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September 5th, 2009

05:15 pm - the evolution of a filipino cinephile for my friend Alexis, on the day of his funeral. a note, before i begin: during Alexis's wake i was sitting with digitaldaydream, pilya, sevenbohemia, sleeplessplanet and slambradley. we were reminiscing about the Livejournal days, which, compared to the Friendster, Facebook and Twitter days, were the happiest social networking days of our lives. a lot of my friendship with _fiction_ developed here, and i even made a tribute to him back in 2005. it only seems fitting that I return to LJ with this entry. “So,” he says, holding up his fist as if he were holding a microphone--“what’s your favorite Stanley Kubrick movie?” I’m thinking to myself, ‘oh my God. And I thought I was a dork’ as I stare in bewilderment at this tall and lanky teenager with short cropped hair who crouches in attention and periodically looks away while talking to me. He would then follow his older brother Chris around as they interviewed up-and-coming filmmakers for an Inquirer 2BU Special on new Philippine Cinema. It was the summer of 2001. It was the first time I met Alexis Tioseco. After that I’d see him around the 2BU offices, since we both became writers for the section. Fellow writers nicknamed him Ardie, since he supposedly resembled an aardvark. Without fail, every time I’d run into him he’d do the same thing. He’d hold his fist up and go-- “Mr. Henares! Top 5 John Hughes films?” “Mr. Henares! Godfather 1 or 2?” “Mr. Henares! The Lord of The Rings is boring! Would you agree or disagree?” Soon after we became part of a group who would gather at this food arcade in Ortigas every Wednesday to drink beer and talk about cinema and other people (mostly just other people). Since we were all very creative we came up with the most creative name: The Wednesday Group. This was where Alexis and I became friends, talking about everything from cinema to who the hottest girl in his then-campus UA&P was to hip-hop music. Around that time I released my first movie and found it touching how, being the very naive college kid he was, he’d champion it in forums and message boards like PinoyDVD and Pinoy Exchange. Even then you could see how much he loved cinema, writing away and making argument after argument about movies that were read by a total of 15 people. And then he saw Lav Diaz’s Batang West Side, and his life was changed forever. Watching Lav’s opus prompted him to lead a life dedicated to furthering and promoting Filipino film. He wrote to film festivals and critics incessantly, asking them to watch certain movies he felt strongly about. He championed filmmakers like John Torres, Raya Martin and Sherad Sanchez before they made their first features. I asked him once why he didn’t pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker. “This is where I can make a real difference,” he told me. “There are already so many great filmmakers. Why try to be one of them when I can help make their work known?” A few years ago Alexis’s father, Boy Tioseco, passed away. His loving and warm family asked him to stay with them in Canada, where he grew up. After all, he wasn’t that interested in the family business anyway and he didn’t really have anything to stay for in Manila. He opted to stay, because he knew his place was here, and his work was here. He loved Manila so much that he even convinced his girlfriend, fellow film critic and programmer from Slovenia, Nika Bohinc, to stay with him. And this, to me, was a love story of legend—two wonderful people who didn’t grow up here and didn’t have to stay made a decision to live in this country despite everything it was because of their love for each other, and their love for cinema. And this is how we repay them. I haven’t been able to sleep. This all just doesn’t make sense in my head. People who commit suicide have an air of finality around them, like they were ready to die. People who are sick give us time to grieve a little and be ready for their exit. Alexis and Nika were living life to the fullest, making plans and literally changing the world. You don’t just end a film in the middle of act 2. Even the vaguest, most challenging film by Alexis’s beloved Apichatpong Weerasethakul wouldn’t have that. It’s not proper storytelling, and it’s not the right way for two wonderful people dedicated to its masterful art to say goodbye. It’s weird when someone you love is suddenly gone. You get these snippets of memories, remember insignificant details, and that’s what gets you crying. In the past two days I’ve had so many flashbacks, and they usually involve Alexis and Nika being really happy-- Alexis with that wide-eyed, mouth opened smile and Nika with her sly grin and raised eyebrow... Alexis is making Lia and I edit his Amazing Race audition tape. In it, him and our friend Chris Costello go “i’m Chris. ½ Irish, ½ Filipino.” “I’m Alexis, ¼ Chilean, ¼ Italian, ½ Filipino.” “Together, we make 1 full Filipino!”. Nika sees a bunch of giggly Assumptionistas screaming at each other next to her at Mag:Net. She turns her head, looks at me, and mimics their faces. I laugh uncontrollably. Every time we see each other after that we make that face. Alexis is raving about chocolate polvoron. “I’ve had polvoron before,” he tells me, “but have you tried this chocolate polvoron? It’s ridiculous.” A few months later this obsession is replaced with one for Boy Bawang. That kind of lasts for 4 years. I’m at Alexis’s house early in the morning for a Super Noypi shoot. I’m surprised to see him up and about. He sits on his father’s bed and puts in an obscure Eastern European film. He brings out his notebook and starts making notes. THIS IS AT SEVEN IN THE MORNING. I catch Alexis and Nika buying tickets for Drag Me To Hell. I run up behind them and start shouting, “Are you two buying tickets for a film that is supposed to be entertaining?!” There is a look of shame in Nika’s face, followed by a defensive “we love all cinema, Quark” declaration from Alexis. Nika is complaining about having food poisoning. “Oh my God my best friend for two days was the toilet bowl.” The cute little blonde then starts making vomiting motions. I’m with Alexis and Cecile. After much prodding by Tioseco, we watch Godard’s Une Femme Est Une Femme. He ends up falling asleep. He always falls asleep. I’m sitting in Alexis’s class, filled with eager students excited about the hot teacher and about being able to watch films in school. He announces that the first film will be a two-hour silent by Murnau. There is a collective groan. After that I have my last ever dinner with Alexis and Nika. “Have you seen this thing on the internet? Keyboard cat? It’s crazy,” Alexis says, eyes wide, getting ready to launch another one of his monologues. Nika rolls her eyes and says, “oh no. This is not even funny.” He then goes on to talk about a scene from the gameshow “Where in The World is Carmen San Diego” and how Keyboard Cat expertly appears in the youtube vid to play off an annoying contestant. He may be internationally respected Alexis Tioseco, but to me he was still that lovable dork. At the height of his career, when he was already flying around the world to judge for festivals, hanging with his idol Jonathan Rosenbaum and maintaining the renowned Asian cinema website Criticine, we weren’t really seeing eye to eye creatively. He called me a sellout during a public forum and also didn’t agree with me joining the Metro Manila Film Festival. Normally this would cause a rift between friends, but it didn’t affect our relationship in the slightest. Later that day we still ended up exchanging names to stalk on Facebook and debating on whether Wong Kar Wai really deserved all that praise. I think it’s because we both knew that the other was coming from a genuine love of cinema anyway, and that was the only thing that mattered, really. Alexis would go against all odds and fight the biggest names tooth and nail for what he believed in, and I’m proud he did that til the very end. I told him once, when he started petitioning against the Metro Manila Film Festival back in 2005, "ano ka ba, Alexis? Don't you know there's no hope for the film industry? wag na tayong maglokohan." He answered, in his Canadian accent, "hay naku Quark. i will dedicate myself to changing your view on that." And he did. He really did. Thank you, Mr. Tioseco. Current Mood: wow, it's been a while since i did this. Tags: cinema, personal, tribute

