An international crowd of over 200 people shared a night of music at Filipino singer Armi Millare’s concert in Berlin last November 16.

Dubbed “The Last of Autumn,” the special event at Prachtwerk Berlin featured several solo performances by Armi, lead singer of popular Filipino band UDD (formerly Up Dharma Down).

Filipino fans from Germany, Czech Republic, and even as far away as Malta, led their friends from Germany and other countries in signing UDD hits like “Tadhana” (destiny) and “Oo” (yes) with Armi.

Guests were also entertained by a quiz night on Philippine tourism. Germans and international students from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, and Zambia tested their knowledge of Philippine geography and culture. Each of the five quiz night winners received gifts from the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Tourism Office, including a bottle of Don Papa rum.

Philippine Ambassador to Germany Theresa Dizon-de Vega welcomed the guests and invited them to experience the Philippines for a special evening.

To complete the Philippine experience, guests were served Filipino party favorites like sisig, chicken adobo drummettes, and empanada prepared by Filipino-American Chef Patrick Blasa, as well as Don Papa Rhum-based cocktails.

The concert is part of a series of cultural events organized by the Embassy in celebration of the upcoming Christmas holidays and the 65^th Anniversary of Philippine-German diplomatic relations. These projects were made possible through the support of the Office of then Senator, now Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda for the Philippine Embassy’s Cultural Diplomacy program. END

Guests in the packed venue take the opportunity to have a photo with Armi.

From left: Festival Director Lola Abrera, Amb. Dizon-de Vega, and Film Programmer Trinka Lat welcome the audience to the Festival’s Opening Night.

07 November 2019, Berlin – The First Reel Philippine Film Festival opened in Germany’s oldest cinema, Kino Moviemento, in the heart of Berlin last November 6.

The festival’s Opening film is the restored version of Filipino classic “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?” written and directed by Eddie Romero and starring some of the Philippines’ premier thespians, Christopher De Leon, Eddie Garcia, Leopoldo Salcedo, and Gloria Diaz.

The opening film was followed by an Interactive Philippine Culinary Session with Filipino-German Chef Bulawan Callanta of Berlin’s AYAN Restaurant. The session included an Adobo Cook-off. The side event was sponsored by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin.

In a Welcome Message, Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega lauded the initiative of Festival Director Lola Abrera and Film Programmer Trinka Lat for coming up with a platform to showcase the diversity and multiplicity of narratives in Philippine cinema. She promised more collaborative work with the First Reel Team in the future.

The festival with the theme “Of Lives and Labels” runs until 10 November at Kino Moviemento and features side events after each screening including a Story-Telling Session on November 9 co-moderated by the Philippine Embassy’s Consul Catherine Rose Torres.

For more information, visit First Reel Facebook page, @thefirstreel. END

Left photo: Chef Bulawan leads an interactive culinary session. Right photo: Guests enjoy the four versions adobo prepared by cook-off contestants.