ABSENCE MAKES PRESENCE
When I visit Cubao X (Marikina Shoe Expo) near Gateway, most of the time I just stayed at Blacksoup because the owners are old friends. Our common denominator---we were all Mowelfund-trained filmmakers but was molded in different eras. Aside from their cafe serving delicious pasta and sandwiches, Blacksoup has a gallery for upcoming artists. They have an ongoing exhibit right now called, ABSENCE MAKES PRESENCE. 
My friend, JJ, who has changed her name to Jazel Kristin is showing her cut-outs and collages artworks. When she jetsetted to Europe, the French artists said she was more "marketable" if she changed her name from JJ to Jazel. (Her boyfriend is a French TV commercial director, hence she is always out of the country visiting her beau, ergo, she can shoot all the awesome landscapes of Europe!) No, I'm not envious, hehe.
I met JJ at a directing workshop. We were classmates and we just clicked in an instant! We would comment on each other's exercise, give a pat on each other's back through good or bad times. Even if we do not see each other often, we make it a point to come to each other's "art" event. I was the first visitor at the exhibit, hoping that I would be the first to leave because I am never comfortable socializing with the so-called "artists," hehe.
Here she looks so haggard, haha, while I bumped into her accidentally at the restroom. She just came from a shoot, had to buy the pica pica food at a grocery store because the caterer backed out and the exhibit was opening in ten minutes!
Most photographs came from her trips to Spain, France, and the Philippines. A nice thing about JJ's este Jazel's artworks are the fusion of her imaginative cut-outs and her unique photos. She also used a lomo fish-eye camera to give a circular shape in some European sceneries. If you look closely at her work, one can see the old Quiapo Church or a sorbetero trolly (ice cream) taken from UP Diliman roaming the streets of Paris! (Sorry, no pictures here---you have to visit Blacksoup to see for yourself LOL). 
Cua pao, siomai, empanada and chips welcomed the guests especially prepared by Chef JJ, LOL.
Do check out Cubao X to see all the other artsy, specialty and antique shops. Of course, the place is known for its exquisite and affordable Marikina shoes. The local shoe stores are still operational up to now! Very cheap thrills @ Cubao X!
This afternoon, I went to St. Paul's Pasig to meet their Video Production and Journalism high school students. It was my first time to visit this all-girls' school located near ULTRA. I was invited by a college classmate who was notorious as a 
The most striking sights I saw and I wanted to shrink from embarassment---my name was all over the school grounds from the invitation, blackboard, and even the door!
While walking along the corridor, I saw an arch of colorful balloons and saw a woman statue. My friend told me the woman is called 
The screening and talk went well. Had Q & A for over an hour. I had to encourage them to actively enter the entertainment field because there are only a few decent women directors, writers and producers. Positions we thought would be for women such as production designers and make-up artists, in reality, belong to the "male" species. We women continue to struggle and fight for our right to be in production... 
Their motto: Filipino food served in a Filipino home. I grew up visiting this place on weekends, sometimes sleeping over just to relax and commune with nature.
It is one of the best films I have seen so far and even if I have watched it many times, I am still in awe with the talent of Orson Welles as a director. He made this debut film in 1941 when he was 25 years old. Very versatile---he was the actor, director and co-writer.
"The 25-year old Welles was at first unprepared for the demands of acting before a camera. Having acted on stage for many years and directed and produced radio broadcasts, he was an able director. However, with film, unlike live performance, it is essential that actors hit their chalk marks, and this was something Welles found difficult to do. After completing his scenes during rehearsal he would ask for constructive criticism from the cast, gaining confidence in his ability to move before the camera. Sometimes he would watch another actor move through his own scene just to get an idea of what he looked like on film. In return, he would scrutinize the actors' movements and insist on perfection."
A little trivia: Welles broke his ankle while filming the scene in which Kane chases Gettys down the stairs of Susan Alexander's apartment the night before the election. A real pro, he continued directing in a wheelchair!
Welles had nine different sets of false teeth and implants made to change his appearance and facial structure in order to simulate the human aging process. He is even made into a 70-year old man! Beat that!
Here he directs a scene in a fin de siecle brothel that was ultimately cut from "Citizen Kane." The original screenplay was censored by the Production Code Office for depicting Georgie as a madam and for setting a scene in her brothel. The scene introducing Georgie had to be rewritten, elilmating Georgie completely and replacing the prostitutes with dancing girls.
The camerawork of this film is excellent and should be the guide of our current crop of filmmakers. If your debut film is like Welles, you don't have to make another film. I bet you're going to be in history books if you are a genius like Welles!
