The Philippine Embassy in Berlin and the Artists Theatre Company hosted the Philippine Gala Night of “Marco Polo – When you find Your True Love, A New Musical” at the Admiralspalast Studio in Berlin on 2 November 2018.  Members of German government, the diplomatic community, the Filipino community as well as the Embassy´s business contacts attended the event.

“Marco Polo – When You Find Your True Love, A New Musical” is written and produced by Filipino-Belgian Rogelio Saldo Chua. It followed the story of Italian adventurer Marco Polo as he embarked on a quest to assist the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. Along the way, he encountered great friendship, great enemies, and great love with the Khan’s own daughter. The story speaks of choices that had to be made between duty, pride, ambition, sacrifice, power, glory and love.

Thirteen of the 26-member cast, including writer-producer Rogelio Saldo Chua and several veteran stage actors, are Filipinos, the rest are Europe-based actors.

Philippine Embassy Charge d´Affaires Lillibeth V. Pono commended  Mr. Chua for composing and producing the new musical, “As a story tracing the voyage of a Venetian protagonist and his missions involving the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan, a narrative as rich as this deserves to be handled with great care. As such, it is a great pleasure and honor to know that this musical was composed and produced by a fellow Filipino”.

Shortly after the musical´s run in the German capital, it presented one more show in Belgium before capping this year´s European run.  It also had previous runs in Manila, Paris and London.  END

25 October 2018, Berlin – The Berlin ASEAN Committee (BAC) hosted the 51st ASEAN Day Reception at the Malaysian Embassy on October 25 in celebration of the founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on August 8, 1967.

Vietnamese Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung, the current BAC Chair, welcomed some 300 guests composed of business leaders, members of parliament, other German government officials, and diplomats.  Ms. Renate Künast, Member of the German Bundestag and Chair of the German-ASEAN Parliamentary Friendship Group, and Ambassador Ina Lepel, Federal Foreign Office Director-General for Asia and the Pacific of the Federal were in attendance as Guests of Honor.

In her remarks, Ambassador Lepel underscored the strong ASEAN-European Union partnership, referring to the two regional groupings as natural partners that adhere to multilateralism and a rules-based global order. She also expressed hope for the conclusion of more free trade agreements between ASEAN Member States and the EU.

The event started with the singing of the regional grouping’s anthem, “The ASEAN Way” by Philippine Cultural Attaché Mylah Rubio. The song expresses unity and strengthened sense of an ASEAN identity and belongingness among the peoples of the region.

 

Guests enjoyed a variety of dishes and desserts from all ten ASEAN countries, including ripe Philippine mangoes, lumpia, and chicken adobo. They were also entertained by performances from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and special song numbers from the Filipino cast members of “Marco Polo-When You Find Your True Love.” END

Acclaimed Filipino director Eric Matti´s action-thriller film “Buybust” premiered in Europe as part of the Fantasy Film Festival on September 11, 2018 at the Zoopalast in Berlin.  This was shortly followed by another screening at the Cinestar Sony Center on September 15.

BuyBust is a 2018 Philippine action thriller film co-written and directed by Matti and stars an ensemble cast top-billed by Anne Curtis and Brandon Vera. The plot centers on an elite anti-drug enforcement squad summoned to conduct a drug bust in a Manila slum. Realizing the mission is poorly executed, the team find themselves trapped by settlers and attempts to escape by fighting their way out.

Buybust was shown in Philippine cinemas in August this year following a successful premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival in June.  Variety’s Richard Kuipers described “BuyBust” as “superbly” directed and a “must-see” for fans of the genre.  Screen Daily reviewed it as “one of the most blistering action pictures since Mad Max: Fury Road.”

This year´s Fantasy Film Festival in Berlin is from 5-16 September 2018. The festival presents horror movies ,crime thrillers, bringing a unique mix of genre films to its audience. With about 50 films, Fantasy Filmfest has become one of the largest alternative film festivals in Germany having screenings in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Nürnberg and Munich.  END