2012 Metro Manila Film Festival winners

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"One More Try" was proclaimed Best Picture during the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival Awards night held at the Meralco Theater in Ortigas, Pasig City on Thursday, December 27. The awards night  was hosted by Kris Aquino and KC Concepcion.

Ruel S. Bayani's “One More Try” is a very unique family drama. This film shares a brave plot that tackles about a loving single mother  who is willing to sacrifice everything to save her ill son.

“El Presidente” was named 2nd Best Picture while “Sisterakas” won 3rd Best Picture.

Nora Aunor of “Thy Womb” the Best Actress award and Dingdong Dantes won the Best Actor award for the movie “One More Try.” 

Brillante Ma Mendoza won Best Director for "Thy Womb." 

Here's the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival complete list of winners:

Youth Choice Award: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Festival Float: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Sound: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Musical Score: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Theme Song: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Make Up: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Child Performer: MIGUEL VERGARA FOR "ONE MORE TRY"

Best Visual Effects: "SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL 14: THE INVASION"

Best Production Design: "THY WOMB"

Best Editing: VITO CAHILIG FOR "ONE MORE TRY"

Best Cinematographer: ODYSSEY FLORES FOR "THY WOMB"

Most Gender Sensitive Award (MAINSTREAM): "THY WOMB"

FPJ Memorial Award for Excellence: "ONE MORE TRY"

Best Supporting Actor: CESAR MONTANO FOR "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Supporting Actress: WILMA DOESNT FOR "SISTERAKAS"

Best Original Story: HENRY BURGOS FOR "THY WOMB"

Best Screenplay: "ONE MORE TRY"

Best Director: BRILLANTE MENDOZA FOR "THY WOMB"

Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award: "THY WOMB"

3RD Best Picture: "SISTERAKAS"

2ND Best Picture: "EL PRESIDENTE"

Best Picture: "ONE MORE TRY"

Best Actor: DINGDONG DANTES FOR "ONE MORE TRY"

Best Actress: NORA AUNOR FOR "THY WOMB"

For the New Wave: 

Full Length New Wave Best Actor: ALLAN PAULE FOR "DAYAK"

Full length New Wave Best Actress:  LIZA DINNO FOR "IN NOMINE MATRIS"

New Wave Best Picture: "THE GRAVE BANDITS"

New Wave Special Jury Prize: "AD IGNORATIAM"

New Wave Best Director: TYRONE ACIERTO FOR "THE GRAVE BANDITS"

Student Short Films Category

Best Short Film: "Pukpok" (DLSU)

Most Gender Sensitive Film Award: "Manibela" (FEU)

Special Jury Prize: "Tagad" (USC)



Special Awards

Gender Sensitivity Special Award (New Wave): "In Nomine Matris"

Gender Sensitivity Special Award (Mainstream): "Thy Womb"

Gender Sensitivity Special Award (Shorts): "Manibela"

FPJ Memorial Award: "One More Try"

Gatpuno Villegas Award: "Thy Womb"



Other Awards: 

Stars of the Night: Nora Aunor, former President Joseph Estrada

SMDC Male Celebrity of the Night: Zanjoe Marudo

SMDC Female Celebrity of the Night: Bianca King

Philippine holidays for 2013

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These are the regular holidays and special days for the year 2013 shall be observed in the country:

Regular holidays

• New Year’s Day: January 1 (Tuesday)
• Maundy Thursday: March 28
• Good Friday: March 29
• Araw ng Kagitingan: April 9 (Tuesday)
• Labor Day: May 1 (Wednesday)
• Independence Day: June 12 (Wednesday)
• National Heroes Day: August 26 (Last Monday of August)
• Bonifacio Day: November 30 (Saturday)
• Christmas Day: December 25 (Wednesday)
• Rizal Day: December 30 (Monday)

Special (non-working) days

• Black Saturday: March 30
• Ninoy Aquino Day: August 21 (Wednesday)
• All Saints Day: November 1 (Friday)

Additional special (non-working) days

• December 24 (Tuesday)
• December 31 (Tuesday)

Special holiday (for all schools)

• EDSA Revolution Anniversary: February 25 (Monday)

Two additional holidays will be declared in the second half of the year in connection with the observance of Eid’l Fitr and Eidul Adha. The dates for the said Islamic feasts, which are both national holidays, will be determined by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos based on the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations.

The anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power, which is commemorated every February 25, is a holiday for all schools only.

The declaration is contained in Proclamation 459 signed by President Benigno Aquino  on August 16, declaring regular holidays, special non-working holidays and special holiday for schools next year.

