Giselle Tongi's Juggling act The Model, Actress and now Mother of 2 heads back to school at UCLA

We received a forwarded message (courtesy of talent manager Angeli P. Valenciano) from Giselle Tongi, telling the good news that she had been admitted to the UCLA this fall. We are sharing with the readers of The Freeman the message from Giselle.

The past two years had been tedious for Giselle, raising two children and studying at the same time—but everything has paid off. She just received her admission’s letter to UCLA and she wanted to share her happiness with everyone.

“I am really, really excited about this next chapter of my life but know that anything I set my mind on, I can achieve,” said the future UCLAer Giselle.
Her letter of admission, which was signed by director Vu T. Tran, Ed.D., reads as follows:

“You bring an impressive array of strengths to your academic endeavors. We know that UCLA will benefit from your intelligence, imagination, and energy, and we hope you will choose UCLA for your undergraduate education.

“UCLA truly is a world-class university. Here you will have access to acclaimed academic departments, a world-renowned faculty, and distinctive research programs. The campus also offers a full range of social and cultural activities and organizations for you to explore. At UCLA, you will be challenged to confront, understand, and master a remarkable range of disciplines that are the measures of a cutting-edge education. Our students consistently remark how UCLA both fulfills their intellectual interests and enhances their personal growth; we invite you to become a part of this extraordinary experience.

“For now, enjoy this moment—it is the beginning of one of the most exciting and memorable chapters in your life. Of course, you are going to learn a lot about the world at UCLA. But more often than you might imagine, UCLA will be where the world learns about you. Welcome to UCLA!”

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Nadine Samonte has yet to start a new show for GMA 7 since “Gagambino” went off the air a few months ago. That’s why when we got to talk to her in the opening of a new branch of the Gibi Shoes store (of which she is an endorser), she joked, “Parang gusto ko na rin maging pasaway para mapansin ako at mabigyan ng project.”

Now that she learned that “Darna” will be revived by GMA 7, with Marian Rivera in the title role, Nadine expressed hopes that the production staff behind “Darna” would remember her and give her a role in the series. She said that she’s willing to appear as kontrabida to Darna.

But Nadine didn’t disclose if she’d be willing to play the role of Valentina, the main nemesis of Darna. Valentina, as we all know, has snakes in her hair. Will Nadine be brave enough to wear a headdress off snakes to crown her hair?

Nadine is under contract with GMA Artist Center that’s why she’s wondering why she hasn’t been offered a project until now. Aren’t GMA Artist Center talents supposed to be a priority of the network when it comes to TV assignments?

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Our good friend, award-winning scriptwriter Senedy Que is still in Barcelona, Spain where his debut film “Dose” is being exhibited at the Contemporary Cultural Center of Barcelona, Spain. “Dose” was shown last May 2 and Senedy sent us an email to share his experience.

During the screening, he was promptly introduced to the audience by Carlos Rios, the Barcelona Asian Film Festival’s co-programmer. When the film started, Senedy realized immediately that something was wrong—very wrong. For one, the video quality was dark. There were white lines across the screen. The audio was horrible. The characters all sounded like men and seemed to speak in slow motion.

“You can just imagine my frustration at the very first screening of my first film at my first film festival,” said Senedy.

Thirty minutes later, a few people started walking out—one by one, two by two. Senedy prayed that there will be people left behind after the screening. Fortunately, majority of the audience stayed on. Senedy said, “Someone compared me to Almodovar! The festival’s souvenir programme described my film with words like ‘brillante,’ ‘sexual,’ ‘controversial,’ and ‘almodovarianos’.” 

“But I said, more than Almodovar (and before Almodovar), there were Joey Gosiengfiao and Elwood Perez—the two directors who influenced me as a child. The sexual and campy images that I saw (sneaking into movie theatres where ‘for adults only’ films were shown) influenced me—artistically and psycho-sexually,” he told us.

“At the question-and-answer session, a couple of viewers told me that despite the technical quality, they were shocked and at the same time, touched by the film’s story. A Spanish woman told me she cried twice during the film. The following day, I had two interviews—one for a Catalan television program and the other, for a newspaper in Barcelona.

Senedy is hoping that the second screening of “Dose” yesterday (May 6) will run smoother with a better quality of his film. Aside from "Dose," the other Filipino films being shown at the 11th Festival de Cine Asiatico de Barcelona are: Adela (Adolfo Alix, Jr.), Now Showing (Raya Martin), Jay (Francis Pasion), Brutus (Tara Illenberger), Blink/Kurap (Ronaldo Bertubin), and of course, Serbis (Brillante Mendoza) which is in competition.