Arts

February 1, 2025 - A new play by Canadian Filipino Abi Padilla promises a fun ride through what would usually be a sombre reminder of World War II. Called Grandma.Gangsta.Guerrilla., the play brings two young protagonists in search of their grandma Lola Basyang who has gone missing from her care home. In their journey, Nika and Jun-jun discover their grandma’s own history and stories of their homeland. 

January 16, 2025 - Lasa ng Imperyo, a Filipino adaptation of Jovanni Sy’s critically-acclaimed play A Taste of Empire, lands at Vancouver’s The Nest on Granville Island as part of PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and Boca del Lupo’s Micro-Performance Series. The play will run from January 30 to February 8.

January 16, 2025 — Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), in partnership with FilipinoBC, features a series of Lino Brocka’s films at the VIFF Centre movie theatre from January 10th to the 16th to spotlight the 4K restoration of the film “Bona”, which was thought lost in a fire.

January 16, 2025 — When Esmie’s  father  started showing signs  of  diminished sensual perceptions  and arthritic hands while struggling with the challenges of dementia but still trying to  engage with his family, environment,  and  sculpting hobbies,  she saw not an old man but a healthy human being who is aging  but still determined to use his faculties to accomplish  his goals.  Her father passed away in February 2024 at age 94, just 3 months short of 95.

January 1, 2025 — In 1989, Edgardo Lantin, a gifted portrait artist from Vancouver, presented former Philippine President Corazon Aquino with a portrait of herself on behalf of the Canadian Filipino community.

January 1, 2025 - For two evenings on November 30 and December 1, 2024, residents of Victoria, BC, were treated to Paghimugso, (meaning “birth”) a one and a half hour display of Filipino song, dance and talent, coinciding with ceremonies marking the 75^th year of Philippine Canadian diplomatic relations.

December 16, 2024 — Edited by prolific writer, poet and educator Lakshmi Gill, this is the premiere issue of Anthology  of Filipino Artists in Canada showing how  they straddle  the culture of their homeland past  and the influences of their  newland present. The cover designed by Gill shows capiz shells from the Philippines and  maple leaves representating the two cultures embodied in the artworks.    

December 1, 2024 — Audiences in Victoria were treated in October 2024 to Im:print, a multidisciplinary show produced by the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) embodying the experiences of participating artists of immigration, displacement, belonging and identity. 

October 16, 2024 - Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio’s debut novel Reuniting with Strangers is one of only five finalists in this year’s Toronto Book Awards.

September 16, 2024 - What are the unintended consequences of Filipino parents leaving their children behind to work as nannies for families in Canada? The documentary Inay by Vancouver-based producer/director Thea Loo explores those many lingering effects on the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), their children and their children’s spouses as they all seek a “better life” in Canada.