Umiyak Pati Langit is the first film I produced — a Filipino drama directed by Eduardo Palmos and starring Helen Gamboa, Janice de Belen, Joel Torre, Dante Rivero — some really amazing Filipino actors. I originally posted this in two parts and I’m reposting it today because today is my daughter Michelle’s 21st birthday and,…
Philippines
John Sayles Philippine American War Drama "Amigo" in US Theaters, heading to DVD soon
“At the turn of the 19th Century, the United States declared war on Spain. This conflict brought them to another nation, halfway around the world, where they decided to stay. PHILIPPINES 1900″ Thus starts the trailer for John Sayles latest film “Amigo”, a fictionalized account of the true story of the Philippine-American War — a…
Maria Aragon and Lupang Hinirang (and the director who drove me crazy)
I’ve been meaning to get around to this but the intensity of everything else having to do with Pacquiao-Marquez III kept from doing it until now. I have been fascinated for some months by the story of Youtube sensation 11 year old Maria Aragon, who –as by now everybody knows–posted a spare, delightful cover of…
Filipino Girl Band "Aegis" — More Cool Music the world should know…..
Freddie Aguilar is by no means the only Filipino artist on my short list of Filipino musicians I admire. I’m a big fan of Aegis, a Filipino girl band (sisters Juliet and Mercy Sunot headline it) who, like Freddie, bring forth music that seems to use an international vibe to create a “tunay na pilipino”…
John Sayles' Philippine-American War Drama "Amigo" is finally in US Theaters : Will this finally put the Philippine American War on America's historical radar?
“At the turn of the 19th Century, the United States declared war on Spain. This conflict brought them to another nation, halfway around the world, where they decided to stay. PHILIPPINES 1900″ Thus starts the trailer for John Sayles latest film “Amigo”, a fictionalized account of the true story of the Philippine-American War — a…
Daughter of Lawaan: "I Wish I Could Go Back to Those Times"
My project with my wife, “Daughter of Lawaan”, has bogged down a little recently because of our desire to go through her history sequentially, and that puts a certain pressure on the storytelling– but occasionally we have a spontaneous discussion that is better than ayhting we could do in an organized fashion, and that’s what…
An American Discovers Freddie Aguilar and the Hobbit House in 1986 Manila
A recollection of my first visit to the Hobbit House, the famous folk club in Manila staffed entirely by dwarfs, where I heard the great Filipino singer/songwriter Freddie Aguilar play, and met Jim Turner, the unique owner of this unique watering hole and folkhouse.
With Big TKO Win Over Sidorenko, Donaire Looking More and More Credible as Pacquiao Heir Apparent
The boxing blogs are buzzing this morning with discussion about “Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire’s 4 round demoltion of 4th round TKO victory of Ukrainian Wladimir Sidorenko in a battle for the WBC Continental Americas bantamweight title at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California yesterday. Donaire had Sidorenko on the canvas three times in four rounds…
Daughter of Lawaan Chapter 6: Village Life Under Martial Law
In the Philippines, a 14 year period of Martial Law began in 1972, and I was born in 1974, so I grew up under Martial Law until I was 12. There was great tension between the mililtary and the communist NPA rebels who opposed them, and this ended up affecting our lives in some very…
The Pacquiao Effect and Philippine Tourism
The Inquirer has an article that they picked up from the Cebu Daily News by Malou Guanzon Apolisok on the The Pacquiao Effect and whether or not it’s a good idea to have Pacquiao as the country’s tourism ambassador, as has been proposed in Congress. Having spent some considerable time and effort back in the…
Videos of Old Manila
I wrote a post over the weekend on the Philppine American War, and this got me to thinking (and hence googling) looking for videos of old, colonial Manila. Here is a compilation of the videos I found. Great stuff.
Philippine-American War: The War They Don't Teach in US Schools (Scroll down to view documentary)
As an American I was never taught anything whatsoever about the existence of a little thing called the Philippine American War. This is a part of American history that, for whatever reasons, our American History courses in school tend to ignore, and which in America is only known about by diplomats, academicians, journalists, and people who have a connection the Philppines.