Proclamation No. 459

Celebrities share their favorite Disney memories

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Disney holds a special place in everyone’s hearts, young and old. And almost every year since 1990, the Disney on Ice show has captivated audiences from all ages and from all walks of life.

This year, Disney on Ice presents Princesses and Heroes, another spectacular show that will truly delight, excite, and enthrall everyone. Eight Disney Princesses, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Tiana and their respective handsome princes will tell the audience their inspiring stories through artistic skating and graceful acrobatics and prove once more that wishes do come true for those who believe.

Even for some of our local celebrities, a Disney on Ice show is nothing short of magical. From the elegantly-designed costumes, magnificent fairytale sets, and charming characters, this annual ice show is something they also look forward to. But the Disney on Ice experience does not stop with the show itself. “It’s been a long time since I last saw Disney on Ice...I was probably first year high school or grade six. I remember there was a flashlight, Minnie Mouse was what I got, na parang umiikot-ikot siya. And then there was a mug, and there was cotton candy!” says actress Iza Calzado. A Disney on Ice show can also bring you back to your memorable childhood years. “Oh I need to see Disney on Ice again!” Iza adds.

Singer-actress Karylle remembers seeing a Disney on Ice show when she treated a few lucky kids from her chosen charity. But when asked about her favorite Disney memory, she fondly recalls her serendipitous meet-up with her favorite princess, Cinderella. “I went to Disneyland recently, and I met Cinderella. I met her, and she asked me where I was from. I said I was from the Philippines, and she was like, ‘That’s a beautiful kingdom!’ so she’s now my friend. And then she told me to pose like a princess, and when I left I curtsied, and she curtsied back and I was like, ‘Hah, I’m a princess,’” she shares with a delighted laugh.

Miss Universe Philippines 2012 Janine Tugonon, on the other hand, could not help but admire the skill and grace of the performers when she saw Disney on Ice last year. “Sobrang gusto ko yung mag-partners. Sina Princess Jasmine and Aladdin, sina Ariel and Prince Eric, and yung others. Nanonood kasi ako dati ng mga ice skating competitions sa TV, so nag-enjoy ako panoorin yung ginawa nila dun. Nagalingan talaga ako kasi hindi lang simpleng skating yung pinakita nila; talagang may turns and lifts,” she says.

Already a mom of two, TV host Christine Bersola-Babao still treasures every Disney on Ice show she watched, from when she was a young girl until now. “Even when I was in high school, di ba meron nang Disney on Ice nun? Dinadala ako ng mommy ko. And we’ve been watching Disney on Ice when it’s shown here. You’re planting happy memories in a child’s mind every time you bring them to Disney on Ice,” she says.

Singer JM Rodriguez reveals that this favorite Disney Christmas hero is Scrooge. “I played the young Scrooge in a musical for Repertory. From watching Disney shows, I learned that wishes can come true if you believe, focus and work on it.”

Prepare to be enchanted by the lovely Disney Princesses and their dashing princes in this “ice-spectacular” show. Troop over to the Smart Araneta Coliseum to catch Disney on Ice presents Princesses and Heroes from December 25, 2012 to January 3, 2013. Tickets are available via TicketNet Online www.ticketnet.com.ph or call (02) 911 5555.

Disney on Ice presents Princesses and Heroes is a holiday presentation from the Araneta Center and Lactum. Major sponsor is VISA. Official transport partners are Philippine Airlines and H&M Transport. Official TV partner is ABS-CBN and FOX INTERNATIONAL. Other media partners are the Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Energy FM, Yes FM -Light Rock, Radio High, Guess Kids and Summit Media. Official Residence is Holiday Inn.

New ! My Net : WD ® Enters Wireless Home Networking Market, Ushers in New Era of Blazing Fast HD Entertainment Streaming

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My Net™ Family of Dual-Band Routers with Exclusive FasTrack™ Technology Accelerates Video and Games using Intelligent, Real-Time Entertainment Prioritization

WD, a Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) company, and a world leader in external storage and maker of the popular WD TV® media player family, unveil its first line of wireless home networking products for the family, designed to accelerate movies, video and gaming, delivering a premium high-definition entertainment experience for the whole family.

Upgrade your family home entertainment networking via WD My Net.

Accelerate your entertainment with new My Net HD Dual-Band Routers with with its FasTrack™ technology. WD unites family members with its My Net family of powerful and easy-to-use home networking products, with its FasTrack™ technology that instantly detects entertainment traffic on the network and fast-forwards it to gaming consoles, media players, smart TVs, tablets, smart phones, computers and other Wi-Fi connected devices. Family can now truly enjoy life, simultaneously watching TV, playing video games and browsing the net with your new and advance computing gadgets.

