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| (Image Source: Taiwan Creative Content Agency) |
With the aim of expanding Taiwan’s film industry onto the global stage, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) has partnered with leading Korean production company Studio Dragon under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch BUBBLE: Teen Romance Feature Co-Development Program, an open call for authentic Taiwanese love story or a transnational narrative blending Taiwan and Korea. Selected projects will be co-developed by Taiwanese creative teams and seasoned Korean producers, targeted at creating commercially viable works with strong international appeal.
TAICCA Chairperson Sue Wang noted that Taiwanese teen romance films such as Our Times, 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days, and Lovesick have achieved remarkable box office success across Asia, prompting TAICCA to actively seek international partnerships to scale up the market. At the same time, Taiwan Sensibility — the warm, nostalgic emotional tone rooted in Taiwanese culture — has been gaining popularity among Korean audiences. Leveraging this momentum, TAICCA is supporting co-productions between Taiwan and Korea. “Taiwanese teen romance films have a unique ability to immerse audiences worldwide in a sense of youthful sweetness and emotional resonance. Studio Dragon is an ideal partner for bringing these stories to a broader global audience,” said Wang. Studio Dragon is a leading force in the global content industry with a portfolio that includes internationally acclaimed series such as Queen Of Tears, The Glory, and Crash Landing On You. Through this co-development program, both parties aim to combine their strengths in inherent originality, narrative structure, and industrialized production workflow.
By blending the Taiwanese teams’ imagination and sensitivity in crafting romantic atmospheres with Korean producers’ expertise in bringing emotionally resonant stories to life with high production value, the collaboration is expected to yield teen romance films with strong international commercial potential. TAICCA and Studio Dragon both look forward to this partnership elevating Taiwanese and Korean co-production to new heights while enabling Taiwan Sensibility to reach audiences around the world.
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Korina Sanchez-Roxas Becomes Your Everyday Ka-Nanay In TV5’s ‘Face To Face With Ate Koring’
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| (Image Source: Television Asia Plus/TV5 Network Inc.) |
This Women’s Month, Korina Sanchez-Roxas takes on a more relatable role in TV5’s revitalized daily program, Face To Face With Ate Koring — a lively and heartwarming show designed especially for housewives and everyday kumares. In the show, Korina embraces the role of “Ate Koring”, a trusted ka-nanay viewers can turn to for advice, comfort, inspiration, and practical tips in their daily life.
Face To Face With Ate Koring offers a safe space to every kumare and nanay to feel empowered, learn new things, and create business opportunities — helping housewives thrive even from the comfort of their homes. Ate Koring becomes the most relatable kumare Kapatid viewers can turn to — someone they can lean on and open up to about their stories. Airing weekdays at 11:00 am on TV5 and Kapatid Channel on Cignal, Face To Face With Ate Koring offers a mix of entertaining and educational segments. “5K For You” is a heartwarming public service segment where viewers can simply send a selfie video nominating a “common tao” who deserves a helping hand, for an instant Php5,000 financial assistance — spreading smiles one story at a time. The second segment, “Ihain Na Yan”, is a fun and flavorful segment where Ate Koring teams up with invited culinary enthusiasts to prepare delicious dishes, share cooking tips, and turn every meal into a feast of learning and touching moments. An inspiring and aspirational segment designed for housewives who dream big in the third segment, “Misis Wais” will uncover new income opportunities, mastering financial management, and exploring entrepreneurial skills. Ate Koring provides step-by-step guides, turning everyday ideas into real life-changing possibilities. In “Baby Bibo”, Ate Koring brings warmth and laughter as she interacts with kids who are uniquely talented or simply irresistibly adorable. This is where viewers can have a glimpse of Ate Koring’s jolly and nurturing side.
Lastly, “Alagang Ate Koring” empowers women into becoming the best version of themselves. In this segment, Ate Koring shares practical tips and tutorials on staying healthy, youthful, and stylish without breaking the bank. From beauty hacks and fashion tricks to self-care rituals, Ate Koring inspires mothers and wives to embrace self-love while keeping their relationships with their husbands glowing and strong. This season, Ate Koring will be joined by radio DJ and TV personality Laila Chikadora, content creator and financial literacy advocate Cheena Crab a.k.a. Pera Godmother, along with actor and host Ryle Santiago. Together, they bring fun and exciting new learnings to every episode of Face to Face With Ate Koring.
