Edgar Allan Guzman gets primetime break

From out of 150 entries submitted, the CineFilipino Film Festival has announced eight original and innovative Filipino feature films that have made it to the prestigious roster for 2017.

"Every year the entries just get more and more engaging for the Filipino viewers," says Head of Competition Director Joey Reyes.

"Kuwentoangharirito. And the story should always be increasingly appealing to its audiences, very original and Filipino. It is also very heartening to note that most of the eight feature films that made it to the list are products of newcomers," added Direk Joey.

The award-winning director said that CineFilipino is looking for films that will start a trend. They want new films that are made by Filipinos for the Filipino audience.

"We want movies that will cater to the Pinoy audience. Another important thing that we are looking for is originality of vision," said Direk Joey.

The eight Filipino films that comprise CineFilipino Film Festival 2017 are "Delia & Sammy" by Therese Cayaba; "Mata Tapang" by Rod Marmol; "The Eternity Between Seconds" by Alex Figuracion; "Excuse Me Po" by Ron Battaliones; "Poon" by RoniBernaid; "Hitboy" by BorOcampo; "Kahit Man Lamang Kung Maari" by DweinBaltazar; and "Mga Mister ni Rosario" by Ronald Allan Habon.

The films were selected based on the following criteria: Originality of material and freshness of approach; an authentic reflection of Filipino culture and human experience; strong potential for audience engagement, meaning it should be mass-audience friendly without compromising quality and it should be commercially viable and has to have a potential for a wide theatrical release.

The daunting task of selecting the films for the festival fell on industry stalwarts that formed the selection committee that includes Madonna Tarrayo, Joey Reyes, journalist Bayani San Diego, Director Hannah Espia, Joel Ruiz, Lilit Reyes and ManetDayrit.

CineFilipino also announced its partnership with Cignal Entertainment. Cignal TV's brand of original content catering to Filipinos' evolving  and upgrading tastes is welcome news to every filmmaker, says Ms. Madonna Tarrayo, Unitel CEO and Festival Director.

"Cignal is a distribution platform. There are many opportunities for people to watch all the movies we will select. There are many avenues. That is very important for a filmmaker," she said.

"CineFilipino has always been envisioned to be the gateway for brilliant filmmakers, and knowing that there is a ready avenue for their films to be shown will certainly be inspiring. Organized and led by Unitel and partnered with the MVP Group including Cignal Entertainment, the CineFilipino Film Festival is how we truly celebrate Filipino films and their creation."

Jane Jimenez Basas, president of Cignal Entertainment, says that providing avenues for Filipino filmmakers to showcase their artistry is very much in keeping with the vision of Cignal.

"We are in the business of providing premium content for our viewers' discriminating tastes. Conversely, we also want to be the venue for more filmmakers to show their groundbreaking masterpieces. Cignal Entertainment and CineFilipino feature films are very much in sync in that pursuit," said Ms. Basas.

The festival will be held in March 2018. They also reminded that they are still accepting entries for the Short Film and Digital Content Categories until September 30.

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Edgar Allan Guzman is happy to be a part of "My Korean Jagiya," the newest primetime show of GMA-7 topbilled by Heart Evangelista.

This show marks EA's return to the Kapuso network after doing the series "Doble Kara" for ABS-CBN. This is also his first time to work with Heart, whom he described as very pleasant to work with.

EA vows to give his best in "My Korean Jagiya" where he plays the boyfriend of Heart.

"I always give my best in everything I do. I am inspired because I am doing a show for the Kapuso network. And it has a primetime slot so medyo may pressure. But all of us in the cast are happy to be working together. We have a fun set," said the actor.

On the movie front, EA just finished the movie "Deadma Walking" which is intended as a possible entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival. The movie features him alongside good friend JorossGamboa and is directed by Julius Alfonso for T-Rex Films.