I was the lucky winner of WD My Net HD Dual-Band Router during the WD media launch last Thursday, December 13, 2012 held at the Boracay Hall of Edsa Shangri La Manila. Very thankful that I was invited to this great and informative event.  We are now enjoying the easy-to-use home networking product of Western Digital. We can now say that “It’s More Fun,” watching TV, playing video and browsing the net with My Net.

Western Digital shares us the importance of the data we trust to our drives. As they focus their passion, knowledge and innovation on products that reliably keep our information and content safe and secure from loss.

“With so many people within the home simultaneously watching movies, playing games and browsing the Web via their iPad®, iPhone®, Xbox® and other devices, the network demands placed on today’s connected home has grown exponentially,” states Jim Welsh, executive vice president for WD's branded products and consumer electronics groups. “Our successes in creating Connected Home solutions with our WD TV media players and personal cloud products have given us valuable insights into the network-overload problems of home wireless users, and entering the wireless home networking market offers WD an exciting opportunity to strengthen our Connected Home offerings that are aimed at enhancing the home entertainment experience for consumers.”

Accelerated Entertainment

According to Nielsen and NM Incite’s recent U.S. Digital Consumer Report¹, data from the fourth quarter of 2011 shows that 33 percent of consumers streamed a movie or TV show from the Internet through a subscription service such as Netflix™ or Hulu Plus™. Internet video services, multi-player online gaming sites, and live video chat services, combined with the explosive growth of tablets, smartphones and other devices that connect to the home network, have created a new model of home entertainment and Internet usage. 

With the industry’s only full line of HD dual-band wireless N routers, My Net customers can fully enjoy this new age of home entertainment. WD’s exclusive FasTrack optimization technology intelligently and automatically prioritizes Internet favorites like Netflix, Hulu Plus, VUDU, YouTube™, Xbox® LIVE, Skype™ and others, to create a smooth streaming experience in up to Full-HD 1080p quality. By using real-time analysis to maximize bandwidth for entertainment services, My Net routers provide a premium entertainment experience on any screen in the home that is connected to the router.  

Streamlined Setup and Ease-of-Use

The sleek hardware design of the My Net family of routers is complementary to the devices¹ friendly and intuitive user interface, which was designed by a veteran team of developers to enable quick router setup from wireless or wired devices such as iPads and other mobile devices, as well as PCs and Mac® computers. The streamlined router setup is designed to make it easy for novice users to be up and running in minutes, while also providing all the customization tools expert users crave. The included My Net Dashboard makes it easy for users to customize, monitor or change the settings of the network, including setting parental controls, Internet security, guest network access, network name and password, printer and scanner settings, and mapping storage drives, all in one easy view.

New Combination Router, Personal Cloud and Automatic Wireless Backup

In addition to getting a premium home entertainment experience with My Net routers, customers can centralize storage and backup for all the computers in their home, as well as create a personal cloud for their digital media and remotely access those files anytime, anywhere. Part of the My Net family, My Net N900 Central is WD’s all-in-one N900 router with an integrated 1 TB or 2 TB internal hard drive. Remote access to My Net N900 Central is available on any computer through www.WD2go.com and with WD mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch® or Android™ smartphones and tablets.

In addition to keeping content safe at home and always accessible while away from home, users can rely on My Net N900 Central for automatic wireless backup with the included WD SmartWare™ software for Windows®, while Mac users can utilize all the features of Apple® Time Machine® backup software. Additionally, any WD external hard drive with SmartWare software can connect directly to a My Net router to wirelessly backup all PC computers in the home.

My Net Router Family

• My Net N900 Central – The My Net N900 Central HD dual-band storage router provides accelerated HD streaming plus integrated storage for wireless backup and remote access. With FasTrack™ Plus optimization technology, My Net N900 Central delivers high quality, accelerated HD entertainment that is intelligently and automatically prioritized to ensure smooth streaming. The wireless-N storage router features fast wireless performance with speeds up to 900 Mbps (450 + 450 Mbps on the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands combined), as well as integrated 1 TB or 2 TB internal storage for automatic wireless backup. My Net N900 Central includes 4 LAN and 1 WLAN Gigabit Ethernet ports for up to 10/100/1000 Mbps wired speeds, 1 USB port for additional storage, printer and media share server use, and range amplifier antennas for extended range. Additionally, My Net N900 Central is Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certified for easy detection and connection of Wi-Fi devices.
  
