MMFF announced the first 4 official entries to 49th MMFF on December 2023

Tweet

The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) announced on Monday, July 10, the first four officials entries for its December edition this year.

MMDA chairman Don Artes, who also serves as concurrent MMFF chairperson, said the four films were chosen by a committee headed by Jesse Ejercito whom he described as a respected producer and industry stalwart of the film industry.

The four officials entries were 

• “A Mother and Son's Story” which is produced by Cineko Productions and starred by Sharon Cuneta and Alden Richards;

• “(K)AMPON” starring Beauty Gonzales and Derek Ramsay under Quantum Films; 

• “Penduko” by Sari Sari Network with Cristine Reyes and Matteo Guidicelli as lead actors; 

• “Rewind” under ABS-CBN Film Productions starred by Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes.

"I thank the members of the MMFF Selection Committee for dedicating their time and effort in the thorough deliberation and selection process to choosing the initial set of quality films that moviegoers will surely love," said Artes.

Artes said the remaining four official entries to complete the MMFF 2023 will come from finished film submissions.

The deadline for the finished film submission is on September 29.

The 49th MMFF is set to run in December 2023 until January 2024

Art meets philanthropy: Globe partners with ATIN Global and SEE Global to battle hunger through Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Exhibit

Tweet

Globe has joined ATIN Global and SEE Global Entertainment in introducing "Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition" to the Philippines and Southeast Asia, using the transformative power of art to battle hunger.

(L-R) Yoly Crisanto, Globe Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer; Sabrina Co, Founder and creative director of ATIN Global Inc; Martin Biallas, CEO, SEE Global; Marlon Chen, Manila Symphony Orchestra Conductor; and Dr. Christie Monina Nalupta, Assistant Secretary General of the Philippine Red Cross

This initiative brings together the beauty of Michelangelo's masterpieces with a noble cause – feeding the hungry and providing livelihood programs to uplift lives. It comes at a time when an estimated 13.5 million Filipinos* continue to grapple with daily sustenance amid persisting challenges such as unemployment and the high cost of basic goods.

To support the cause, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to the Hapag Movement, a program spearheaded by Globe that leverages technology and brings together an ecosystem of partners to address hunger and unemployment through supplemental feeding and livelihood programs.

Together with Hapag Movement mobilization partners Ayala Foundation, Caritas Philippines, Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines, World Vision Philippines, and Scholars of Sustenance, Globe aims to address involuntary hunger among 100,000 families in four years to create social impact at scale.

“At the Globe Group, we believe that great art, especially this one, should be shared with everyone, particularly with our kababayans. We understand that not all of us can afford to visit Rome so this is one of the best ways of doing it,” said Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer at the Globe Group.

“We are grateful to have Globe as a partner for this landmark cultural event in the Philippines. Through this partnership, not only are we bringing historic art to Filipinos, we are also able to spread awareness about involuntary hunger and encourage our patrons to help,” said Sabrina Co, Founder and Creative Director of ATIN Global Inc.

Citing the depictions of hell and purgatory in Michelangelo’s paintings, Crisanto pointed out how they are similar to the torment that millions of Filipinos are going through due to hunger.

“When you see hell, when you see purgatory in the Michelangelo paintings, maybe you can imagine what kind of hell people who are going hungry in this country are actually experiencing. And that is why we partnered with ATIN Global and SEE Global because we want to be able to put in the hearts of the people the appreciation of great art, but also to use this exhibition as a way of helping our fellow kababayans,” she said.

The internationally acclaimed exhibition, which has toured over 100 cities around the world, from New York to Shanghai and London to Melbourne, features reprints of 34 of Michelangelo's most renowned frescoes, including esteemed works like "The Last Judgment" and "The Creation of Adam."

Visitors of the exhibition will be transported to the Sistine Chapel through an ingenious multi-sensory experience, with the frescoes complemented by ambient Renaissance music especially curated by Manila Symphony Orchestra conductor Marlon Chan, and subtle scents reminiscent of the era curated by Sabrina Co, Founder of ATIN Inc.

Guests are allowed to photograph these magnificent works of art and enjoy numerous selfie opportunities throughout the exhibit. An Art Room is also open for parents and children to bond over coloring images that will adorn the Art Wall. For food enthusiasts, Caffe Michelangelo is there to offer a unique dining experience with Italian desserts and coffees.