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Prime Video And ABS-CBN Studios Celebrate Star-Studded Blue Carpet Premiere Of “The Silent Noise”
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| (Image Source: ABS-CBN Corporation) |
Prime Video and ABS-CBN Studios successfully hosted the Blue Carpet Celebrity Premiere and Grand Media Conference of “The Silent Noise” last March 10, 2026 at Gateway Mall 2, Cinema 11. The screening marked the highly anticipated unveiling of the series’ pilot episode, followed by an engaging media conference with the cast and creators. The Blue Carpet rolled out in style featuring a star‑studded lineup of celebrities and special guests. In attendance were Ralph Malibunas, Kakki Teodoro, Joel Saracho, Junjun Quintana, Monching Gutierrez, Karina Bautista, Tommy Alejandrino, Joem Bascon, Mutya Orquia, Zaijian Jaranilla, KD Omalin, Zanjoe Marudo and Angelica Panganiban, whose presence thrilled the invited media and fans.
Anticipation and excitement ran high following the premiere screening of the pilot episode which captivated both the media and the actors themselves. During the Grand Media Conference, the cast and creators took the stage to share insights, respond to press questions, and highlight the show’s creative journey. Alongside the media, guest celebrities, and fans, the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) community was specially invited in recognition of KD Omalin’s role as a deaf child in the series. To ensure inclusivity, the entire conference was interpreted for the FSL community present in the media conference, emphasizing the production’s commitment to accessibility and representation. “The Silent Noise” is set to premiere exclusively on Prime Video on March 20 with 2 new episodes released each subsequent week in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. The series follows a family unraveling under the weight of secrets where silence offers no protection. When tragedy strikes, suspicions resurface, and relationships are tested, forcing each member to confront truths they’ve avoided for years. As the mystery deepens, the story reveals how love, loyalty, and silence can shape destinies in unexpected ways.
“The Silent Noise” joins thousands of other shows and films available on the Prime Video catalogue such as Filipino productions “The Alibi”, “LOL: Last One Laughing Philippines”, “Linlang”, “Saving Grace”, and “Drag Den With Manila Luzon” seasons 1 and 2; Korean titles such as “Siren’s Kiss”, “Spring Fever”, “Surely Tomorrow”, “Nice To Not Meet You”, “Confidence Queen”, “Head Over Heels”, “GOOD BOY”, “Newtopia”, and “Marry My Husband”; anime hits such as “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX”, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0”, and “Rurouni Kenshin”; award-winning and critically acclaimed Amazon MGM Studios-produced series and movies “Young Sherlock”, “Fallout”, “The Bluff”, “Heads Of State”, “Reacher”, “Red One”, “Road House”, “The Boys”, “The Lord Of The Rings: The RIngs of Power”, and “The Summer I Turned Pretty”; licensed fan favorites “John Wick” and “Challengers”; exclusive access to coverage of live sports including the NBA; and acclaimed sports documentaries including “Bye Bye Barry”, “Kelce”, and “Earnhardt”. Prime Video members are able to watch films and shows anywhere and anytime on thousands of compatible devices. In the Prime Video app, members can also download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Prime Video is available in the Philippines for just Php149 per month.
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PETA’s Control + Shift: Changing Narratives Returns With StudioLab Exploring Narrative Change
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| (Image Source: Starmometer/Philippine Educational Theater Association) |
With a decades-long commitment to telling Filipino stories, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is once again redefining the power of People’s Theater. This April, PETA’s Control + Shift: Changing Narratives returns to the PETA Studio Theater in Quezon City on April 10-19, 2026. Featuring a “StudioLab” of fresh stories and restaging productions, the showcase invites audiences to reclaim the Filipino narrative.
Since its successful 2024 debut, followed by a month-long festival in 2025, Control + Shift: Changing Narratives has been pushing the boundaries of what theater can be. Through a unique collaboration between PETA artists, students, and community partners, this year’s StudioLab continues to tackle the tough questions of our time. It’s a creative space designed for crafting stories that confront the present, hold space for healing, and envision more humane and democratic futures. This year, Control + Shift: Changing Narratives StudioLab presents two new works, a product of the PETA Artist-Teacher Training, alongside two returning pieces from last year’s festival, including one developed with a theater group from a community partner. The lineup includes:
Set A: When Power Falls Into Our Hands
In a classroom and a workplace, people discover how easily violence, corruption, and silence can become normalized. But when power falls into our hands, we also face a choice: to comply with the system or to interrupt it.
• CLEANERS (Playwright: Jhudiel Clare Sosa, Director: Julio Garcia): A group of senior high students discovers that their graduation depends not just on cleaning classrooms but on how far they’re willing to go when violence, power, and truth land in their hands.
