Instituto Cervantes invites to discover the work of four contemporary Spanish filmmakers

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

This April, Instituto Cervantes de Manila will screen online the work of four contemporary Spanish filmmakers. The film series "Del corto al largo" will be streaming two works (a short and a feature film) by each of the selected filmmakers: directors, Álex Montoya, Belén Macías and Juanjo Giménez, and the producer María del Puy Alvarado.

The films will be shown through the Instituto Cervantes channel on the Vimeo platform (vimeo.com/institutocervantes) and will be freely accessible for 48 hours from their start date and time.

The series, which comprises of eight films, will kick off on April 7, Wednesday, at 2AM with the online screening of Lucas, directed by Alex Montoya in 2016. Available anytime for 48 hours, the short can be watched for free and with English subtitles through this link: https://vimeo.com/519053672.

Enjoy the weekend watching the comedy Asamblea, directed by Alex Montoya in 2018. It is an interesting work of adaptation of the play “La gente”, by Juli Disla and Jaume Pérez, also screenwriters of the film. The emergence of assembly groups after the political movements after 2011 served their authors to cast a comic look at decision-making processes and the capacity for dialogue of the human being. The movie will be available on April 10 & 11, and will be accessible through this link: https://vimeo.com/518996347

The film cycle will continue on April 14, Wednesday, with Mala espina (2001), a short film by Belén Macías, which tells the summer story of a teenage girl who lives a huge conflict with her elders. Mala espina can be seen free on April 14 & 15 by clicking this link: https://vimeo.com/519059285

The same week, on April 17 & 18, Belén Macías’ feature film Marsella (2013) shows a dramatic duel between its two protagonists, Goya Toledo and María León, both in a true state of acting grace.

The third filmmaker on focus will be Juanjo Giménez. On April 21 & 22, Wednesday, Instituto Cervantes will offer the free online screening of Rodilla (2009), a short film about the world of soccer, the passions it arouses and the emotional universe that it means for many people.

It will be followed on April 24 & 25 by Juanjo Giménez's feature film Nos hacemos falta (2001), a peculiar road-movie that tells the encounter between different antiheroes.

Finally, the series will close with two samples of producer María del Puy Alvarado’s work. Her trajectory has touched almost every gender. A fine proof is given by the short film Pulse (2013), a thriller set in Ukraine but shot in Madrid, which tackles one of the many crimes that are unfortunately perpetrated around the world against adolescents.

The closing movie of the cycle, Antonio Muñoz Molina, el oficio de escritor (2014), will be streamed on May 1 & 2. With it, María del Puy Alvarado faced the proposal to produce a documentary about the writer Antonio Muñoz Molina, to give an account of the main creators of Spanish culture.

The films, presented by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with ALCINE, the Alcalá de Henares Film Festival (Spain), and the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, will be in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free. For further information on this film series, please check out the event page on Instituto Cervantes de Manila Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/events/355457229118138

For further information about the cultural program of Instituto Cervantes please log on to Instituto Cervantes’ website (http://manila.cervantes.es), or Instituto Cervantes Facebook page www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Lara Alvarez to ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong: 'I'll meet you again’

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Lara Pearl Alvarez' journey in The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition has come to an end, with the 24-year-old accountant being the third candidate to be given the boot.

"I do see that you are beautiful inside with the real warrior spirit," said ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. "But the business world is a dog-eat-dog world where only the strong survive."

"Instead of boxing yourself with your fears, doubts, and insecurities about what you're capable of and not capable of and staying in your comfort zone, until you learn to break free, it will be impossible for you to unleash your greatness. I know what it's like to be down and out, so I really empathise with you."

It was a heartbreaking moment for Alvarez, with her being given the pink slip over Team Valor teammates Sho Takei and Clinton Tudor.

But despite this being the end of the road for her in this competition, she believes that her path will eventually cross with Sityodtong again in the near future. "I'll make sure that I'll work hard and I'll meet you again," she said at the end of episode three.

Cryptic as the remark was, Alvarez vowed to make true to her words.

And she's already doing her part, working on her skills to do better on the business side of things. "Right now, I am working to acquire the business skills that I fell short in during the competition," she said.

The experience in The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, she admits, was an eye-opener for her, learning that if she really wants to be successful, she has to badly want to succeed in her goals. And working behind the shadows just won't cut it.

"I could have been more confident with the skills I had, I should've insisted on my ideas when they weren’t heard, and perhaps, I should have also taken bigger roles," she said.

Alvarez has been vocal of her insecurities inside the Boardroom which, to her, cost her spot in the competition as she constantly downplayed what she could have contributed for her team. And not even the change of scenery, with her moving from Team Conquest to Team Valor, helped her case as she fell into the same trap of being a mere follower.

