Tags: Department of Foreign Affairs The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) conferred the “2013 Best Organization Award” to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for its outstanding achievements during the 115th DFA Foundation Day in Manila on July 31. Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya received the award from Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario. The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is one of only three DFA units to receive the prestigious award. The two others are the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, Syria and the DFA Office of Fiscal Management. “This award is most meaningful as it is a recognition of the collective efforts and hard work of the members of the Philippine Embassy team to serve our Filipino community members to the best of our abilities and to further enhance bilateral partnership with Malaysia and the Malaysian people”, Malaya said in a news release. The DFA cited the Embassy for its “outstanding performance, dedication and commitment to excellence by the embassy officers and staff which exemplify the mission and vision of the Department of Foreign Affairs worldwide.” Among the innovative activities recently undertaken by the Embassy was the unification of some 28 Filipino-Malaysian community organizations into the Federation of Filipino Associations in Malaysia (FFAM). The embassy also initiated the first-ever Filipino-Malaysian community Philippine Independence Day Parade in Kuala Lumpur. It also established alternative learning centers for Filipinos and other migrant children in Sabah. The other major activities undertaken were the: art exhibit “Glimpses of Mindanao: Peace in the Land of Promise” at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (May 2013), Business Networking Forum on opportunities in Mindanao (November 2012), performances of the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus in Kota Kinabalu (June 2013), Kuala Lumpur (October 2012) and Kuching (October 2012), Philippines-Malaysia Investment Partnership Forum at the Kuala Lumpur’s Royal Chulan Hotel (May 2012), and the Official Working Visit to Malaysia of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay (May 2012). “These initiatives, which projected our country and people well in Malaysia, were the product of teamwork, and the award belongs to each and every member of the embassy team,” Malaya said. - VVP, GMA News Tags: Department of Foreign Affairs

Two months after it received rave reviews at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival, multi-awarded veteran director Lav Diaz’s four-hour masterpiece, “Norte: Hangganan ng Kasaysayan” was screened once again at Poland’s biggest film festival in Poland along with the works of three promising Filipino independent or indie filmmakers.
Diaz’s “Norte” was handpicked by critics as one of the few movies from Asia to be shown from July 18 to 28  at the 13th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, regarded as one of the most important film events in Central Europe.
Three indie movies from the Philippines were also screened during the 10-day festival. These are Sherad Sanchez’s “Jungle Fever,” John Torres’ “Lukas Niño” and Shireen Seno’s “Big Boy.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday that only films from the Philippines and Japan were chosen from all over Asia to be featured in the annual film fest.
According to its website, the Polish film festival “presents uncompromising, innovative and original cinema from all over the world that explores new horizons in film language, expression and storytelling.”
Diaz, whose narratives often stretch into hours, received a five-minute long standing ovation when he premiered “Norte” during the Cannes film festival last May.
According to its synopsis, “Norte” tells the story of an innocent man who was sent to prison for murder while the true killer roams free. The killer remains on the loose but is continually frustrated with his country's never-ending cycle of betrayal and apathy. It stars Sid Lucero, Archie Alemania and Angeli Bayani.
Adam Cook of the online film review site mubi.com tweeted that Diaz’s film was “gorgeous, surprising, brilliant!” while another film critic, Daniel Kasman, hailed the movie as a powerful film.
“The vividly human scale of Diaz’s film, its telling of a classic story specifically within a topical context, its remarkably simultaneous magnitude and minuteness, it is a work so powerful that its tendrils of suggestion seem capable to connect all of the films of Cannes together,” he said. - Xianne Arcangel, VVP, GMA News

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