Manunuri welcomes presence of new award-giving bodies

Times, they are changing. New award-giving bodies have come and gone. But the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino’s Gawad Urian awards is still around after 35 years.

The group, composed of top educators and film critics, don’t mind the emergence of these new kids on the award-giving block. They even welcome them.

Manunuri chair Gigi Javier-Alfonso is happy more award-giving bodies are recognizing outstanding work in the industry because it means more people get to watch excellent films and performers.

“Maganda kapag ibang punto de bista ang nakikita sa pelikula,’ says member Nicanor `Nick’ Tiongson added at the press conference hosted by ABS-CBN’s Cinema One at the network’s Restaurant 9501.

Besides, the members add, giving awards is not the only thing they do. 

The Urian anthology featuring film reviews of the last decade is now on its fourth decade.

“Mahalaga ito para magkaroon ng dokumentasyon ang mga pelikula natin at matulungan ang artistic memory ng ating mga direktor,” he adds.

Another member, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido `Bien’ Lumbera added that they are planning to hold workshops which hopefully will attract young people who want to be part of the film industry.

“Matatanda na kami.  Kailangan naming ng mga kabataang susunod sa aming mga yapak,” he explains.
And these young people are freer to express what they want and feel.

“Nung dekada 2000, lumiit ang producton budget. Mas marami ang nag-produce ng sarili nilang films, na naging daan para hindi na sila diktahan ng producer na ang karaniwang interes ay profit,” observes Tiongson.

Today’s films, he adds, are “more edgy.” And their locations are more diverse and therefore, more multicultural.

This year, the Manunuri has again teamed up with Cinema One as producer of the 35th Gawad Urian, set June 14 (Thursday) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Tanghalang Nicano Abelardo.
The nominees:

Best Film

• “The Natural Phenomenon of Madness” - The Grit Project and Outpost Visual Frontier in cooperation with Noel D. Ferrer Production
• “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank” - Cinemalaya, Martinez Rivera Films, Quantum Films and Straight Shooters Media
• “Busong” - Solito Arts Production
• “Bisperas” - Cinemalaya Foundation, Quantum Films and HongKong-Asia Films Financing Forum
• “Amok” - Cinemalaya Foundation, Pelikulaw and Wild Coyote Pictures
• “Ka Oryang” - Cinema One Originals, Kino Arts Production in association with Optima Digital
• “Niño” - Cinemalaya Foundation in cooperation with Handurawan Films
• “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa” - Vim Yapan/Alem Chua Production in cooperation with Big Top Media Productions, Inc., SQ Film Laboratories, Inc., Optima Digital and Far Eastern University
• “Boundary” - Bigtop, Optima Digital, Voyage Studios and Wanderlustproject Films

Best Director

• Sari Lluch Dalena – “Ka Oryang”
• Lawrence Fajardo -  “Amok”
• Benito Bautista –“Boundary”
• Loy Arcenas - Niño
• Marlon Rivera  - “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Alvin Yapan -  “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”
• Jeffrey Jeturian – “Bisperas”
• Antoinette Jadaone  - “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay”
• Auraeus Solito – “Busong”

Best Actress

• Lilia Cuntapay – “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay”
• Raquel Villavicencio – “Bisperas”
• Eugene Domingo – “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Maja Salvador – “Thelma”
• Opaline Santos – “The Natural Phenomenon of Madness”
• Isabel Lopez – “Cuchera”
• Alessandra de Rossi – “Ka Oryang”
• Fides Cuyugan – “Niño”
• Cherie Pie Picache – “Isda”
• Diana Zubiri – “Bahay Bata”

Best Actor

• Bong Cabrera – “Sa Ilalim ng Tulay”
• Tirso Cruz III – “Bisperas”
• Paulo Avelino – “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”
• Alfred Vargas – “Teoriya”
• Ronnie Lazaro – “Boundary”
• Raymond Bagatsing – “Boundary”
• TJ Trinidad – “Deadline”
• Martin Escudero – “Zombading”
• JM de Guzman – “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Kean Cipriano – “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Jess Mendoza – “The Natural Phenomenon of Madness”

Best Supporting Actress

• Angeli Bayani – “Ka Oryang”
• Julia Clarete – “Bisperas”
• Jean Garcia – “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”
• Shamaine Buencamino – “Niño”
• Solenn Heussaff – “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Best Supporting Actor