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January 1st, 2009

09:01 pm - 2008 after the hell that was Super Noypi, Mihk and I decided to make a pact for "Drama-Free 2007". of course, because fate is such a douchebag, 2007 ended up being one of the most dramaful years of my life. so for last year we both decided to trick fate and go for "Penniless 2008", and it worked! take that, you dumb bastard! 2008 was by far one of the best years of my life. i went to great places for the first time, i saw two concerts that will forever be scorched in my mind as not only great gigs but great life experiences, i was able to actually hang out with personal heroes (and one of the hottest women alive), and i did so many things creatively that i was really happy about. what really made the year, though, was you guys. so, to the lovely new friends who i feel like i've known my whole life and the kids i've been proud to call friends for a while now: thank you from the bottom of my heart and the marrow in my bones. there's no other way to put it :) I usually make a list of my top 10 favorite things about the year. however, there are just too many for 2008, so forgive me if i cheat and expand to 15 :) 15. Prisoner of ABSCBaN! Last year was the first time I really dipped my feet into mainstream television, and it was quite... educating, to say the least. We did a pilot called "Petiks" which might not see the light of day and another show called "Parekoy", premiering Jan 8. The work was hard, but the moments between takes were a blast. 14. The Rock Awards and The QLE. People misunderstand the QLE as being a reaction against the Rock Awards, but I think they perfectly complement each other. The Rock Awards is more about the scene -- it's all these lovely people who make the same kind of music getting together and celebrating , while QLE is really more about celebrating everyone's personal preferences and sharing music you may have missed out on. I never got to thank everyone for the fun, small, intimate party that was the QLE, and it's gotta be said that this year's Rock Awards was one of my favorites. 13. Hello Commercials! this year was my favorite in terms of advertising output! did a lot of spots i was really happy about like PNB, the Belo ads and a hilariously insane insecticide ad. I also got to work with Pilita Corrales for Anlene. that chick is so fine. 12. Us-2 Evil-0: the band that i have to thank for a lot of the Rakista ideas. you have Boga the pickup guru, Mich the mental case (only when it comes to being replaced, Michelle!), Nix the reluctant heartthrob and of course, Wincy, my muse who unbeknownst to him is providing me with enough material for a novel. 11. Rakenrol will have been gestating for 4 years by February, and when it gets released I fear it may be a bit dated. But it's our baby anyway, and we'll always be very proud of it. 10. Asian Hotshots Berlin! the crazy parties. the food. the lovely people. the art. the graffiti. the really hot festival organizers. the kickass tour guides. the sunlight through the hostel window on cold mornings. the food. HAVING THE DIRECTOR OF NEKROMANTIK BUY ME BEER. it does not get any better than that. Ich bin ein Berliner! 9. Death Cab for Ciudad going to watch my favorite foreign band with my favorite local band : priceless. i wasn't a big fan of the last album so i thought i'd just be steady the whole time, then they started playing songs from The Photo Album and We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes and I started screaming like a girl, hahaha. having mikey being screamed at in Chinese in the middle of a hawker center was lots of fun too. here: my New Year's gift to you. Death Cab doing "Title and Registration" 8. Goodbye Music Videos! so yeah, after an eye-opening music video project in the middle of the year i've decided to keep my dignity and semi-retire from making music videos. having said that, though, (and because you're all friends so i can say this without being too self-conscious) most of my favorite videos i've ever made were done this year, including Sandwich's "Procrastinator", Pupil's "Disconnection Notice", Urbandub's "Evidence", Sponge Cola's "Pasubali" and especially Taken by Cars' "Shapeshifter". Not a bad way to say goodbye :) 7. Rockeoke, as always, was the ultimate social networking tool. It's better than Facebook, I swear! Lots of lovely performances from you this year guys, and everything from Rockeoke Idol to MOMOL Night is a bit of a blur, but a good blur. Even better than the band Blur. 6. The Eraserheads Reunion just made me very happy to be Filipino. Eraserheads is unquestionably the greatest local band ever, and seeing tens of thousands sing along to their music just proved that. I consider myself immeasurably fortunate to have these people as my friends, but even these days I sometimes freeze up and get starstruck in the middle of conversations with Buddy, Ely or Raimund. 