Anyone with interest in acting and directing? If you do, here's your chance to learn from one of the best directors in the country as Director Brillante Ma Mendoza holds his film workshop. So visit Center Stage Production and have yourself register for an intensive workshop in acting and directing.

To give a sneak peek of the director's achievement, well he just won Best Director for his film Kinatay at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival and his film Lola just won an award for Best Film at the 6th Dubai International Film Festival in addition he just made sixteen films since 2005. Now will you let this opportunity pass? Well, if not here are the details below.

The Brillante Ma Mendoza Film Workshop 3 (BMFW) which is a 7 days intensive training will start on March 28 up to April 3, 2016 at the Center Stage Productions located at 947 Busilak St. Barangka Drive, Mandaluyong City.

For the ACTING WORKSHOP (FOUND ACTING), it will be a seven day intensive workshop that will run from 9AM to 5PM which is inclusive of lunch and afternoon snacks. This workshop is so intense that participants will be expected to act in the short film that will be made by the directing work shoppers at the end of the training. 

For the DIRECTING WORKSHOP, participants will have an introduction to Cinematography, Production Design and Editing. Of course this is also a seven day intensive workshop that will run from 9AM to 5PM which includes lunch and afternoon snacks. What's more interesting is that participants will be expected to come up with a short film at the end of the workshop and participants from the acting workshop will be the stars of the short film. Of course participants should have their own laptop for editing purposes.

So get ready and mark your calendars, register and learn from the best.

Another great year! Not only for me but for Max's Restaurant as well because this year they have presented their new Ambassador.  A new face for all Max's Restaurant diners.  According to Max's officials, when they did a research on who's the most popular celebrity as of this generation, guess who's on top of the result?  Well, it's none other than Coco Martin.

"Coco captured our attention because of his life story.  In a lot of ways, he shares values that are inherent to Max's - passion for what you do and love for the Filipino Family. This is how Max's story unravels everyday," shared by Edgar Allan Caper, Marketing Director for Max's Restaurant.


During the media launch, Coco Martin constantly saying that "At home ako dito sa Max's Restaurant". Why? Well, there's a good reason for that and based on Coco's story he was once a Max's Restaurant's server (waiter) way back when he was in College and that was at Max's Fairview.  His experienced at Max's was very memorable for him and that's where everything started.  He was discovered by a talent Scout of the leading television network in the country while he was serving the all time Filipino favorite Max's Chicken.  It was a great opportunity for Coco.  From then on, he auditioned and explored the world of acting as a profession, although he finished first his studies before taking it full time.


On the other side of the story Max's latest TV Commercial which features its newest brand ambassador was filmed by no other than the award winning director Brilliante Mendoza.  "We prepared for this project by really understanding the message of Max's.  We want to translate this through a stimulating story that communicates the parallelism of Max's heartwarming story with Coco's own struggles and successes.  This is my first time to collaborate with Max's and Coco for a TV campaign and I feel honored to be part of this project," said Mendoza during an interview.

Well, it seems that it's not only Coco Martin who once been part of the Max's family but also Director Brilliante Mendoza.  Take note he was a Production Manager.  Now take a look at them and they are now back with Max's Restaurant as an Brand Ambassador for Coco Martin and as the Director of the latest TV Commercial of Max's.

Max's TV Commercial opens with Coco, casually talking about his life journey while delectable images of his favorite Max's meals are dramatically invade the senses.  Viewers also get a cinematic feel as Coco reveals the challenges that he had to overcome as an actor and the path that he chose in order to achieve success. This message was explicitly conveyed in the commercial and validates why Coco Martin was chosen to be part of the roster of Max's growing family of brand ambassadors.


"Hard work reaps its benefits. This is the parallelism between Coco Martin and Max's. We believe that just as Max's sarap to the bones fried chicken is the perfect pair to any occasion  Coco Martin is also the perfect match for Max's", Caper said.

Watch for the TV Commercial of Coco Martin and see how he conveyed Max's through his life.

Films has indeed been a great tool of portraying the truth about facts that has been off to others.  It has help people widen their perspective and understanding.  Making every viewers realize things out of the ordinary.

Recently, I was invited to a bloggers' conference of one of the of Filipino movie which was created and directed by Brillante Mendoza. The movie is entitled “Captive” which is an adaptation of the Dos Palmas kidnapping of two US missionaries by the Abu Sayyaf Group that happened in 2001.

According to Brillante Ma. Mendoza, director of the Captive, the making of the film was treated as a single real event. The script was based on intensive research on certain kidnapping events and where they actually happened, and the testimonies of survivors, captors, the military and others who witnessed and/or were part of the crisis. About 25 percent of the film consist of fictional elements which was mostly characters and scenes for enhancement and dramatization purposes.

Brillante Ma. Mendoza further illustrate how the film was done and even tells their stories while filming the movie.  Lots of preparations  and researches was made before making the movie. The casting, the ocular, and even small details were gathered thoroughly.  Even the title, they have been through a number of deliberation just to have the exact title that will give impact to movie goers.

He also states that “Captive is about self-preservation, about survival in the face of hardship and situations beyond one's control.


Next, wait for the movie review on "Captive".