5. Earliest Childhood, Two Near Tragedies
Growing up as I did in our tiny seaside village, no electricity, no roads, no running water — i could never have, even in my wildest possible dreams, imagined where life’s journey has taken me. But I want to make sure that I never forget where the journey started, and how I grew up in a world so different from the one I am part of today…..
Filipino Pride: Lawaan Theme Song
The gentle charm of the Philippines never ceases to produce moments for me that are very special. I was just roaming on the net and found a very cool little website — Lawaan.com — which is a website about Rena’s hometown and while there I found this — a theme song for the town. Now…
Pacquiao-Margarito: What We Can Learn From The Humility, Empathy, and Grace of Manny Pacquiao
Another Pacquiao fight — another drubbing of a much larger opponent, and Pacquiao’s legend as a boxer grows. But the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito produced not just a memorable pay-per-view experience worth every penny of the $64.95 it cost — it produced, for this observer at least, moments of clarity that helped…
Surviving "Umiyak Pati Langit" — My First Movie
A dispatch from the “Trenches of Indie Film Warfare”…….
Remembering My True Friend Rufo Balicas
Reprinted from MichaelDSellers.com One of the great icons of Philippine film-making and a true friend of mine has died. Rufo Balicas is gone. Every time I hear some contrarian talk about how Facebook seems to be a waste of time I find myself getting just a tiny bit angry — because it’s thanks to Facebook…
2. Daughter of Lawaan: Origins of Lawaan
by Michael D. Sellers To understand the world that Rena grew up in, it helps to understand what that world evolved from. So she has agreed to let me write a page on the origins of Lawaan, and one on the Philippine American War and American colonial period in the Philipplnes to set the stage.…
1. Daughter of Lawaan: Before We Begin
Foreword by Lorena Sellers I was born Lorena Llevado, the daughter of Tarcila and Loreto Llevado. I grew up in the seaside barangay of Guinob-an, municipality of Lawaan, in Eastern Samar, Philippines. At 19 I left home and went to live in Manila–and then when I was 21, I met an American named Michael Sellers…
Good Friday in the Philippines Is a Complicated Event
Today is Good Friday, which means if you google “good friday philippines” you’ll come up with hundreds of stories about the annual ritual in which dozens of Filipino Catholics are nailed to the cross (real nails, right through their hands) in a reenactment of Jesus’ suffering.
"My Way" Karaoke Killings in the Philippines
Various news outlets are reporting that Philippine authorities have identified approximately a dozen ‘karaoke rage’ killings in the Philippines over the last decade that were triggered by the singing of the Paul Anka penned Frank Sinatra hit “My Way”. As a result of this, they say, many establishments have taken “My Way” off the menu of songs available to sing in Philippine karaoke bars.
60 Minutes to Do a Piece on Pacquiao
ccording to Top Rank President Bob Arum, the longrunning CBS news icon 60 minutes will begin taping a segment on Manny Paquiao this week, following the Filipino pound-4-pound king as he trains at Freddie Roach’s Wildcard Gym in Hollywood in preparation for his March 13 bout with tough Ghanian Joschua Clottey in Jerry Jones’ Cowbody Stadium in Dallas.
Website is Up For My First International Film — Goodbye America
Remembering the production of Goodbye America, a film about the closing of Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines in 1992 starring James Brolin, Michael York, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexis Arquette, Corin Nemec, and John Haymes Newton.
Does a History of American Betrayal of the Philippines Have Anything to Do With Manny Pacquiao's Resistance to Mayweather's Demands?
It’s worth giving consideration to the possibility that a century of American betrayal and bullying of the Philippines may have had much to do with Manny Pacquiao’s unwillingness to bow completely to Mayweather’s demands.
Surviving Umiyak Pati Langit – My First Film (Part 2)
here are times in life when the ridiculousness of what is going wrong rises to a level where you just have to shake your head and grimly hang on. This was one such a moment. I could feel the blood rushing to my head as I thought about the financial train wreck that was about to happen — but the more immediate problem of getting Lorna to the hospital provided a sort of respite. Sometimes there are things that come along which just pretty much demand your full attention — this was one.