5. Dita Na Me, Wr Na U? From that awkward first dinner in the Japanese resto to the final moments hanging at the house, Dita Von Teese was a hurricane that went by quickly but left us all dazed in the aftermath. Her show was amazing, but hanging with her one realizes that she's also one of those people who are so nice that you start not getting sexually aroused by them. Yeah, she's THAT NICE. Love goes to her manager Melissa (since i am president of Melissa Fan Club Philippine chapter) and her main man Albert, who all my friends say is the most insane party animal they've encountered in their life. 4. Rockband. How can a videogame be better than all the things mentioned above? If you play "That's What You Get", "Monkey Gone to Heaven", "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun", "Kool Thing", "Maps" and "Brass in Pocket" on the Activision game, you just might understand. If you play it with the friends I have, drinking and cheering and tsismising between songs, you WILL understand. ya see that? two of my favorite things from 2008 come together. 3. I Heart NewYorckelodeon. It should be cool enough driving and bonding with my long lost cousins along the Los Angeles Highways. But then I get to go to the Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards. And then in the middle of the burger, pizza and Sundae buffet I run into Emile Hirsch, Jack Black, Ice T, Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin and Cameron Diaz. Going to New York to visit my best friend would be enough to put this on the list as well. But then I go to a Wong Kar Wai and Ang Lee talk. And the next day I run into Tiffany Limos and Michel Gondry, and he loans 20 dollars off of me. Then I get to go to his house and stalk his DVD collection. In the middle of all this I get to watch Anathallo, Minus the Bear, Wolf Eyes, Kimya Dawson and Spoon. Dayum. 2. +/- Versus Manila Versus was one of those bands that changed the way I looked at music, and their single "Double Suicide" is one of my favorite songs ever. +/-, on the other hand, is a current fave, and the last two albums have ranked in my yearly top 5. Knowing that, if you ever told me that one day I would be treating them to Sizzling Bulalo and Pares somewhere in Anonas I wouldn't have believed you. They were such wonderful people, with killer senses of humor to boot. If that weren't enough their sets were so tight and heartfelt that they immediately became one of my most memorable concert experiences. This is +/- ending their set with my favorite song of theirs, Queen of Detroit. They asked us to start dancing onstage, which resulted in either hilarity or a showstopping, poignant moment in rock n' roll history. 1. Rakista was originally meant to be an indirect spinoff of our movie Rakenrol, instead it became an animal all its own. I was always aware that it was a very special thing and a fulfillment of a lifelong dream to a) create my own TV show with one of my best friends (diego), b)do whatever the hell i want with almost no intrusion whatsoever, c)get everyone from my beloved students (like king, zig and mihk) to my personal idols (RA and yvette) to some of my longtime best friends (like erwin, ramon and mikey) to write and direct, d) get two of my favorite songwriters of all time (mikey and diego mapa) to write the music, e)discover my own ramon bautista in wincy, f)work with such a great production team, g)make stories on national TV about very personal things like English teachers i fell in love with and the Eraserheads reunion and most especially h)manage to put in a murder mystery, ninjas and zombies (and cast good friends like JC, Wanggo and Audrey as them as well) into the plot as we went along. I remember telling Sharon and Pong at one point that I was really fulfilled with Rakista, and that I was just relishing every moment because I knew it would be too good to last. Just like Penniless 2008. Happy New Year, y'all. Current Music: MGMT - Electric Feel Tags: lists, personal, yearend

