Former Assistant Julius Alfonso Makes An Impressive Directorial Debut In The Acclaimed Filmfest Entry About Death & Friendship, 'Dedma Walking'

DIRECTOR JULIUS ALFONSO is from Cotobato. In 1996, he started his work in showbiz as a script continuity coordinator for Director Joel Lamangan. He worked up the ranks and became an assistant director to Joel then to other directors like Chito Rono and Chris Martinez. In "Felix Manalo", he was the associate director of Joel in the filmbio of the Iglesia ni Cristo founder. On TV, he was Joel's second unit director in TV5's "Bakit Manipis ang Ulap".

Now, he is a full fledged director in the acclaimed Metro-Manila Filmfest entry, "Dedma Walking", starring Joross Gamboa and Edgar Allan Guzman, and his film is definitely quite an impressive work for a first timer. It is a testament to the friendships he made in the industry that so many name stars agreed to do cameo roles in the movie, appearing in the eulogy scene in the wake for Joross, who faked his own death so he can hear what friends and family will say about him.



Among the guest stars in the movie are Piolo Pascual, Eugene Domingo (all her lines are in French), Direk Joel Lamangan (what a riotous cameo), Carmi Martin, Iza Calzado, Gerald Anderson, Vin Abrenica, Wendell Ramos, Direk Marlon Rivera, Angelu de Leon, Marco Alcaraz, Sue Ramirez, Ricky Rivero, Matt Evans, and several beauty queens, among others. Don't leave the theatre right away as some of them appear in the end credits which also features some hilarious bloopers.

"This movie is about friendship and the friendships I made in showbiz are all also evident here," he says. "I really want to thank all the stars who came to support my directorial debut. Karamihan sa kanila, nang tanungin kung puede sila mag-guest, ang tanong agad is, kailan ang shooting?"

He's all praises for Joross and EA in the lead roles, which were first offered to John Lloyd Cruz and Dingdong Dantes who liked it but their schedules didn't allow them to do it. "I think heaven sent sina Joross at EA, kasi they're really good friends kaya perfect sila for the roles of mag-best friends who support each other through thick and thin. They fully committed themselves to the project and I can no longer think of other actors who could play their roles as effectively as they did. You can feel their wonderful chemistry together on screen."

And anyone of them can win best actor in the filmrest awards night at KIA Theatre. But most people think Edgar Allan has better chances as he has the more colorful role and he also has longer exposure because of the many splendid song and dance numbers he did in the movie.


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The Metro-Manila Filmfest Awards Night To Be Held At KIA Theatre On Tuesday Night. Here's Our Forecast As To Who Will Bring Home The Acting Trophies!

THIS EARLY, some folks are making their own fearless forecast on who the winners in the Metro-Manila Filmfest would be. The awards night will be held tomorrow, December 27, at the KIA Theatre in Cubao. In the best supporting actor category, we've heard the names of Robert Arevalo as Don Perico and Sandino Martin as the narrator, Bitoy Camacho, in "Larawan" as early favorites. How about Jake Cuenca as Lizardo in "Panday" since Phillip Salvador won for the same role some years ago? "Naku, masyadong over the top si Jake," someone tells us. "Obvious na pinabayaan lang siya at hindi kinontrol ng direktor nila. Mas ino-nominate ko pa si Raymart Santiago as the cop whose daughter becomes the victim of the monster sitsit in 'Haunted Forest'."

In the best supporting actress category, those mentioned are Celeste Legaspi in "Larawan", Dimples Romana in 'Dedma Walking' and Jasmine Curtis Smith who once again proves in "Siargao" the truth of the adage that there are no small roles, only small actors.

