Yesterday, I attended a special screening of Boy, the highest-grossing New Zealand film of all time and one of the films lined up for the New Zealand Film Festival 2012 at the Shang. The story is set in 1984 and revolves around Boy, a dreamer who loves Michael Jackson so much that he imagines his absent father, Alamein, to be just like the singer. When Alamein returns to reveal he’s been at jail for robbery, Boy has to face the man he thought he knew.

Boy is a simple yet well-written movie, which was written and directed by Taika Waititi, who also happens to play the father, Alamein. Indeed, he’s one talented man. It’s funny, it’s nostalgic, it’s beautiful… but more importantly, it’s honest and in a way is a perfect movie to represent to New Zealand (we all know that NZ has wonderful scenery, which was highlighted in the film). The visuals reminded me of those serene Japanese films that I love like A Gentle Breeze in the Village.

More than the tight script, the actors, especially the children did a wonderful job. I particularly loved “Rocky”‘s effortless yet heartfelt performance.

I had a chance to have a little chat with Mr. Andy White of the Embassy of New Zealand and he explained that the objectives of this film festival are to showcase the talent of the people working in their film industry and show the diverse culture of their country. All of the films are good, he said but if he were to recommend his favorites, he said we shouldn’t miss Sione’s Wedding and The Whale Rider.

A few days ago, I posted the first part of my tvN K-POP Star Hunt Philippine Finalists special feature and as promised, I’m back with part two. This time, it’s a video of the three, sharing their experiences and their talent! Yes, I asked them to sing and those kids are goooood! More than that, they know what they’re talking about so I didn’t have a hard time editing the video!

Smile! You’re on Kring’s camera!

Charlene, Rince and Charmaine talk about their training, explain why they want to be KPOP stars and even serenade you with their beautiful voices! Team Philippines FTW!

Watch the video after the jump

I’m not quite sure if you remember but last September, I wrote an entry here inviting people to join the tvN K-POP Star Hunt. I was one of the bloggers tapped by the network to help spread the campaign. Four months after, I finally got to meet the three Filipino finalists who represented our country in the said competition – Rince Cajucom and twins Charmaine and Charlene Albino.

Rince is a 19 y/o native of Nueva Ecija who is taking up Information Technology while Charmaine and Charlene are senior high school students from Miriam College. I remember Happee telling me about them as she was one of the judges during the eliminations.

Charlene Albino, Rince Cajucom and Charmaine Albino – tvN K-POP Star Hunt Philippine Finalists!

Yesterday, over hot chocolate, tea and iced mocha, the three shared with me their experiences in Korea while being trained under CUBE Entertainment, the talent company of B2ST, 4Minute and G.Na.

Kring: What did you guys do to get into the top 11?
Charlene: We’re a fan of Carrie Underwood and I sang Inside Your Heaven.
Charmaine: And I sang God Bless the Broken Road, originally by Rascal Flatts.
Rince: On the 1st round I sang Big Bang’s A Fool’s Only Tears and on the 2nd round, I sang an English song.
Kring: How about you, girls, what did you do on the 2nd round?
Charlene: They asked us to dance a short portion of Run Devil Run just to see if we can dance.
Kring: And can you dance?
Charmain: A bit *laughs*.