Art to see:The Santoses’ Gathered Narratives
MANILA, Philippines - The Santoses are a curious bunch. Luis, Carina, Isabel, and their parents, Soler and Mona Santos are all artists, with the famous Malang as their grandfather. And for the first time ever, all five Santoses will be part of a single exhibit called Gathering Narratives, a beautiful collection of works that are arranged in relation to, and independent of each other. It’s an interesting case seeing how five different people who live and work in the same house create together and yet stand out from each other. Soler and his brother Steve (also an artist), grew up rejecting sameness and imitation, and embracing their own personal style. This explosion of talent in the family will be an interesting exhibit. Gathered Narratives will be on display at the Silverlens Gallery at the Pasong Tamo Extension until July 5.
Watch on screen: French Film Festival
French, the language of love, romance, and physical conquest! It may not be Valentine’s, but the Embassy of France is leading the 19th French Film Festival, a gathering of the best of French cinema in the Philippines. This year’s lineup is an impressive mix of French and Filipino films, many of which have been screened at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Out of the lineup, we recommend Les beaux jours (Bright Days Ahead), about a retired woman who finds her second youth at a senior club; L’Écume des jours (Mood Indigo), about a man who must endure absurd conditions to save his wife, who has a water lily growing in her lungs; and La Vénus à la fourrure (Venus in Fur), an erotic thriller directed by the controversial Roman Polanski. On Independence Day, the festival is focusing on brilliant local films, like Lino Brocka’s Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, Erik Matti’s On The Job, and Lav Diaz’s Norte: Hangganan ng Kasaysayan. The French Film Festival will be held at the Greenbelt 3 cinema from June 10 to 15.
Local theater is gaining momentum, and the latest offering from the theater world is the award-winning local production of Hansel and Gretel, a children’s musical based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Besides the story and the candy house, what makes this musical special is that all the actors in the play are children aged seven to 14. How cute is that? The children are members of Kids Act Philippines, a professional theater company that stages youth and children’s plays. The script, lyrics, and direction were provided by Luigi Nacario, and it’s exciting to see how the cute tots will execute this musical. Hansel and Gretel will stage one show tomorrow at the Eastwood Mall Atrium at 3 p.m.