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January 23rd, 2008

05:07 am - berlin best q&a ever/having Jorg the director of Nekromantik watch my movie and buy me a beer after/lunch with Kidlat and Nick at the ambassador's/cutest filmfest organizers in history/moshing after 8 years to a swedish punk band/dancing to the mighty moguls and seeing them in normal clothes at the hostel the next day/me khavn john not being able to sleep dahil ang daldal ng roomate namin/dancing to bollywood/video art at hip bars/attempt to stalk hal hartley ending in failure/axel and his mastery of tagalog/kiko soeder, golden emissary of berlin and his taste for the barely legal/videokeing "Ligaya" in english for the germans/schweinshaxe/leberkase/currywurst/doners/pinkel w grunkohl/fantastic graffiti/seeing where run lola run was shot and reenacting...running/reichstag/hamburger banhof/checkpoint charlie/beer now officially in my blood/seeing an original Banksy on the street/almost getting recruited into scientology/cute audiences who wanted to recreate the me+quentin pic/funnest. film festival. ever. it was a blast, to say the least. can't wait to head on back. Current Mood: guilty.sorry bout load time Current Music: berlin feat dj das - icke und er Tags: abroad, cinema, personal

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January 10th, 2008

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August 30th, 2007

03:33 pm - My Life with The Quentin Cult Vol. II ( Part V : Violence is Best Enjoyed in The Company of Others ) ( Part VI : The Ultimate Criteria for Decision-Making and The Girl With The Glasses Movie ) The blur is Quentin Tarantino. The salivating retard is me. ( Part VII : Dead Nigger Storage ) ( Part VIII : Full Circle ) for more geekgasming, see Life With Julie Current Music: Spoon's "Ga ga ga ga ga" Tags: cinema, hero worship, personal, tribute

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