As best actor, sure to compete with each other are Derek Ramsay in "All Of You" (he has the most serious role among all the entries), Joross Gamboa and Edgar Allan Guzman as the best friends who are both leads in "Dedma Walking". But Edgar has the flashier scene-stealing role and he also has longer exposure because he does several musical production numbers as a gay performer who's part of the Crying Divas drag group, so mas llamado siya. How about Coco Martin in "Panday"? "Hindi naman pang-award ang role niya," says our source. How about Paulo Avelino in "Larawan"? "Sa totoo lang, siya ang weakest link sa major cast ng movie." How about Jericho Rosales? "Very very light ang role niya in 'Siargao', not the type that can give awards like his role before in 'Walang Forever' where he won."

As best actress, the top bets are Joanna Ampil in "Larawan" ('sobrang intense and affecting ang performance niya', someone whispers to us) and Jennylyn Mercado in "All Of You". Dawn Zulueta will be a dark horse in "Meant to Beh".

For best picture, "Larawan" is most everyone's bet. "It's a prestige project based on a work of a National Artist, so malaki ang lamang niya sa ibang entries at baka manalo rin ng technical awards including best music and production design," says an analyst. "Baka second and third best pictures ang 'All Of You' and 'Dedma Walking'. Sa best director, tiyak na maglalaban sina Loy Arcenas for 'Larawan' and Dan Villegas for 'All Of You'."

How about "Gandarrapido" and "Panday"? "Hindi naman sila ginawa to win awards but with the box office as the primary consideration, so mas gugustuhin nilang manalo sila sa takilya."
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Jasmine Curtis Smith Shines In An Effortless Performance In 'Siargao', A Film That Displays The Beauty Of The Island That's A Surfer's Paradise

JASMINE CURTIS SMITH was seen doing a dance number with some Kapamillya stars in ASAP recently, dancing to Ed Sheeran's hit song, "Shape of You", so some quarters quickly concluded that she must be transferring soon to ABS-CBN. "No, I'm just promoting our Metro Manila filmfest movie, 'Siargao', kaya ako nandoon," she says. "My co-stars Jericho Rosales and Erich Gonzales were also there for our movie."

We've seen the film in its premiere night at Trinoma and the best performer for us in "Siargao" is Jasmine. It's a short role, compared to that of Jericho and Erich who both have lengthier exposure. But Jasmine really leaves a memorable mark as the beautiful island girl who turns out to be Echo's one true love. However, they have difficulty accepting their feelings for each other so everything is so tentative.

We won't go into details so as not to spoil your viewing pleasure. But there's this one scene where Jasmine was really so touching while explaining why she cannot leave her life in the island. Jasmine's kind of acting is really effortless and she has shown this in the films for which she has previously won awards, like "Transit" and "Baka Bukas".

What can Jasmine say about some folks being alarmed as they say she looks anorexic? "Actually, nasaktan ako sa panghuhusga sa akin ng bashers. I'm sobrang skinny raw, parang natutuyot, malnourished. Well, I appreciate their concern for me, but I felt more depressed because of the way they humiliated me, shaming me and making me feel na napakapangit ko palang tao dahil payat ako. Actually, there's nothing to be alarmed about, kasi kumakain naman ako, even carbo like rice and pasta. It's just that I'm so busy doing work at home kasi wala naman akong househelp, so I do the laundry, the cleaning, the cooking and I have two dogs pa to take care of. Also, marami rin akong trabaho and I go to the gym. I even tried racing in Pampanga with my boyfriend (Jeff Ortega), so my body is just responding to all these strenuous physical activities. I also did a lot of traveling this year so nanibago talaga ang katawan ko. Okay lang naman maging concerned sila, pero huwag naman sanang sobrang vicious sa pamba-bash sa akin."

She wants to assure everyone that even if she lost weight, she's still feeling very much okay. "Kahit sinasabing sobrang payat ko, I'm still healthy, full of energy, and happy, so don't make me feel bad about how I look, please. One thing I realized in this busines, you gain weight, ang taba mo na. You lose weight, anorexic ka na agad. May kanya-kanyang opinion agad ang mga tao. Basta promise, I will take it easy so I can gain some weight soon, kung yun ang gusto nila."
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