The exhibition will run from July 1 to September 30, 2023 at the Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Pasig City. Tickets can be purchased online or at the venue, with rates at PHP 500 for students, Senior Citizens, and Persons with Disability, P650 for regular visitors on weekdays and P750 on weekends, and PHP 950 for VIP Priority Access.

For tickets and more information about the exhibit, visit www.sistinechapelphilippines.com. Stay tuned for updates and announcements on Instagram and Tiktok @sistinechapelphilippines, and Facebook @chapelsistine.

Know more about ATIN Global via www.thisisatin.com. To learn more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.

*SWS, March 2023

Prince Retail Group partners with RELEX Solutions to automate inventory management and drive expansion

Tweet

Prince Retail Group recently announced its collaboration with market-leading supply chain and retail planning firm RELEX Solutions to automate demand forecasting for its 70+ supermarket stores nationwide. The technological investment by the homegrown retail chain strengthens its position to strategically expand its reach in remote areas across the Philippines.

Prince Retail and RELEX established the partnership in 2020, when COVID-19 peaked, and access to essentials was crucial. However, access to retail channels in rural communities in the Philippines has always been challenging due to regional infrastructure hurdles. Prince Retail’s mission is to close this accessibility gap. The pandemic's emphasis on the problem only pushed the retailer’s commitment to finding the means to reach and serve more marginalized people.

At the time, Prince Retail was also burdened with persistent supply chain challenges, which, if not resolved, posed a severe threat to the business’s financial viability. Demand forecasting was an entirely manual process, leaving teams with significant risks for error when internal variables and local developments such as lockdowns, shortages of raw materials, or adverse weather conditions occurred. Maintaining a steady and accurate inventory flow and optimizing operational costs in preparation for expansion was taxing, as almost every Prince Retail store was about 100 kilometers from the nearest port.

Implementing the RELEX unified retail planning solution enabled Prince Retail to maximize their resources and streamline operational costs and processes while improving service levels for even the most far-flung stores. The retailer’s forecasting and allocation teams can easily input and view inventory information on a single platform, including intricacies and constraints unique to a specific vendor or store. The result significantly reduces discrepancies brought by disparate, manual forecasting methods.

The platform, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), automates the complex and time-consuming decisions of calculating forecasts based on user data and harnesses machine learning to optimize predictions.

"Automating our demand forecasting helped us increase our availability by at least 10%, enabling us to flourish and deliver a better customer experience despite the uncertainties brought by the pandemic," shared Rina Janine Go, Chief Merchandising, Marketing, and Distribution Officer at Prince Retail Group of Companies. "The use of AI greatly supported us to improve our decision-making with data-driven insights that ultimately catalyzed our growth and enabled us to serve our customers better than ever before. It helped us seamlessly expand, even with an online channel and other initiatives to reach more customers who were struggling with where to buy their essential necessities.”

In 2021, the corporate group’s subsidiary Prince Hypermart partnered with the B2B application, “My Suki”, to launch an e-commerce app to cater to the growing number of digital customers, particularly the large base of resellers who source their goods from Prince. The unified tool for demand forecasting allowed the retailer to seamlessly integrate inventory for both online and offline channels in real time.

Prince Retail, which prides itself on being one of the organizations that quickly pivoted to digital when the pandemic happened, advocates digital transformation for other homegrown businesses due to its positive impact on stakeholders. "Agile digital transformation helped us to streamline our forecasting, better serve our existing customers, and even reach more of the market through our online shopping app—all contributing to the increased confidence and trust in our retail stores.”.

"I believe it’s also equally important to recognize that investing in technological tools that enable us to move away from manual operations increases the digital skills of Filipino workers, which are essential to being future-ready," Go added.

Stefano Scandelli, Senior Vice President EMEA and APAC at RELEX Solutions, said, "The collaboration with Prince Retail is a great opportunity to show how Filipino companies can take advantage of automation and AI to realize further growth. We are committed to helping more local retailers digitally transform their supply chains to remain relevant in today’s digital economy.”

