A Life in the Theater

With the 2013 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival (or Cinemalaya 9) now part of history, I have compiled and compressed the capsule reviews I did of all the competing films in the New Breed and Directors Showcase categories.   They are written in the order that I saw the films. NEW BREED PUROK 7 (directed by Carlo Obispo) The film is a winsome coming-of-of age romance peopled with real characters that surprisingly still manages to address the present phenomenon of children of OFWs faced with a life without parental company or support. Much of the credit for this delightful film must be given to the three young leads -   Krystel Valentino, Miggs Cuaderno and Julian Trono – whose fetching portrayals repeatedly drew shrieks, laughter and even the occasional sighs from the audience.   They are ably   supported by an ensemble drawn largely from the theatre – Angeli Bayani, Arnold Reyes, Sheenly Vee Gener, Carlon Matobato, Ruth Alferez, Olive N...