MY FAKE AMERICAN ACCENT at Robinson’s Galleria Indie Sine

It’s a limited screening, we’ve been invited to participate in the Active Vista by the DAKILA organization to be held Nov 26- December 2 at the Indie Sine, Robinson’s Galleria in Ortigas Center.

Watch out for the time sked on this same site, or google Active Vista Film Festival. This is for those who’ve been emailing where they can get DVD copies of the film, where they can watch it after the Cinemalaya 2008 film festival, we are eager to see you at the movies. Incidentally, this is the first time it will screen in a commercial cineplex setting, being that CCP has theaters and UP cine adarna is a specialty screening place. Will post updated message here ASAP.

TV Premiere of “trabaho” November 18,2009 9pm on TV5

LOOKING FOR ILONGGO ACTORS

The producer of My Fake American Accent, Endo and Trabaho will be interviewing potential actors in Iloilo City this weekend, November 14 and 15. We are looking for male and female actors who are able to pass off as 16-21 years old for the lead roles in an independent film shooting in Iloilo on January to February 2010. Previous acting experience not necessary, preferably based in Iloilo. Those interested may text 0917-3398951 for an interview schedule.

TV Premiere of “My Fake American Accent” this October 28, 2009. 9pm, Wednesday on TV5

Keema Keema

I once said that Pasig and its environs has its many endearing nooks. And I discovered another one just recently. Keema Keema opened middle of this year and is a cool spot in the urban jungle in the fringes of EDSA. Pioneer near Legend Hotel to be exact. You will have to open your eyes to find the gate it shares with several establishments, a Kettle Corn stall marks the spot. It’s funny that I pretend I’m in bora when I’m inside Keema Keema, but there’s usually a breeze there…or maybe it’s the dance medley piped in. Go figure.

Okay, so you immediately turn red even before you taste Keema Keema’s secret sauce because its crimson walls envelope its customers. Then your face will probably turn red also from the Strawberry Gin Juice. I didn’t get plastered by sharing shots of these with three people, but that’s me. I’ve had ample practice hehe. Great thing they have their own comfort room (with tissue paper hurray!), so one can dump the premature buzz in there before facing the next … pitcher.

Ooops, I was getting to the food, after all its name is Keema Keema (very Pinoy name, like Let Let, Bing Bing, Pot Pot, just kidding). I have always been partial to keema during food trips in Morato and West Ave. strips. I can even whip up my own keema dish with beef, tomatoes, eggplant, onions and lotsa pepper plus garlic-mayo sauce which I had at one of those restos then invented from taste-bud memory in our kitchen—Mom always requests for this on Sunday get-togethers. Of course, not wanting to be a copy cat of the other restos, Keema Keema’s version has keema ground beef atop pita triangles. The base flavor of this dish is surprisingly semi-sweet, but paired with the secret spicy sauce, surprises the palate. Next, the khebav which is really flavorful and juicy as is. Some might prefer it with the spicy sauce of course and rice. I prefer this with pita bread because it balances the flavors of spice, succulent beef and a hearty pita bread.

Then there’s their Ox Brain. After my first bite of this, I immediately dubbed it “Oks Brain”, referring to its taste as buttery and not mushy, and not overdone and over-seasoned, it’s just right. But if I had it all to myself, that would’ve been bad, so it was shared by three people. As customary when I go to new places, I looked at the other diners seated very close to us, making the place truly a cozy nook even on rainy evenings. The others are very animated and depending on their alcohol intake would be laughing and chatting, or bouncing to the most dance-able tunes. All smiles, no poker faces, hehe. Oh, and it’s very comforting to know that if ever I didn’t want to share the ox brain, there would be a nurse or two within arm’s length to take my BP. The place is near the VMC hospital on EDSA, where I suppose the nurses work at.

This blog is just the beginning of trips to Keema Keema. They’ve got curry dishes and I love curry! I know I’ll be pairing my food next time with a bucket of local beers. Or better yet, a shot or two of Jager, which is really as herbal as herbal can get, according to me and my cousin. So if you want to hang out with me at Keema Keema one of these nights (they don’t open till 5 or 6pm), text text! We’ll hangout, hangout. And talk talk.

(Photo courtesy of Edong)

Unauthorized selling of My Fake American Accent’s poster

So, yes we do google our movie title often, and it’s highly recomendable that you do this because this month we found out that a movie internet site was selling our posters without due permission from us for up to 60 dollars. It’s based in the US. So what I immediately did was send the site an email demanding that as the producers of the film, we instruct them to take it off their site and quit selling.

This comes at the heels of the movie’s 1st yr. anniv and its theatrical release, which have been occasions for celebration for us. We have always worked after the Cinemalaya festival last year to protect this movie’s integrity. A not so simple task that we do simply, in between our day jobs. And so I waited for a response to my email from that company that accepts payments thru Paypal. I’m so de-stressed today after finding out it is no longer available there.

So to those newbie filmmakers take note, you don’t have to suffer stress unnecessarily if something like this happens. Yes, you might think being civil and friendly with everyone will get you places, but once you have created something of value, an art, and people have the gall to grab it from you and take you out of the equation, do something about it.