-----------------------------------

About RELEX Solutions

RELEX Solutions helps retailers and consumer brands drive profitable growth across all sales and distribution channels by maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing operative costs. Our market-leading, unified supply chain and retail planning platform helps retailers and consumer goods companies align and optimize demand, merchandise, supply chain, and operations planning across the end-to-end value chain. We drive record-high product availability, increased sales, improved sustainability, and the best return on investment in inventory, space, workforce, and capacity Leading brands like Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, Coles, Siam Makro, Pharmacity, Delivery Hero, and Prince Retail trust RELEX to optimize their supply chain and retail planning.

Go to relexsolutions.com for more information.

Samsung Galaxy Z series returns, and there’s no escaping it: ‘Join the flip side’ season 2

Tweet

Find out more at Galaxy Unpacked 2023, happening July 26

Samsung Electronics has released a new global film as part of the “Join the flip side” campaign, providing teasers for the next generation of Galaxy devices expected to launch later this month at Galaxy Unpacked 2023.

Building on the first ‘Join the flip side’ video released last September, the new campaign video continues the campaign theme, calling on people to lean in to their fascination with innovation. In a fun and playful way, the videos showcase the unique ways foldables can be used and how they challenge everything consumers know about an ordinary smartphone.

The new campaign video highlights the perceived barriers people face when they consider stepping away from the status quo, despite seeing the compelling benefits on the other side. Through the campaign, Samsung invites consumers to defy the norm and to enjoy new and unique experiences on the flip side.

“The flip side itself is about more than just a device — it’s a way of thinking. A way of living. It’s a new and open world where better experiences are waiting for those willing to step beyond the boundaries of convention and try something new,” said Sonia Chang, Vice President of Brand Marketing Group of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “With the Galaxy Z series, Samsung provides innovation that defies the norms, redefining what a smartphone can do and stepping beyond conventional boundaries to open a new world of experiences.”

Join the Flip Side at Galaxy Unpacked 2023

Come along on our journey to discover an all-new Galaxy as Samsung is showcasing their latest technologies designed to open possibilities and transform lives.

Join Samsung Electronics on July 26 as they host the very first Unpacked in Seoul, Korea, a place where traditional culture and futuristic visions intersect to inspire global trends and game-changing innovation. The event will be streamed live on Samsung.com, Samsung Newsroom, and Samsung’s YouTube channel beginning at 8:00 p.m. KST, 7:00 a.m. ET, 4:00 a.m. PT, and 12:00 p.m. BST.

For the meantime, check out the the new ‘Join the flip side’ season 2 video uploaded on the Samsung Youtube channel and stay tuned to see how Samsung pushes the boundaries of innovation with the most carefully designed mobile experiences yet.

And as always, visit Samsung Newsroom for more upcoming teasers, trailers, and the latest updates!

Infinix invites you to #BringOnTheHOT30 with their new TikTok Challenge

Tweet

Summer never ends, all thanks to the Infinix HOT 30, the only 256GB smartphone under P 7,000! To hype up the hottest series of the year, people across Tiktok are invited to join #BringOnTheHOT30, a new challenge that will surely heat up your socials this season.

To kick off the challenge, various content creators have also joined the trend, including influencer Jervan Jervan, photographer Kelvin Mark Ulit, and beauty and lifestyle influencer Lenie Aycardo. The challenge is simple—to the tune of the new HOT 30 jingle, showcase the phone in fun and creative ways by highlighting its many awesome and value-for-money features.

The official #BringOnTheHOT30 song lists down the best features of the HOT 30 and why it's the new best budget lifestyle and gaming phone in the market. Of course, the biggest things the HOT 30 has going for it is the mega storage 16GB RAM and 8GB extended memory which helps your phone perform at its best, and the Helio G88 Octa-Core Gaming Engine for nonstop high-level gaming all day.

The song also touches on the 33W Fast Charge, which keeps the HOT 30 powered up and ready to go anytime, and how “sulit” the phone is thanks to the very accessible P7,000 price tag.

Get the Infinix HOT 30 now on TikTok Shop for under 7K pesos for a limited time only. Also available on Lazada, Shopee, and official Infinix kiosks and concept stores nationwide.

So what are you waiting for? Join the HOT trend of the summer and take the #BringOnTheHOT30 challenge on TikTok and share it with everyone!