Show marks her 15^th anniversary in the biz

MORISSETTE AMON, known simply as Morissette, will return to the stage with her self-produced concert Ember at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, on Oct. 28.

Fifteen years since she started her music career, Ms. Amon has cemented her reputation as a powerful voice of her generation. Nicknamed “Asia’s Phoenix,” she has many hits under her belt like “Akin Ka Na Lang” and “Gusto Ko Nang Bumitaw,” both of which had gone viral at some point in her career.

To showcase her vocal brilliance and reflect on her journey, she has decided to perform these hits and more in an arena setting — and for the first time, produce her own show as well.

“For me, one of the reasons I personally wanted to produce the show is that I was afraid other producers wouldn’t believe in my vision of the concert,” Ms. Amon told BusinessWorld before the press conference in Pasay City on Oct. 1. “I wanted to invest in it. I wanted to try and push for it.”

Ember will be her first major solo concert at the Araneta Coliseum since 2018. With Troy Laureta as the musical director, the audience can expect “powerful arrangements with deeply personal storytelling.”

“It’s going to be a vocally tiring show just because all of my hits are there, and none of them are easy to sing!” she said.

The concert will also be a great way to close out the year for Ms. Amon, who starred in her first feature film, the movie musical Song of the Fireflies, and released a rendition of “Golden” for the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters.

TRYING NEW THINGS
This is only the beginning of a new stage for her, however.

“I am trying to break and defy the stereotype that you should only do one type of music throughout your whole career. I’m in the stage of my life where I’m so hungry for growth,” she said.

Drawing from the song “Defying Gravity,” and the character of Elphaba from the musical Wicked, Ms. Amon told BusinessWorld that there is more to her than the high-note belter/diva sound that people expect of her.

“I’ve started writing since the pandemic. These initial releases might not be reaching the same numbers as my hits, but I’m taking baby steps and constantly just wanting to find ways to reinvent myself and grow,” she said.

The concert will also feature the indie-folk band The Ridleys, known for their heartfelt storytelling and devoted following. They will be the opening act and one of the special guests for the concert.

“I’m a fan of their music and I’ve always wanted to showcase them, bring them to a bigger stage and a bigger audience,” Ms. Amon said. “It is actually going to be their first time performing at Araneta!”

Though she refused to spill any more details, she teased that more special guests may possibly join her on stage to mark her 15-year milestone.

Ember on Oct. 28 is presented by Ms. Amon herself and Underdog Music, and co-produced by Gabi Na Naman (GNN) Productions. Tickets are available via Ticketnet online and outlets nationwide and range in price from P999 to P9,499. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

A look at Cinemalaya 2025 Shorts A

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

THE short films in Cinemalaya this year, particularly in the Shorts A group, shed light on seemingly small stories that may at first glance seem common and unimportant.

With singular voices that cut through the noise of the world today, all five give life to overlooked struggles. There’s the rebellious queerness of students in an all-boys Catholic school, the misery of an office worker who finds solace in the lottery, the absurd grief process of a young man taking care of his grandmother, the fierce pride of a bizarre chicken-dance group, and the quiet agony of a woman after a sexual assault.

Besides being distinctly Filipino, these five films challenge us to question the simple realities that many people face.

PLEASE KEEP THIS COPY
This set of shorts opens with a film directed by Miguel Lorenzo Peralta, who bares his soul in a barrage of personal archival materials connecting his all-boys Catholic high school experience with the nation’s collective memory.

In just five minutes, he depicts the rowdy dynamic of teenagers without ever showing any of their faces. All we see are scans of old documents, class schedules, test papers, doodles upon doodles, and objects related to the Catholic school experience. All we hear are the boys’ dirty jokes, boisterous laughter, playful singing, and youthful queerness among friends, interspersed with ominous loud noises.