  
• My Net N900 – The My Net N900 HD dual-band router also provides a premium entertainment experience for movies, games, video, music, video chat and more. The My Net N900 offers the ultimate performance for all connected devices in the home, even while streaming to multiple devices at the same time. The exclusive FasTrack Plus technology provides intelligent, real-time traffic prioritization for simultaneous HD and 3D media streaming and online gaming. The wireless-N router features high wireless performance with speeds up to 900 Mbps (450 + 450 Mbps on the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands combined) and also includes 7 LAN and 1 WLAN Gigabit Ethernet ports for up to 10/100/1000 Mbps wired speeds, 2 USB ports for additional storage, printer and media share server use, and range amplifier antennas for extended range. Additionally, My Net N900 is UPnP and DLNA certified.
  
  
• My Net N750 – The My Net N750 HD dual-band router is optimized to deliver multiple simultaneous HD media streams on the network, delivering accelerated video to all connected wireless and wired devices. WD’s exclusive FasTrack technology detects entertainment traffic and prioritizes bandwidth on the network to smoothly stream multiple HD movies, shows, games and more to connected devices. The router provides a combined data rate of up to 750 Mbps (300 + 450 Mbps) and features 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports and 2 USB ports.
  
  
• My Net N600 – The My Net N600 HD dual-band router is ideal for simple and fast web surfing and entertainment streaming with FasTrack technology for a smooth HD viewing experience. The router provides a combined data rate of up to 600 Mbps (300 + 300 Mbps) and features 5 Fast Ethernet ports with 1 USB port.   

Pricing

My Net N600	My Net N750	My Net N900
PHP 3,190.00	PHP 4,690.00	PHP 7,090.00

My Net N900 Central 1 TB

My Net N900 Central 2 TB

PHP 9,790.00

PHP 11,690.00

Availability

My Net N600, My Net N750, My Net N900, My Net N900 Central will be available at select retailers by mid of December. The My Net family of routers comes with 3 year warranty and is distributed by EA Global Supply Chain Solutions, Inc. and Iontech Technologies Inc. in the Philippines.

About WD

WD, a Western Digital company, is a long-time innovator and storage industry leader. As a storage technology pacesetter, the company produces reliable, high-performance hard disk drives and solid state drives. These drives are deployed by OEMs and integrators in desktop and mobile computers, enterprise computing systems, embedded systems and consumer electronics applications, as well as by the company in providing its own storage products. WD’s leading storage devices and systems, networking products, media players and software solutions empower people around the world to easily save, store, protect, share and experience their content on multiple devices. WD was established in 1970 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.wd.com.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC), Irvine, Calif., is a global provider of products and services that empower people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. Its companies design and manufacture storage devices, networking equipment and home entertainment products under the WD, HGST and G-Technology brands. Visit the Investor section of the company's website (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

More photos : Facebook/Enjoying Wonderful World

“Thy Womb (Sinapupunan)” is one of the 8 entries in Metro Manila Film Festival 2012.

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Another award-winning masterpiece of the celebrated independent filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza , “Thy Womb (Sinapupunan)” is one of the 8 entries in Metro Manila Film Festival 2012.

This film stars internationally acclaimed actress Nora Aunor, who is making a comeback in the movie industry. She play as Shaleha Sarail, a Badjao midwife in Tawi-Tawi. She struggles to cope with the irony of her own infertility amidst the deprivation of her community. A saga of island life stuck between the devil of passion and the deep blue sea of tradition.

The province is a seaweed-producing spot in the southern most part of the Philippines down to the Malaysian and Indonesian archipelagos. Aging and still smarting from three miscarriages in the past, Shaleha agonizes over her failure to bear a child. Though an adoptive parent to her nephew, she still feels that her husband Bangas-An (Bembol Roco) desires to be a father. To fulfill her husband’s only wish and to be blessed by Allah--in her belief that having a child is a tangible proof of divine grace--Shaleha resolves to find a new partner for her husband. Night and day, she and her husband sail from their floating village to nearby island communities in search of a fertile woman. Providentially, Shaleha finds the girl as recommended by friends. But on the eve of her husband’s second marriage to Mersila (Lovi Poe), jealousy gnaws and consumes Shaleha.

Thy Womb (Tagalog: Sinapupunan) is a 2012 Filipino drama film starring Nora Aunor, Bembol Roco Mercedes Cabral, and Lovi Poe. Produced by Center Stage Productions and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), the film is written by Henry Burgos and directed by 2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Director Brillante Mendoza.

Watch “Thy Womb (Sinapupunan)” to  be shown in theaters nationwide on December 25, 2012.