 1, D. 328
Manuel de Falla Siete canciones populares españolas
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathetique”

March 13, 2020

Featuring:

Ryu Goto, violin

Yoshikazu Fukumura, conductor

Program:
Zhou Tian Concerto for Orchestra

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op.67

April 24, 2020
Featuring:

Ray Wang, cello

ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra
Yoshikazu Fukumura, conductor

Program:

Carl Orff Entrata for Orchestra

Franz Joseph Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Op. 101, Hob. VIIb/2

Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

MSO concert features soprano Andión Fernandez, cellist Matias de Oliveira Pinto, Jeffrey Ching's opus

The Manila Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Marlon Chen, presents a series of firsts in their upcoming season concert Double Concerto happening on September 1, 2019, 6:00 PM at the Power Mac Center Spotlight, Circuit Makati.

Berlin based cellist Matias de Oliveira Pinto and soprano Andión Fernandez-Ching join the MSO for the Philippine premiere of Jeffrey Ching's ritualistic new work, Celestial-Infernal Grand Nuptial Rite.

The concert will also feature Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385 and Matias performing Franz Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Hob. VIIb/1 with cadenzas by Jeffrey Ching which has never been heard in local shores also. The thought of having a dash of Ching in a Haydn cello concerto is like having a mild breakfast tea spiked with strong liquor. 

And that alone should be more than enough reason to catch this performance.

Concert like experience as 13th International Silent Film Festival moves to bigger venue

A more concert-like experience is in store for the 13th International Silent Film Festival this August 30-September 1, 2019 as it makes the move to a much bigger venue which is the Samsung Hall at the SM Aura Premier in BGC, Taguig.

By now after twelve years, everybody knows the drill with the ISFF: films from the silent era (with some exceptions along the way) from different countries are shown each with accompanied by a music act providing a live score. Each screening, which has always been for free, is done only once guaranteeing a unique film viewing experience for those lucky enough to secure a seat.

The organizers and musicians of the 13th International Silent Film Festival

For this edition, a total of six countries, namely Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, Philippines, and Spain are participating. This year's festival, still known as the only one of its kind in Asia, will also feature a lecture by Nick Deocampo. Additionally, the opening night will also be part of the celebrations for the 100 Years of Philippine Cinema.

Munimuni

Kicking off the festival on August 30, 2019 is the screening of Native Life in the Philippines, a 1913 documentary film by Dean Worcester about the Kalingas. Providing the live score is the indie band Munimuni. The opening night and film screening is presented by the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

On the next day August 31, 2019, author and film historian Nick Decoampo will have a lecture on The Beginnings of Cinema in Asia touching upon topics like the arrival of cinema in the region and how the locals reacted to it. He will give emphasis on the Philippines and how the Spanish and American colonial culture shaped local cinema.

Kaduma ni Karol

Following the lecture is the screening of the Japanese film Orizuru Osen (The Downfall of Osen) by the Japan Foundation, Manila. This 1935 movie directed by Kenji Mizoguchi will be accompanied by Kaduma ni Karol, a band from Mindanao led by the Queen of chants, Karol Bello.

Tarsius

Instituto Cervantes' presents the Spanish film Es mi hombre (He's My Man) with Manila based duo Tarsius scoring the film. The 1927 film by Carlos Fernández Cuenca is about Don Antonio, a down on his luck man trying to fend for his daughter Leonor. Tarsius, made up of Diego Mapa and Jay Gapasin, were participants of Instituto Cervantes's Posporos music project back in 2016.

Saxophonist Stef&no

Stef&no

For Italy's offering, the Philippine-Italian Association will present L'onestà del peccato (The Wife He Neglected), a 1918 film by Italian film pioneer Augusto Genina. Philippine based Italian saxophonist Stef&no, along with a handful of local musicians making up a Pocket Orchestra, will provide live music accompaniment for this film.

Anima Tierra

Anima Tierra

On September 1, the Goethe Institut screens Von Morgen bis Mitternachts, a film from 1920 by Karlheinz Martin. The band Anima Tierra will provide the live score infused with the ensemble's world music sound.

Tanya Markova

Lastly, the Embassy of Austria presents the all-ages, family friendly offering Kalif Storch to close out the festival. The 1924 film by Hans Berger and Ladislaus Tuszynski featuring exotic locales, extravagant costumes, and a quirky plot, will have the visually stimulating Tanya Markova providing live music accompaniment.

Speaking of the new venue this year, the Samsung Hall at SM Aura Premier will have around 200 more seats compared to the last year's SM Megamall Cinema. This is roughly around a 50% increase in seating capacity from last year. The Samsung Hall, a flexible space that can easily configured to suit various setups, isn't typically a venue for film screenings.

I remember that back in October, Call Me By Your Name that was accompanied by the Manila Symphony Orchestra was held at the Samsung Hall, probably the most similar event to the ISFF held at the venue so far. Viewers who were at the event were letdown by the use of LED screens instead of the usual movie projectors that is typically expected when watching a movie inside the cinemas. But I was told that the 13th Silent Film Festival will not be going that route and will be projecting the movie at a screen instead. It will be definitely odd if LED screens will be used which is not in line with how films were shown back then.

Here is the schedule for the 13th International Silent Film Festival, at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura, Premier.

August 30, 2019
8:30 PM Native Life in the Philippines w/ Munimuni (Philippines)

August 31, 2019
1:00 PM The Beginnings of Cinema in Asia by Nick Deocampo (Lecture)
3:00 PM Orizusu Osen with Kaduma ni Karol (Japan)
5:30 PM Es mi hombre with Tarsius (Spain)
8:30 PM L'onestà del peccato with Stef&no and Pocket Orchestra (Italy)

September 1, 2019
4:00 PM Von Morgen bis Mitternachts with Anima Tierra (Germany)
7:30 PM Kalif Storch with Tanya Markova (Austria)