A Life in Film

Some of the best Filipino movies were created in the mid-1970s to the mid-80s when the likes of Lino Brocka, Ismael Bernal, Mike de Leon, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Peque Gallaga, Eddie Romero and Lupita Kashiwahara  dominated the directorial scene. 

Not surprisingly, the period also brought about the elevation of production design as an award category, in recognition of its role in setting the overall look and feel of a movie. Setting the gold standard for production design was Fiel Zabat, who worked on some of that era's most critically acclaimed films and won many awards for her work. 

The Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino recently awarded Fiel with the Natatanging Gawad Urian, the lifetime achievement honor, for her body of work. Manunuri stalwart Butch Francisco writes an extensive feature on Fiel's filmography and dishes out some juicy behind-the-scenes stories of the making of a number of Filipino film classics. ["Fiel Zabat: A Film Production Designer’s Production Designer"]

Meanwhile, the world is hopefully in the homestretch of the war against the Covid-19 virus and contributing writer Susan Araneta sums up the large role of Filipino health workers in various countries who were the frontliners in this, the most severe public health challenge of the century. ["A Virus Among Us: Filipinos and COVID-19"]

In Hawaii where many Fil-Ams won elective positions in the state legislature, long-time Honolulu resident and professor Belinda Aquino writes about the distinguished career Senator Donna Mercado Kim. ["State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim: A Household Name in Hawaii"]

The Happy Home Cook: Beer-Braised Pork chop from Rene Astudillo

Video of the Week: U.P. Concert Chorus sings “Simbanggabi”

In The Know

Jollibee Crew Emerged as Civil Engineering Topnotcher
https://gineersnow.com/engineering/civil/jollibee-crew-civil-engineering-topnotcher?fbclid=IwAR1nfMVZ_HLD4dV24nWfJNnI6aeX3C8wsE4WlFP5aN3YYtIPsrpVIoL585M

The first Filipino movie star in Hollywood is a woman
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/25/19/the-first-filipino-movie-star-in-hollywood-is-a-woman?fbclid=IwAR2C17OlTCi_65wDBgUHDfu1Y_nmeHiW_l39KID5hFRXOFKjSfLjr2vGjw4

Exclusive: Wesley So in the eyes of Lotis Key
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/drive/sports/12/09/20/wesley-so-in-the-eyes-of-lotis-key?fbclid=IwAR13BiP-1-J-oZDAmC8yQVA15mHd6La_tkU2mrd9zVs_-pFH-aogSi8xjK8 

These Prehistoric Plants in the Philippines Are Older Than Dinosaurs
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/cycads-ancient-line-of-seed-plants-grow-in-masungi-georeserve-a833-sa00171-20200709-src-spot?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20201206-fbnp-long-reads-cycads-ancient-line-of-seed-plants-grow-in-masungi-georeserve-a833-sa00171-20200709-src-spot-fbold&fbclid=IwAR0gzMw2-ALO1DXEpslZ6PKXSAAmm4DvvEvlQAaeuPCuYfzmy_cWOwSAruY

Marawi Before the Siege: A photo essay by Bobby Timonera, Mindanews
http://marawi-narratives.ateneo.edu/marawi-before-the-siege/?fbclid=IwAR0bMZkJFNF8JqlR1E9cqUMdxp6G6RMcwWMpNfoIFDuawN2nItNv2WnqwA8

Everything You Need to Know about Filipino Food: The Next Great American Cuisine
https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/filipino-food-guide/?fbclid=IwAR3xaGNcIzmL7cmbSbZ2iHSCrReJB9OKRythCa7qiyQPn0dsWT0Sc363mcA 

Introducing Isabel Sandoval: The ‘Lingua Franca’ filmmaker on her indie drama
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-09-07/lingua-franca-director-star-isabel-sandoval?fbclid=IwAR2Ss4ZDR6LnBlTARyAdlCOtEUyLt9O-5QR41dBIOa7jUALJI6tldzjILjk


Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Go Slow and Easy

It's going to be a slow and quiet holiday season this year, especially in the US, where the galloping numbers of covid cases and deaths have united health professionals and public officials (except for a minority) in pleading for people to stay home and forego multi-family gatherings and travel. 

So between Zoom, Netflix and doing the stuff that gets you from one day to the next, we hope you'll spend time to peruse the stories, hundreds of them now, that we have posted since we started Positively Filipino in 2013. PF, as you are well aware, is an online-only magazine, thus all our posts are permanently stored on the web, available 24/7/365 to anyone who wants to read them.

If you're a new subscriber, PF posts new stories every Wednesday such as today. Our target readership are Filipinos all over the world, aka the diaspora, and we try to reflect that wide variety of interests in the equally wide variety of stories that we curate. If you click on our site, http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/ and click on Collections, you'll see the categories of articles that we cover. For quick look-sees on what's happening in our global community, we have our In Brief section, https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/in-brief that capsulizes important news daily. For those who want to look beyond our pages, we have our curated In The Know links to interesting stories in other publications included in our Wednesday newsletter.

However you want to fit PF into your life, we thank you for reading. We are truly appreciative of your continuing support.