• Bembol Roco – “Isda”
• Jojit Lorenzo – “Anatomiya ng Korupsyon”
• Marvin Agustin – “Patikul”
• Mark Gil – “Amok”
• John Regala – “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story”
• Dido dela Paz – “Amok”
• Art Acuña – “Niño”
• Joem Bascom – “Ka Oryang”
• Jake Cuenca – “In The Name of Love”
• Garry Lim – “Amok”
• Ronnie Lazaro – “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story”

Best Sound

• Albert Michael Idioma and Addiss Tabong – “Amok”
• Albert Michael Idioma and Addiss Tabong - Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Albert Michael Idioma – “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story”
• Albert Michael Idioma and Alex Tomboc- “Bisperas”
• Raffy Magsaysay – “Boundary”
• Aguila, Junel Valencia and Mark Locsin - “Liberacion”

Best Screenplay

• Antoinette Jadaone –  ”Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay”
• Charliebebs Gohetia – “The Natural Phenomenon of Madness”
• John Bedia –“Amok”
• Bonifacio P. Ilagan – “Deadline”
• Paul Sta. Ana –  “Bisperas”
• Rody Vera – “Niño”
• Sari Lluch Dalena and Keith Sicat – “Ka Oryang”
• Alvin Yapan – “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”
• Chris Martinez  - “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”

Best Editing

• Keith Sicat – “ Ka Oryang”
• Danny Añonuevo  - “Niño”
• Ike Veneracion  -  “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Mai Dionisio  - ”Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”
• Lawrence Fajardo – “Amok”
• Chuck Gutierrez – “Busong”
• Leo Valencia and Glenn Ituriaga – “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay”

Best Music

• Jerrold Tarog- “Niño”
• Waway Linsahay Saway – “Sakay sa Hangin”
• Teresa Barrozo – “Ka Oryang”
• Diwa de Leon – “Busong”
• “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa  - Christine Muyco and Jema Pamintuan

Best Cinematography

• Neil Daza and Kiri Dalena – “Ka Oryang”
• Albert Banzon – “Liberacion”
• Arvin Viola – “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”
• Roberto Yniquez – “ Bisperas”
• Louie Quirino – “Amok”
• Regiben Romana – “Sakay sa Hangin”
• Carlo Mendoza  - “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story”
• Louie Quirino -- “Busong”

Best in Production Design

• Maulen Fadul  - “The Natural Phenomenon of Madness”
• Rodrigo Ricio – “Bisperas”
• Regiben Romana – “Sakay sa Hangin”
• Reji Regalado  - “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank”
• Lawrence  Fajardo- “Amok”
• Laida Lim – “Nino”
• Fritz Silorio – “Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story”
• Rodrigo Ricio - “Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay”

Is ‘real-life Barbie’ beautiful or creepy?

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, life in plastic, it's fantastic" line sung by Norwegian group Aqua could easily apply to 21-year-old Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova.

She appears to have doll-like facial features, long blonde hair, a tiny waist and huge breasts that are disproportionate to her figure. In most of her photos, she puts on a vacant stare and her skin looks flawless with a waxy finish.

Valeria Lukyanova has been called the real-life Barbie. (Photo from VK)

On her blog, the "real-life Barbie" claims to be the most famous woman on Russian websites, and is interested in new age music and "astroplaning".

The model gained popularity online over the past week as her photos generated much discussion online. Many people questioned whether she is indeed a real person who has gone under the knife or someone whose images have been edited through Photoshop.

As of Friday evening, she had 161,350 followers on her VK, the European equivalent of Facebook. A video spoof of her has also been produced by Taiwan's New Media Animation (NMAtv) and uploaded on YouTube.

Responding to critics, Lukyanova recorded a video titled "Doll's appearance is not everything" and said that criticism of her looks has overshadowed her as a person and her other talents.

"I am a composer and have written over 70 songs on the theme of spiritual development. … People do not mention that I evolve [spirituality] and lead seminars and workshops on astral travel, answer questions and help people understand themselves," Lukyanova said on her YouTube page.

In other videos, she's asked her followers to "not believe the rumours about plastic surgery."

Compare her Florence Colgate, an 18-year-old student who was recently crowned the most attractive woman in Britain based on science and math. Colgate's high cheekbones, full lips and large eyes are the closest to the ideal ratios of the "perfect" face.

Colgate beat 8,000 participants in the contest that only judged contestants without make-up, plastic surgery and chemical enhancement.

"Living dolls" a new trend?