The political milieu circa 2016, when Mr. Peralta was in high school, informs the culture of obedience, violence, and toxic masculinity that restricts them — all of which this film manages to show, not tell. It’s a testament to how the echoes of normalized repression, religious trauma, and abuse of power reverberate in classrooms, and how a group of queer boys navigates the chaos.

Please Keep This Copy is the shortest film of the set, but it makes full use of its experimental documentary format to great effect.

ASCENSION FROM THE OFFICE CUBICLE
This film by Hannah Silvestre is centered on Thelma, a call center agent, and her obsession with the host of the local lottery draw.

It’s a satire of the exploited Filipino working class’ dependence on luck, gambling to feed one’s high hopes. Thelma’s delusional fantasies and parasocial relationship with the lottery host reflect the average person’s urge to escape the bleak humdrum of reality.

The only downside to Ascension is that it rehashes campy depictions of the exploited worker as seen in similar short films before (Sonny Calvento’s Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss and Primetime Mother come to mind). While it brings nothing really new to the table, it is otherwise well-executed, with soft wit and entertaining vibrancy.

What it also does surprisingly well despite the satirical tone is give life to Thelma’s little world in the office cubicle, painting the gloom, doom, and dark humor with a bit of empathy.

HASANG
An absurdist yet heartfelt short is Daniel de la Cruz’s Hasang, which takes us through the waves of grief and filial love that a young man, Boni, feels for his grandmother. The catch is that death in their rural area means the gradual transformation into an animal of choice — hers being the tilapia.

As Boni cares for her and makes her comfortable before she dies, the film neatly ties together the threads of loss and letting go in lovely, absurdist fashion. The pair wear goggles and engage in fish speak (“glug glug glug”) to prepare for her passing.

The final step of the journey, to allow her to breathe freely (supposedly underwater in the river), is foiled due to drastic changes in the natural environment. It’s a clever little tale that might possibly be the beating heart of this set of shorts.

RADIKALS
Those in-the-know when it comes to the local indie scene would be aware that Arvin Belarmino’s Radikals actually debuted in Cannes last year and enjoyed a warm reception there. Here, its bizarre take on a Philippine tradition leaves a strong impact as well, though the audience is likely not as easily impressed as that in Cannes.

This film boasts strong visuals and music and has a fascinating practice at its center — the bakte dance of Cavite — but the cultural relevance of the piece is overshadowed by the urge to make the events absurd. It is fun, amusing, and weird when the cockfighting and dancing group we follow devolve into name-calling, physical fights, and ritualistic behavior, but it only makes you question what the point of it all is.

If anything, the strange version of this Cavite group presented to us pushes us to want to find out more. It may very well be a representation of a culture of violence that muddies our traditions, but style takes too much precedence over substance for that message to come through.

THE NEXT 24 HOURS
Closing the lineup is Carl Joseph Papa’s rotoscope animated short, highly anticipated following his acclaimed full-length Iti Mapukpukaw which was shortlisted for the Oscars the other year.

The Next 24 Hours is just as important despite being a short film. It was put together in the same style, seamlessly, in a more concise manner. We follow Sheila and what she does in the 24 hours after she is sexually assaulted by her date. Her restlessness is conveyed through the tumultuous textures of the rotoscope-style animation, as she navigates the aftermath of a traumatic experience.

The encounter itself is never shown, only her sullen persistence to push forward and try to reckon with the consequences, going to work and then leaving early to visit an OB-GYN. The animated visuals render the details and edges a bit fuzzy, allowing us to put ourselves in her shoes. It truly captures how frightening it is to seek out safe spaces, battling a lot of anxiety and fear along the way.

Like the other short films, it gives voice to a situation that not many would give a second thought to unless they’re challenged to reflect on it. In each work, the filmmakers’ perspectives give unique insights into the chaos of Philippine society, zeroing in on ways of seeing that really shine in the short film format.

Cinemalaya 2025 Shorts A is screening at Shangri-La, Gateway, and Ayala Malls (Manila Bay, Market! Market!, Circuit, and UP Town Center) until Oct. 12.