Circle

RELIGIOUS movies and independent films made by Thomasian filmmakers were showcased in the fifth CineVita Film Festival last March 15 to 17 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium.

CineVita is the film program of the Varsitarian. It espouses film as a tool for meaningful expressions of life.

The festival was opened by Ikaw Ang Pag-ibig (2010), which was directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya and produced by the Archdiocese of Nueva Caseres and Star Cinema, ABS-CBN’s film outfit. The movie tells the story of how the family of a video editor, Vangie Cruz (Ina Feleo), struggles when her brother, Fr. Johnny (Marvin Agustin) is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. The family then seeks the help of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

THE SEVENTH USTv Awards for television were given out last February 17 amid what many critics admit is a general decline in the quality of TV programming and rampant commercialization of the broadcast media.

Father Rector Rolando de la Rosa, O.P. reminded TV networks that the recognitions were not intended to bolster their ratings, but to inspire shows that upheld moral values.

“The USTv award was not made for boosting the networks’ ratings, but to uphold Thomasian values through media,” said De la Rosa during the awards night at the Plaza Mayor.

“[USTv] also allows students to be involved with the media and contribute towards the improvement of the quality of local television,” Father Rector added.

ACTOR and matinee idol Piolo Pascual is at home in front of and behind the camera.

Pascual, who studied at the Faculty of Arts and Letters in the mid-1990s, takes photographs of the places he’s been in.

His nature photographs were exhibited in SunPIOLOgy, which ran from December 12, 2010 to January 12, 2011 at the Art Hall of The Enterprise Centre in Makati City. The photographs are still on auction on the SunPiology’s website.

“I love nature because it is exciting; it’s a matter of composition,” Pascual told the Varsitarian. “I got to feel better whenever I take photos.”

The exhibition raised funds for the benefit of Hebreo 12:1, a foundation Pascual established with his siblings. It grants scholarships to poor students.

A DAUGHTER of visual arts has finally come home.

After almost four decades of studying in Italy and Europe and becoming a wife and mother in the United States, Lolita Valderrama-Savage came back to the Philippines and displayed her paintings in her first one-woman exhibit dubbed The Art of Lolita Valderrama-Savage, which was held last February 9 to 21 at the Ayala Museum Artist Space.

Valderrama-Savage, a graduate of UST’s Fine Arts program, reintroduced herself to her homeland after being away since earning her degree and accepting a scholarship to the Academia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy.

THE CHANGES in the curriculum of the College of Fine Arts and Design have led to the demise of its fashion design course, which used to require a yearly fashion show organized by the junior batch. The last installment of that series was Cirq Regal, a spectacular feast of wondrous couture and theatrical apparel.

Cirq Regal was held last February 9 at the NBC Tent in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

“Not only is this a Quadricentennial event, but it also bears the 10th anniversary of our college and is the last of this annual tradition,” said event chairperson Kaye Sordan as she talked about the Advertising juniors’ fashion production, a requirement that started sometime in 1977.

CLASSIC Italian opera Cavalleria Rusticana was the highlight performance of the 65-year-old Conservatory of Music in a two-part show titled Opera Gala at the Medicine Auditorium last January 26 as part of the Quadricentennial week.

Selected scenes from various renowned musical plays such as The Barber of Seville, La Gioconda, and Norma were also performed on the second part of the play.

“The event was a milestone for the Conservatory,” said opera conductor and music professor Herminigildo Ranera. “Usually, these types of production are only done by professionals. Our students are very fortunate to be given this opportunity to perform in a major production.”

IN CELEBRATION of its 140th year and the University’s Quadricentennial anniversary, the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences opened a part of its vast visual art collection for public viewing.

The exhibit, Visual Color of Grace, which opened last January 7 and will last until January 29, features a total of 48 paintings by renowned Filipino masters and up and coming artists alike.

Among the wide selection of artworks seen in the show are those of National Artists for visual arts Fernando Amorsolo, Carlos “Botong” Francisco and Vicente Manansala.

Works of established artists such as Juan Luna, Galo Ocampo, Anita Magsaysay-Ho were also displayed, along with works of Thomasian newbie painters like Mark Ramsel Salvatus, Ivan Roxas and Ronaldo Ventura.

THOMASIAN multimedia artists introduced a breakthrough in Philippine cinema in the form of a full-length 3D animation film ,RPG Metanoia, one of the entries in the 36th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) last December.

Among the alumni who showcased their animation expertise were lead animator Paul Eliscupides and lead modeler Leon Enriquez, both products of UST’s Industrial Design program. UST Advertising Arts alumni Ana Katrina Pangilinan, Voltaire Cada and Alan Escio, Architecture alumnus Alexander Matias and Aylwin Velez, who studied information and systems management in UST, were also part of the production.

Enriquez and Eliscupides said the movie took four years to make.

ARCHITECTS who have turned to the visual arts and have made a name in the field is the focus of the exhibit, Architect Artists.

The exhibit, which runs from until April 2, feature eight architect-artists led by National Artist Victorio Edades, the founder of the school of fine arts in UST, and UST Architecture alumni Roberto Chabet and Agustin Goy.

Edades’ “Moro Lass” portrays a young girl in Muslim costume. His “Lady in Red” is a bright painting of a woman wearing a red Chinese costume.

His landscape painting, “Montalban Woods,” is an interplay of soft colors, while “Market Scene” evokes the chaos of a market place by contrasting the dark foreground with the bright background.

THE EIGHTH edition of the UST Christmas Concert last December 1 and 2 at the UST Chapel billed itself as a musical prelude to the grand Quadricentennial celebration next year. The concert lived up to its claim as members of high society and the rest of the audience were awed as the night was filled with a symphony of musical pieces that celebrated the yuletide season, somewhat of a herald to UST turning 400 next year.

The UST Brass Ensemble opened the show with Christmas Fanfare, a symphony of brasswind instruments woven into a medley of classic Christmas carols such as “Come all Ye Faithful” and “Joy to the World.”