The Rockstars of Filipino Contemporary Art were featured by Arndt Gallery in a group exhibition, “Wasak! Filipino Art Today”, across their two locations in Berlin. Exhibiting Filipino artistsincluded Zean Cabangis, Annie Cabigting, Buen Calubayan, Louie Cordero, Jigger Cruz, Marina Cruz, Kawayan De Guia, Alfredo Esquillo, Ian Fabro, Nona Garcia, Robert Langenegger, Pow Martinez, Manuel Ocampo, Alwin Reamillo, Norberto Roldan, Kaloy Sanchez, José Santos III, Rodel Tapaya, Tatong Torres and Ronald Ventura.

A walk through the exhibition by gallery owner Matthias Arndt and curators Norman Crisologo and Erwin Romulo explored the fascinating contemporary art landscape in the Philippines. WASAK! offered snapshots of current artistic practices from the Philippines, uniting a selection of its leading protagonists across generational lines, genres, and media.

Wasak! is open to the public from 8 December 2015 until 30 January 2016. More information on the exhibition may be found here. END

Jerrold Tarog´s much acclaimed bio-epic “Heneral Luna” brought the pilot run of The First Reel: Philippine Film Festival to a close. Set during the Philippine-American war, the film follows the life of one of Philippine history´s most brilliant military men, General Antonio Luna, as he tries to lead his countrymen against colonial masters and to rise above their own raging disputes to fulfill the promise of the Philippine Revolution.

An eager international audience easily filled out two theaters for a simultaneous screening at the Kino Moviemento, the oldest running cinema in Berlin.

To date, “Heneral Luna” has emerged as one of the highest-grossing Filipino films of all time, raking in $5.3 million since its Philippine premiere in September of this year.

The First Reel is the first festival to focus on Philippine films in Germany and aims to contribute to the international promotion of Philippine cinema. The festival was a collaboration among the Philippine Embassy in Germany, the Philippine Studies Series Berlin and the Kapisanan ng mga Pilipino sa Aachen, e.V.

The Philippine Studies Series Berlin is an initiative of Filipino scholars in Berlin to provide a platform for lectures, discussions, and film events regarding the Philippines in order to promote Philippine studies in Berlin. The Kapisanan ng mga Pilipino sa Aachen e.V. is a Filipino organization in North Rhine Westphalia. END

The last week of “The First Reel: Philippine Film Festival” in Berlin highlighted five short films and a full length film by emerging Filipino filmmakers. Week two of the film festival opened with Rina Tsou´s “Chicharon”, Sari Estrada´s “Asan si Lolo Me?”, Trinka Lat´s “April Fool´s”, Martika Ramirez Escobar´s “Pusong Bato” and Chris Costello and Mihk Vergara´s “Ang Maskot”. All short films have earned distinction from local and international award-giving bodies and were very warmly received by a varied, international audience.

The Festival’s last roundtable discussion on “Visual Story Telling” followed after the short films. The panel brought together film scholars, producers and animators which included Filipino filmmaker and production designer Trinka Lat, German filmmaker, artist and visual and media anthropologist Steffen Köhn, Filipino-German filmmaker Kerstin Rexrodt and British producer and archive researcher Melody Howse. It was moderated by Filipino-German filmmaker Divina Hasselmann. A very dynamic audience eagerly participated in the discussion, which focused on innovative approaches and technologies that help produce onscreen narratives.

Berlinale Talent Campus Alumna Sigrid Bernardo´s debut film, “Ang Huling Chacha ni Anita” earned raves from its international audience with its coming of age story about first love, the search for identity, and the strictures of tradition. A Q&A with actress and lawyer Jay Bordon, who portrayed the role of the adult Anita, followed the screening of the film. The event was bookended by the soothing music of Berlin-based Filipino-British singer songwriter Mishka Adams. END