It's this quality which made the most impact for Alvarez as she took the lessons she got from Sityodtong to heart.

"My biggest learning from Chatri is that for someone who wants to make a difference, he/she should have an unbreakable spirit, that no matter what challenges he/she faces, or whatever other people say, he/she must never lose the determination and spirit he/she had at first," she said.

Bitter was this pill for Alvarez to swallow, knowing that all of her sacrifices ended up for naught.

"To be honest, it feels like I have failed them for not winning the show. I believe it's just normal to feel such, but I have done my best and that I believe that there is a reason for everything," she said.

On the flipside, it also reunited her with her son, looking at her misfortune in a more positive light and quipped, "I was excited to see my son and family because I miss them so much and I had been longing to hold my baby in my arms again."

Still, the warrior spirit is evident in Alvarez who is driven to really "meet [Chatri] soon."

"I am still determined to be a part of ONE Championship someday," she said. "The first thing that came to my mind when I got eliminated was that I will gain the skills I lacked and I'll be back. I know that if I will do my best in my chosen career path, one day I will be able to meet him again and I will work for that day to happen."

That day can't come soon enough for Alvarez, although she hinted that she may be back sooner rather than later.

After all, she has reunited with the famed Team Lakay in Baguio and is training once again in martial arts.

"I'm starting to train again in martial arts, which is my passion. I went back to train with them immediately after I came home to Baguio City to stay fit," she said.
Does that mean that Lara will soon be trading her coat for fighting trunks? Never say never, she said.

"As of now, I am unsure if I have ambitions to fight in the cage, but we never know what the future holds. I'll keep on watching for new opportunities for me as I have no work to go back to since the hospitality industry is still suffering due to the pandemic. I am not closing my doors to life-changing opportunities and possibilities."

The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is showing across Asia on AXN, the show’s official Asian broadcast partner, with markets to include Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.



The first season of “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” consists of 13 episodes and will be seen in the Philippines on Thursdays, 8:50 pm on AXN cable network and on Mondays at 9 p.m. on One Sport.

PLDT Global Enterprise Receives Award from Alibaba Cloud for Esport Project

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

PLDT Global Enterprise, through its Asia Pacific team, recently received “Project of the Year Award” from Alibaba Cloud - the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group – further fortifying its partnership with the latter. 

In 2019, PLDT Global Enterprise and Alibaba Cloud collaborated to provide digital and cloud solutions for Esport matches during the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, ensuring athletes a seamless and world-class gaming experience. 

PLDT leveraged its wholly owned Ethernet Private Line (EPL) service—through its international cables APCN2 and ASE—to bring Alibaba Cloud’s computing services coming from its Point of Presence (PoP) in Singapore.  

With this, PLDT Global Enterprise received the “Project of the Year Award” from Alibaba Cloud for the successful partnership, as well as it being a national project with Philippines hosting the 30th SEA Games. This prize is from Alibaba Cloud HTK region that covers Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines.

Vic Tria, PLDT FVP & Enterprise Revenue Group Head, highlighted his appreciation. "We are honored to receive such recognition from Alibaba Cloud. We at PLDT Global Enterprise pride ourselves on being able to connect leading technology providers such as Alibaba Cloud to the Philippines while enabling them to capitalize on the country’s thriving digital economy growth.” 

Jeff Mendoza, PLDT Enterprise Asia Pacific Regional Head, projects an uptrend in cloud requirements in the Philippines. “This partnership milestone also marks the first Alibaba Cloud - PLDT Enterprise’s GTM collaboration in the Philippines. As the enterprise and public sector's cloud requirements anticipate an impressive growth trajectory in the country, we anticipate a stronger partnership with Alibaba Cloud while exploring other venues of cooperation,” he stated. 

Allen Guo, Country Manager for the Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, extended his well wishes saying, “We would like to congratulate

PLDT Enterprise with the ‘Project of the Year Award’. It has been a pleasure collaborating with PLDT Enterprise to speed up the digital transformation of businesses in the Philippines and we look forward to working together further in future projects." 

The PLDT Group has been at the forefront in providing digital solutions to support and strengthen the country’s ESport endeavors, which helps build capabilities of Filipino athletes and enabling them to globally compete. 

PLDT boasts of an extensive roster of clients and partners throughout the Asia Pacific, US, and Europe—making it the ideal partner for global enterprises looking to bring their businesses to the Philippines and other global markets. PLDT also owns vast international submarine cable assets spanning across the globe while complementing these with  globally certified data centers in the Philippines,  to serve the hyperscalers and global internet companies with their digital infrastructure requirements.