Direk Brillante cautious of his 2019 MMFF chances

The film top-billed by Judy Ann Santos won the  Best Actress award at the Cairo International Film Festival, as well as the Best Artistic Contribution Awards. Both accolades were accepted by Allen  Dizon, lead actor in "Mindanao."

But Direk Brillante wouldn’t want to believe that "Mindanao" will emerge as the runaway winner come the Gabi ng Parangal. He downplayed the movie’s chances, saying it’s a different set of jury selecting the winners.

“Open tayo sa idea na we might alsowin but we are cautious. Ayaw naman natin silang pangunahan since hindi pa rin naman natin napanood ang ibang entries. But to be accepted as one of the official entries to the filmfest is more than good enough for me,”said Direk Brillante with a smile.

“It is very seldom that a film of mine gets accepted at the MMFF. My last one was 'Thy Womb' with Guy (Nora Aunor) and it was not a good experience then. But hopefully now that we are fielding 'Mindanao,' we are hopeful the public will watch it as well. This is a different kind of film. It has touches of animation which will appeal to children and adults as well.”

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Newbie actor Rex Lantano considers himself lucky that he became a part of a project like "Culion" even if he is playing a supporting role as Dado, an altar boy. He is not among those characters afflicted with leprosy.

“Although I am not suffering from leprosy but I felt what it was like to have one while we were shooting the film in Palawan. Even if I am not a leprosy patient, I understood their pain and suffering. But Culion is now leprosy-free. The people lead normal lives.Our movie tells their beautiful story of survival,” said Rex who had to hurdle several auditions before getting a role in the film written by Ricky Lee and produced by iOptions Productions.

“This is one movie project that is very memorable for me. I hope this will open doors for similar opportunities in the future.”

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Dimples Romana gets her first taste of comedy in a filmfest entry as she plays the villain to Vice Ganda and Anne Curtis in Star Cinema and Viva Films’ entry "The Mall, The Merrier."

“I haven’t done a comedy film,” said Dimples whose last filmfest entry was "Deadma Walking," the award-winning gay-themed drama starring Joross Gamboa and Edgar Allan Guzman two years ago. She played the role of Joross’elder sister in the film.

“I had so much fun doing 'The Mall,The Merrier.' Ang saya lang sa set.Vice and the rest of the cast made working such a breeze. Of course, para akong naninibago at first but my co-stars were a big help to make me feel good in front of the camera,”said Dimples, the premiere  kontrabida of the top-rating afternoon series "Kadenang  Ginto."

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Beauty Wise and MOPPA Cosmetics, owned by Jennifer Tapulgo-Galo, Justine Tapulgo, and  Josephine Tapulgo, just celebrated its second anniversary in the cosmetics business. They threw a lavish party at the Okada Hotel grand ballroom to celebrate the company milestone.

Present at the event, of course, was Yuki Sakamoto, who first gained notice in the Bida Man segment of "It’s Showtime." The tall and handsome Yuki is the perfect model for Beauty Wise because of his good looks and clear complexion.

The event was also attended by Rivermaya, Daniel Matsunaga, Joseph Bitangcol, Sephy Francisco, Morissette Amon and Tuesday Vargas.

Expect Yuki’s billboard for Beauty Wise cosmetics to rise soon in major roads and destinations in the Philippines.