The ‘verbally-abused’ actress-wife

Suddenly, she’s missing from national television where she used to be highlyvisible, titillating especially the men with her sexy comedy, matched by seductive above-the-knee outfit.

Unconfirmed reports said that she’s infanticipating, happy and contented with her newly-found domesticity with a man (a celebrity in his own right) who, like her, has to give up his lawfully-wedded partner to live with her. A classic example of two people finding (true?) love the second time around in the arms of somebody else.

"She deserves all the happiness in the world, no matter how much it costs," said the Funfare DPA privy to both sides of the coin. "She has suffered more than enough verbal abuse; she has had more than enough."

According to the DPA, when the actress-wife was still living with her husband (also "showbiz" but not actually in it), she was martyr numero uno. Was it because she was financially dependent on her husband? She was supporting her family in the province and what she couldn’t take was when her husband would ask her sarcastically, "O, bakit nandito ‘yan; hihingi na naman ng pera?", everytime her mom or any member of her immediate family would come to visit. As you very well know, blood is thicker than water and it hurts if anybody, even your legal partner, hurls insulting remarks at your kith and kin, doesn’t it?

So she went back to work. Everytime she left home dressed somewhat sexily, her husband would taunt her, "O, maglalandi ka na naman, ano?" Masakit, Kuya Eddie, di ba?

And then she crossed paths with her present beloved and she saw her world turn – for the better, she felt.

"All she wanted is to live a simple, quiet life as a wife and mother," added the DPA, "she was willing to give up showbiz."

And that’s just what she’s enjoying now.

"Sana nga," mused the DPA, "she and her new man will live happily ever after."

Sana nga, sana nga!

Letter from Sydney

Here’s a letter from my friend Renato Perdon, updating Funfare readers on the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Sydney where Renato is based:

Dear Ricky,

Thanks for granting the Bayanihan News your permission to reprint your interview with Marilou Diaz-Abaya. I’ll send you copies of the newspaper.

I am writing to update you about the Sydney Asia-Pacific Film Festival scheduled here from Aug. 8 to 17 at the Dendy Cinema, Martin Place, Sydney. There would be two screenings of Bagong Buwan (New Moon) and the organizer is arranging for Cesar Montano to attend the festival. I understand that the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney is helping Montano plus another person (I am not sure if Sunshine Cruz is with him) to travel to Sydney for the occasion. Cesar will travel from Queensland, another state in Australia.

According to film festival joint directors Juanita Kwok and Paul de Carvalho, participating countries (as of this writing) include China (Uproar in Heaven, Happy Times, Sigh, and Quitting); Hong Kong (My Life as Mc Dull); India (Hearts Desire); Vietnam (Sandy Lives); the Philippines (New Moon); Korea (Friend and No Blood No Tears); Thailand (Tears of the Black Tiger) and Australia (Chinese Take Away and Peter Weir’s The Year Of Living Dangerously, special scheduled screening because it would be the 20th anniversary of the film). Aside from feature films, there will be short films made by Asian-Australians (hopefully one from the Filipino community?).

Seminars on the topics: ‘Australia/Asia Co-Productions: Who needs them?’ and ‘Asian-Australian Filmmakers: Staying at home or Moving Out?’ are also scheduled during the festival.

The following media release was issued by the organizers:

"Sydney Asia Pacific Film Festival’s program for 2002 will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Australia’s diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China with three feature films about contemporary China. The Festival will open with veteran ‘fifth generation’ filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s latest film, Happy Times, a bitter-sweet comedy set in urban China.

"We will present the Australian premiere of Quitting, the story of an actor’s rehabilitation from drug addiction by acclaimed director of Shower, Zhang Yang, and we will introduce the new trend of commercial filmmaking in China, with director Feng Xiaogang’s Sigh.

"Another great focus of the Festival will be Animasia. Japanese animation is world-famous, but we introduce animation from the rest of Asia, including Mc Dull, the pig who took Hong Kong by storm, and archival treasures from the Shanghai Animation Studio, including Uproar in Heaven, the classic story of the Monkey King.

"The contribution to Asian cinema by cinematographer Christopher Doyle will be celebrated with an exhibition of his photo-collages and a special screening of Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels.

"The Festival will also present the 20th anniversary screening of Peter Weir’s The Year Of Living Dangerously, set in Indonesia in 1965 (but filmed in the Philippines, if my memory serves me right). A question and answer session with the cast and crew will look back on representations of Asia in Australian film.

"New feature films in the program will include Bollywood blockbuster romantic comedy Hearts Desire, shot partly on location in Sydney, New Moon, the topical new Philippine release about Christian/Muslim conflict in Mindanao, the international premiere of the Australian documentary Chinese Takeaway, and a deadly double from Japan’s bad boy of cinema, Miike Takashi."

I hope Marilou will pay us a visit for the second time. I am also hoping that the Filipino community here will come and see the two screenings of Bagong Buwan.

With my best regards. Mabalos.

– Renato Perdon
Editor
Filipino Section
Bayanihan News
Sydney, Australia