• MONIT-OH! MONIT-AH! (Restaging) (Playwright: Herlyn Alegre, Director: Norbs Portales): A forum theatre piece that follows Jaylord, a rookie waiter hoping to win his boss’s favor through a Christmas monito-monita gift, only to uncover how seemingly harmless acts can feed into the larger, corrupt palakasan system — until one brave decision challenges the cycle.
Set B: When Care Becomes Survival
In war-torn landscapes and communities living at the edge of disaster, care becomes something embodied… shared through faith, ritual, play, and collective endurance.
• Tanghalang Bagong Sibol’s AT NAGKATAWANG-TAO ANG VERBO (Restaging) (Playwright: Mikaela Regis, Director: Anthony Cruz): In a small urban fishing community along Ilog Tullahan, religious icons and biblical imagery come alive — not as distant saints, but as reflections of the people themselves — revealing how faith becomes flesh in the daily struggle for dignity, livelihood, and hope.
• BAGA NG GUMUGUHONG LANGIT (Playwright: Anj Heruela, Director: Ian Segarra): Amid the chaos of war, orphaned children fight to survive in a world that has forgotten them, begging for care from communities pushed to the fragile edges of survival.
Tickets to PETA’s Control + Shift: Changing Narratives StudioLab are now available via Ticket2Me or bit.ly/CS2026Tickets. Rates are at Php700 per set.
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Stage Bites 2026 Invites Batangueño Playwrights For Community Edition
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| (Image Source: Facebook/Dularkada PH) |
A celebration of new stories and emerging playwrights is coming to the stage as Dularkada Playhouse, a Batangas-based community of artists, collaborators, and storytellers dedicated to creating meaningful performances, launches Stage Bites 2026: Community Edition – Batangas, inviting writers from across the province to submit their original short plays. Created as a platform for developing and showcasing new works, Stage Bites continues its mission of nurturing fresh voices in theater by opening the festival to a wider community of storytellers in Batangas.
Through this Community Edition, Dularkada Playhouse hopes to discover emerging Batangueño playwrights while creating a shared creative space where artists, aspiring writers, and theater enthusiasts can develop new works and connect with fellow creatives. This year’s festival theme “PIGLAS” celebrates stories of breaking away — breaking cycles, breaking silence, and becoming. Writers are encouraged to explore narratives of transformation, resistance, and personal or social change through their plays. The call is open to Batangueño writers or individuals currently based in the province of Batangas. First-time writers are warmly encouraged to submit, and no prior theater experience or awards are required.
Each participant may submit one original short play with a running time of 10–15 minutes. Interested writers may submit their scripts through the official Google Form at https://tinyurl.com/SB-2026-Piglas-Submission. Deadline for submission is on May 3, 2026 at 11:59 pm. From the submissions, six (6) original plays will be selected for development and production as part of the Stage Bites 2026 festival.
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P-Pop Group 1621 Opens New Chapter With "1621: BEGIN" EP
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| (Image Source: ABS-CBN Corporation) |
P-pop group 1621 launches their new extended play (EP) “1621: BEGIN”, serving as a reintroduction and reflection of their growth as an artist. 1621 members JM, JC, Win, Migz, and DJ explore themes of chasing their dreams, emotional uncertainty about not being chosen, heartfluttering of having a first crush, love that abruptly ended, and embracing kilig culture across the five tracks of StarPop’s latest drop.
The key track “Oh, Ano?”, written by Kice, Bailey May, and Moophs, speaks about loving someone who cannot return the same feelings. It captures the quiet pain of waiting, the hope of finally being noticed, and the courage to ask for emotional clarity. The EP also features “Manifest Mo Na ‘Yan”, written by Rox Santos; “Ikaw Lang”, penned by Ron Pangyarihan; “Orasan”, composed by JM Asis and Ron Pangyarihan; and “Lulaley”, penned by Perry Lansigan.
The group previously released their self-titled debut EP in 2024, which featured the tracks “Laruan” and “Ikaw At Ikaw”. They followed it up with their second EP “Sapulso” which includes the trending hit song “Bababa” which has over 2.2 million streams and 350 million views on TikTok. “Sapulso” has since amassed over 3 million streams on Spotify. The group continues to make waves as they received the P-Pop Potential award at the 9th P-pop Music Awards. They were also nominated for Best Performance by a Group at the 37th Awit Awards and Male Group of the Year at the Jupiter Music Awards.