Lukyanova is not the first female to rock the dolls trend. 15-year-old Venus Palermo (Venus Angelic) and 16-year-old Dakota Rose (Dakotakoti) are two girls who have become Internet sensations because of their "Living Doll" look.

Both girls have personal YouTube channels and frequently post video tutorials that teach other girls how to achieve the doll-like look through make-up and fashion. Videos by Venus Angelic have been viewed 12 million times, while Dakotakoti's videos have been viewed 19 million times, and both have fans from all over the world.

What do you think of the living doll look?

PH: World's best country in business English

Well, people will now have to think twice before mocking Pinoys' use of the English language.

The Philippines was named the world’s best country in business English proficiency, even beating the United States, according to a recent study by GlobalEnglish Corporation.

GlobalEnglish has released early this month the results of its annual Business English Index (BEI), the only index that measures business English proficiency in the workplace.

For 2012, results showed that from 76 represented countries worldwide, only the Philippines attained a score above 7.0, "a BEI level within range of a high proficiency that indicates an ability to take an active role in business discussions and perform relatively complex tasks."

“This is particularly interesting because the Philippines, a country with one-tenth of the population of India, recently overtook India as a hub for call centers. Over 400,000 Filipinos are now employed in call centers, roughly 50,000 more than in India,” the study said.

The Philippines, which scored 7.11 and the lone country in the intermediate level, were joined by Norway (6.54), Estonia (6.45), Serbia (6.38) and Slovenia (6.19) in the top five.

GlobalEnglish noted that a country’s business English capability is an indicator of its economic growth and business success.

“It is not surprising that both the Philippines and Norway—the only two countries in the top five in both 2011 and 2012—are improving their economies, based on the latest GDP data from the World Bank,” it added.

Meanwhile, struggling economic powers (Japan, Italy and Mexico) and fast-growth emerging markets (Brazil, Columbia and Chile) scored below a 4.0 in business English proficiency, placing them at a disadvantage when competing in a global marketplace, the study said.

It also pointed out that shifts in global talent have put even English-speaking countries at risk.

“Surprisingly the BEI score for global workers in the U.S. declined from 6.9 to 5.09 since the original 2011 BEI benchmark, which is attributed to a majority of test takers being foreign-born engineers and scientists,” the report said.

Rest of the world ranked beginner and basic level

Based on a scale of 1-10, the average 2012 BEI score across 108,000 test takers around the world is 4.15 which is lower than last year’s 4.46.

Nearly four out of 10 (38.2 percent) global workers from 76 countries were ranked as business English beginners, meaning that, on average, they can’t understand or communicate basic information during virtual or in-person meetings, read or write professional emails in English or deal with complexity and rapid change in a global business environment, the study said.

Meanwhile, the majority of global workers (60.5 percent) from the represented countries scored between a 4.0 and 7.0, below an intermediate level, indicating an inability to take an active role in business discussions or perform relatively complex tasks such as presentation development and customer or partner negotiations, it added.

GlobalEnglish stressed that the 2012 BEI which showed a lack of business English proficiency is threatening the productivity of companies, industries and country-specific economies this year.

“Poor Business English skills are bad for global businesses and this year’s Business English Index suggests that many companies will be hard-pressed to achieve their desired performance goals during 2012,” said Tom Kahl, GlobalEnglish President.

“Addressing English skills gaps and ensuring that employees can immediately perform at the necessary proficiency level should be viewed as a strategic imperative for multinational businesses, as Enterprise Fluency, the ability to seamlessly communicate and collaborate within global organizations, can deliver significant financial upside,” Kahl added.

Headquartered in Brisbane, California, GlobalEnglish works with multinational companies – including Cisco, Procter and Gamble, HSBC, Phzer – to support performance in business English across the workforce around the world.

Here's the list of the 10 best and worst countries in the world for business English proficiency based on GlobalEnglish's 2012 BEI:

10 Best Countries:
Philippines
Norway
Serbia
Slovenia
Australia
Malaysia
India
Lithuania
Singapore
Canada

10 Worst Countries:
Armenia
Cote d'Ivoire
Taiwan
Honduras
Columbia
Chile
El Salvador
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Brazil

25 most hilarious auto-correct fails (Part I)

If you own a smartphone, you'll agree that auto-correct is one of the smartest functions ever to be created...until a simple mistake embarrasses you and ruins your social life! And yes, it can ruin your social life!

Here are 25 of the most hilarious auto-correct fails ever.

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Hope this makes you day!