This was in Philippine Star last week. Thanks to Mr Butch Francisco

A call center agent’s life STAR BYTES By Butch Francisco Updated July 09, 2009 12:00 AM Photo is loading… In the not so distant past, only prostitutes, sentries and those in the medical profession worked nights. Then suddenly there is this new culture where there is happy hour in beer joints at 6, 7 in the morning — all because of the mushrooming of call centers in the metropolis. After working the graveyard shift where they get all sorts of verbal abuse from irate callers, call center agents just want to relax, unwind and take out all the stress before calling it a day or night — I don’t know, their body clock must already be so confused, no thanks to their erratic schedule. Quite recently, Robinsons Galleria screened for a week or so the indie film My Fake American Accent, which was an entry in last year’s Cinemalaya. Directed by Ned Trespeces, the movie is about life inside those call centers — how the employees operate and what miserable lives they have there (or so the film depicts). Those young people who have worked or are still slaving it out in call centers as you read this may not agree with the portrayal of some of the characters in this new profession, but we should remember that not all offices are the same and people face different situations even if they belong to one profession. In My Fake American Accent, we only see a group of call center agents who work in one department as a team and that is enough representation for me because if the writer and director aspired for more than that, the film would have been unmanageable. As the movie progresses we get to know each character one by one, but only on the surface since not everyone is provided with a backstory because if they did that, the film could just go on and on. And so there is Eric (Jonathan Neri), the newbie, who is just learning the ropes. He doesn’t really have a tough time because his teammates are supportive and they work as one — covering up for each other’s lapses even. This is a nice touch because that makes My Fake American Accent some sort of a feel-good movie in spite of the tension all around — what with irate callers complaining and even screaming at them at most times. They’re a team and they rally behind each other. We also meet Astrid (Tracy Abad), who trained to be a writer, but works as a call center agent. In journalism, people say that those who can’t write teach (not necessarily true because Jullie Yap Daza wrote, taught and later even hosted her own TV show). In the case of Astrid, obviously she can write because she is a Palanca winner. But really, is there money in writing? Apparently, working as a call center agent is more lucrative and so she sticks it out there — for the moment, so she hopes. We do get the point, however, that the call center people are better paid than most other new graduates and it’s a good option if you want to earn good money. Astrid bonds well with Samp (Cherry Mae Canton), who is a funky dresser and rebellious. There is a surprise twist in the middle of the story concerning her and her supervisor. It may not be all that important a revelation, but it works well. Then there’s Buster (Miro Valera), who — like most other young people — work hard to keep up with the latest trends (expensive shoes and the like). What happens to him in one part of the movie shows the risks involved for those working the night shift. The most challenging role is actually given to Martin de la Paz, who is called Meryl by his colleagues. He is Meryl because he can do accents — the way Meryl Streep does in Sophie’s Choice, Out of Africa and A Cry in the Dark. As the team’s biggest asset, he is extremely overworked and is hardly allowed to take a day-off. As a result, he burns out easily. Martin gets to display a wide range of emotions as Meryl and he is excellent in his every scene: Being utterly professional even in the face of the most unreasonable customer (the expression on his face and the tone of his voice show it all — correctly and very realistically). He is most effective in that sequence where he is being bratty — yes, that part where you don’t even see him, but only hear him on the phone. “Ayoko nga!” (“I don’t like!”) — he barks to his boss who begs him to return to work that instant. The inflection is perfect. Among his best scenes are those with his team leader, Joanna Seva, played by Mailes Kanapi. Now, I’ve always been fascinated with this actress who played Tonya in the stage version of Insiang some years back. I didn’t see that, but I was very impressed with her when she played the co-worker of Ina Feleo in Endo — to the point that I had her name researched so I could put in a good word for her in my review of that 2007 Urian Best Picture nominee. In Endo, she is cast as a lowly worker, but in My Fake American Accent, she is the high-strung boss who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Her character may border on the caricature, but she is disciplined enough as an actress and is able to control herself before she goes overboard. And when it comes to versatility, nobody can beat her in this department. The characters we meet in My Fake American Accent show us the people who man those call centers and how stressful life is for them. While the viewers get entertained with the film’s narrative (and it helps that it is technically superior: The editing, photography and music), we also learn to be more understanding and tolerant of call center agents who take in our complaints about defective products and inefficient service. While not necessarily a propaganda, My Fake American Accent is pro-call center. Maybe it really opted to strike a balance to show both sides — the call center operations and those calling in to lodge their complaints — except that this is not an epic that can explore all angles. Sure, I said earlier that I am already happy with that small fraction of call center life shown in My Fake American Accent, but they did miss out on something very important — the voice of the dissatisfied consumer. Now, I admit I am one of those bastards who give call center agents hell when my phone company bills me incorrectly, my Internet service malfunctions (which is often) and the ATM machine is always off-line (a six-year war I’ve been having with my bank). I am a tough customer to deal with because I know I am entitled to good, quality service and when I don’t get that I raise a fuss and demand to be heard. But what do you know? The call center agents don’t listen and don’t give a hoot about the complaining party (again, as shown in the film and I am inclined to believe they did research prior to production and that was what they saw). Of course, the call center agents try to take in information and see what they can do, but they really just let us go blah-blah-blah until we get tired and exhaust all pent-up emotions. If you watch My Fake American Accent, the whining customers are bad people who should be flushed down the toilet. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed watching My Fake American Accent because it is an engrossing movie. But how I wish the customer side — especially those who were screwed up by unscrupulous manufacturers — also got their day in court. Truthfully, my heart bleeds for the call center agents because these are just kids who simply want to earn a living. But apparently, something is wrong with the system — with the consumers again at the losing end. Wonder no more why service in this country keeps deteriorating. View previous articles of this column. Article Options

MY FAKE AMERICAN ACCENT begins its week-run this June 17,2009 at the Robinson’s Galleria Indie Sine in Ortigas Center, 3 pm onwards

DIRTY KITCHEN PRODUCTIONS

DIRTY KITCHEN PROD.

Maikel and me entertained at the Urian, CCP

smiling as if our loads have been lifted off our shoulders, we celebrated maikel cardoz’s nomination in the shorts category. we are both reading again!!!