Pop star Madonna took selfies with kids during surprise visits to two Manila shelters for orphans and street children on Tuesday, ahead of two concerts in the Philippine capital.
Pictures on her Instagram account showed her carrying a baby in one arm while holding hands with a girl who was guiding her on a tour of the Hospicio de San Jose orphanage. At the Bahay Tuluyan shelter, she sat on a tarpaulin with children.
“Chillin’ with my Homies at the Bahay Tuluyan Foundation Inc giving shelter to orphans street children trafficking/abuse victims in Manila,” Madonna wrote in a caption to a selfie taken with three children as they lay on the mat. The shelter was told on Monday that Madonna’s dancers would visit, but did not find out Madonna was coming until an hour before her arrival, said Catherine Scerri, the executive director of Bahay Tuluyan. She said the children did a couple of dances before being joined by Madonna’s dancers. The singer talked to officials about the centre’s programme but spent most of her 45-minute visit with the kids, she added. Madonna played at Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena last night, the latest stops on her Rebel Heart world tour. Philippine’s Roman Catholic leader Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of Lipa has discouraged Filipinos from attending the event. “Why is the Catholic Philippines the favourite venue for blasphemy against God and the Holy Mother?”, he said, but stopped short of calling for a boycott like he did in 2012 when Lady Gaga played.
* Associated Press
Filipino film wins Silver Bear at Berlin festival
An eight-and-a-half-hour Filipino film took home the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival last weekend. Historical epic Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery) – directed by Lav Diaz, arguably the most esteemed independent filmmaker in the Philippines – chronicles the rich revolutionary history and mythology of the director's impoverished homeland.
The film made history as the longest competition contender in the 66-year history of the film festival. During the film’s single, sold-out screening at the Berlinale Palace theatre last week, more than half of the 1,600-strong audience who were there when the film began were still there when the credits rolled, and rewarded the 57-year-old Diaz with applause and cries of “bravo”.
Some audience members reportedly brought inflatable pillows and smuggled granola bars into the cinema, shaking hands in solidarity with those in neighbouring seats before the screening began. During his Silver Bear acceptance speech, Diaz told the crowd: “I want to dedicate this to all filmmakers who think that cinema can affect change.” Before flying to Berlin from Manila, Diaz said of his film: “My principle is: the filmmaker shouldn’t struggle by himself. The viewer must struggle with me. Let’s experience this thing together and be immersed in this universe.”
Diaz said he was not making films to win awards or earn money, but rather to help his countrymen find their national identity after centuries of colonisation by Spain and the United States, and more recently the brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
“Until now, we’re searching for that soul,” he says. “I don’t want to make films for the market, I want to contribute to my country.”
Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis stars A-list Filipino actors John Lloyd Cruz and Piolo Pascual, who both attended the film's red-carpet screening, along with co-stars Cherie Gil and Bernardo Bernardo. The Berlinale's jury was led by actress Meryl Streep. Gil said that she went out of her way to speak with the film's cast and crew.
"Meryl is the warmest and most gracious goddess I've ever met in my life," Gil told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "She said she was grateful that she had the opportunity to see our film. Meryl said she was cozy throughout the screening."
The seven-member judging panel also included British actor Clive Owen. Bernardo said of him: “He was so cool. He enjoyed the Hele team so much that he invited us to join the after-party.”
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Filipinos to compete in Asia’s Next Top Model
The 14 contestants who will compete in the fourth season of Asia's Next Top Model, which begins on March 9, include three Filipinos – Alaiza Malinao, Julian Flores and Gwendoline Ruais. French-Filipino Ruais previously won the Miss World Philippines pageant in 2011, and represented the country at Miss World 2011, where she finished as runner-up. Asia's Next Top Model, a franchise of the international reality-TV contest, features aspiring models from the Far East and South Asia. It is presented by Thai fashion model Cindy Bishop, who is also a head judge. The panel also includes Indonesian model Kelly Tandiono as model mentor and America's Next Top Model photographer Yu Tsai as creative consultant.
The three Filipinos will compete against two contestants from each of Indonesia and Thailand, and one each from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
Filipino contestants have finished runner-up in all three previous editions of Asia's Top Model, but nobody from the country has won.
Miss Saigon hunts for fresh cast
Producer Cameron Mackintosh has announced he will be returning to Manila in search of cast members for a Broadway revival of his hit musical Miss Saigon, which is due in spring next year.
Open auditions will be held in the Philippine capital next month. Actors will be considered for all roles, including for lead characters of Kim and The Engineer.
"Since casting for Miss Saigon began in the mid-1980s, the Philippines has been integral to the show as a place to find exceptional Asian performers of world-class ability," said Trevor Jackson, Mackintosh's head of casting. "Our teams have been returning regularly ever since. Filipino artists are the heart and soul of this show." Miss Saigon tells the story of bar girl Kim, who was orphaned by war and falls in love with an American soldier called Chris.
Lea Salonga was catapulted into fame after playing Kim in the original West End production of Miss Saigon in 1989. The most recent West End revival in 2014 featured Filipino actors Eva Noblezada, Jon Jon Briones and Rachelle Ann Go in the lead roles.
artslife@thenational.ae
