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

The Philippines bagged two Silver and three Bronze medals at the recently concluded 8^th Cheerleading World Championships (CWC) held at the Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin, Germany from 21-22 November 2015.

This year´s Team Philippines was composed of the University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad, the Quezon City Performing Arts Development Foundation, Inc. (PADFI) and Ballet Philippines.

Team Philippines garnered silver in the Junior Cheer Dance Doubles and Cheerleading All Female categories. They won bronze in the Cheerleading Doubles, Cheerleading Small Groups Mixed and Cheer Dance Doubles categories.

The Philippine Embassy hosted a dinner in celebration of Team Philippines´ victory at the CWC.

The Embassy encouraged the Filipino community via website announcement and e-newsletters to support the group at the competition.

After the well-received two night run of Ellen Ongkeko Marfil´s 2008 film “Boses”, The First Reel: Philippine Film Festival in Berlin premiered Dan Villegas´ 2014 romantic comedy, “English Only Please” to a packed theater in Berlin. The screening was followed by a roundtable discussion at Kino Moviemento, the oldest running movie theater in Germany.

The film´s humorous take on language and culture was the jumping off point for the panel discussion on “Language and Migration” which tackled some of the themes raised by the film on the links between language, migration and identity, and on straddling “hyphenated” identities and forging connections with the Philippines. The panelists are second generation Filipino Germans – Cathy Dierang, a student at Humboldt University, Patrick Soeder, a graphic designer and entrepreneur, Jason Thamm, sound designer and recordist, and Johannah Joy Bittenbinder, a law student at Humboldt University. The spirited discussion was moderated by Filipina filmmaker, visual artist and photographer Ms. Kay Abaño.

The First Reel was the first festival of Philippine Films in Berlin held on 18-20 and 25-27 November 2015. With a successful reception from the Filipino and German public, it aimed to contribute to the international promotion of Philippine Cinema. The six-day event showcased four full length films which included Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil´s “Boses”, Dan Villegas´ “English Only Please”, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo´s “Ang Huling Cha-cha ni Anita”, and Jerrold Tarog´s much acclaimed “Heneral Luna.” The festival also includes five short films – Rina Tsou´s “Chicharon” , Sari Estrada´s “Asan si Lolo Me?”, Trinka Lat´s “April Fools”, Martika Ramirez Escobar´s “Pusong Bato” and Chris Costello and Mihk Vergara´s “Ang Maskot.”

The First Reel 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. Kapisanan ng mga Pilipino sa Aachen e.V. is a Filipino organization in North Rhine Westphalia. END