PH Consul General In SF Sends Off Filipino Crew Onboard Grand Princess Ship

Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. sent off Filipino crew members onboard the Grand Princess cruise ship from San Francisco Port on Wednesday around 6 PM (Pacific Time) as the ship sailed off to Princess Cruises’ headquarters in Los Angeles.

Consul General Bensurto called one of the crew members on the phone to check on their situation. The crew member updated the Consul General of their situation, saying that all Filipino crew members are well and in good spirits, but are hoping they will be repatriated soon to the Philippines.

The Minority as the New Majority in Cinematografo International Film Festival

The very first Cinematografo International Film Festival (CIFF), a film exhibition series and networking event designed to elevate and showcase emerging Filipino and Filipino-American talent, films and television content to the world stage, was launched in a by-invitation presser at the AMC Dine-In Kabuki 8 in San Francisco’s Japantown last week. The initial Cinematografo is a project of the leading Filipino media and entertainment company ABS-CBN International. The press conference was attended by representatives from various Bay Area publications, the San Francisco Film Commission, and the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco.

The vision and objective of Cinematografo was presented at the presser. Executive Director for CIFF 2017 John-D Lazatin says that “with all the content that we create, I believe that film is the strongest form. You’ve got narratives, documentaries, and shorts. Film is really a piece of art, and art is basically what we want to showcase.” Lazatin underlined that “Cinematografo’s objective really is to put the Filipino talent on the world stage.”