Our Stories This Week:

‘50s-Style McCarthyism Comes To The Philippines By Ernesto M. Hilario

Joe Mari Chan’s Enduring Heart Songs By Paulynn Paredes Sicam

Girl Interrupted By Cecilia Manguerra-Brainard

The Happy Home Cook: Holiday Pavlova By Jojo Sabalvaro-Tan

Video of the Week : Here's a new pandemic Christmas song from Fr. Manoling Francisco 

In The Know

[ANALYSIS] What can the Philippines learn from the US elections?
https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/analysis-what-can-philippines-learn-us-elections

1st Philippine-made Maya nanosatellite completes space mission, returns to earth
https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/1st-philippine-made-maya-nanosatellite-completes-space-mission-returns-to-earth/?fbclid=IwAR1DcmUPUM0lOnXFazJlvC65z3XVGFAV2x-L9iXAEzxl-FslDgvF89AjyI8

14 drive-by spots in and around Manila—for when you just have to get out of the house
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/travel/destination/12/08/20/15-drive-by-spots-in-and-around-manilafor-when-you-just-have-to-get-out-of-the-house?fbclid=IwAR2aJuQi4_szza7sQhdCGYojPNbSk6F94CRQzjgpGH5JgfcC50fAmXLaM_A

Filipino Immigrants in the United States
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/filipino-immigrants-united-states?fbclid=IwAR1Wot0dYhWAv1ikhMLJxcqKGtVxys0R4wB1YegJXigArEyxonXmBSW1sQU

What the lullabies we sing to our children reveal about us
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/12/what-the-lullabies-we-sing-to-our-children-reveal-about-us-feature/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Photography_20201204&rid=A6813A01D20D50942AFADAD6C6F1E549

Owner of stolen P10-million plant: ‘Alagaan niyo lang siya’
https://philstarlife.com/living/940897-the-p10-million-sansevieria-bg-regale-has-been-stolen-and-other-plant-heists?page=4

Here’s A Complete List Of The 46 Parts of A Filipino House
https://www.realliving.com.ph/lifestyle/arts-culture/here-s-a-complete-list-of-the-46-parts-of-a-filipino-house-a1618-20180821-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-RealLiving&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20201121-fbnp-lifestyle-here-s-a-complete-list-of-the-46-parts-of-a-filipino-house-a1618-20180821-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3gXfwZ5e6MjhFx7yuDpwNKoc74f-dnjAGcfVMYcpKzJJ_tLcpnraUCaQU


Gemma Nemenzo

Editor, Positively Filipino

Rays of Hope

The numbers are staggering.

Quoting CBS News, "The United States reported more than 4 million coronavirus cases in November, which is higher than the total number of cases seen all year by any country in the world except India and Brazil."

Why, in heaven's name, did this have to happen? The US is the richest, most powerful country in the world with access to the best, most advanced health technologies -- or so we thought -- yet it has been brought to its knees by the pandemic.

If the numbers are staggering so are the consequences. One third of the total number of nurses who died of Covid-19 are Fil-Ams; we imagine there are many more Fil-Am frontliners, not just in the health industry, who have gotten the virus.

Covid-19 is a formidable foe, blind and disrespectful to barriers and divisions (race, economic status, political and religious beliefs) created by humans. But, as science and human ingenuity have proven throughout history, it can be defeated. All of us just have to do our part in making it happen. ALL. OF. US.

Our stories this week offer rays of hope for sickness and health.

Critical Care Pulmonologist Learning New Ways To Save Lives, Improve Outcomes
Reprinted from the UNLV Medicine Newsletter

Ana’s Chemo By Bella Bonner

Of Chicken Wings And Chicken Feet: The Traveler In Today’s Trying Times
By Carolina Esguerra Colborn

Fil-Ams Among The Remarkable And Famous, Part 12 By Mona Lisa Yuchengco

The Happy Home Cook: Munggo With Ham By Myrna Montera Lopez

Video of the week: The Marcos Gold Wealth: Is It True?

In The Know

IATF allows balikbayans, foreign spouses to enter Philippines
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/11/28/2059979/iatf-allows-balikbayans-foreign-spouses-enter-philippines/amp 

Filipinos Nix Christmas Gifts, Netflix in Worst Regional Slump
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/filipinos-nix-christmas-gifts-netflix-210000136.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma

Flood adaptive home with floating garage withstands Ulysses onslaught 
https://business.inquirer.net/312260/flood-adaptive-home-with-floating-garage-withstands-ulysses-onslaught?fbclid=IwAR0xFaqLaHgLGCZr9hIRCl9fYR2Fdno4X0oTmTotdbqwSBFbOWCqP4eh4HQ

U.P. just keeps winning at life—with three triumphs reported in just one day
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/26/20/up-just-keeps-winning-at-lifewith-three-triumphs-reported-in-just-one-day?fbclid=IwAR2UkTdFXQpUxuQqguhT_GebE87eSyzZnBsRpKd8Fu797ItNJMjsj4XolEw

LISTEN: Nicole Scherzinger sings in Tagalog for first time in 'Pangako' cover 
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/music/nicole-scherzinger-sings-in-tagalog-first-time-pangako-song?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2suhyxOC0-Rtowa2tyI02tdGqk_ld1i6dosRc3V6lpjm1xbYzCF3-TIZY#Echobox=1606211284

A Comprehensive List Of Filipino-Owned Small Businesses To Support This Holiday Season
https://www.one-down.com/articles/a-comprehensive-list-of-filipino-owned-small-businesses-to-support-this-holiday-season