Janine Gutierrez proudly announced on social media recently that she has been collaborating with award-winning documentarist, Baby Ruth Villarama, on a docu-film on the life of her grandmother, Pilita Corrales. Janine will host the film.

She said in a post, “I’ve always felt a deep responsibility to help preserve Mamita’s amazing legacy. I hope this project becomes another way for younger generations to learn about her story, not just as a legendary performer, but as a woman who defied expectations and truly paved the way.”

Janine said the project is in very early stages of development but is already being introduced at Producer’s Network and Spotlight Asia at Cannes International Film Festival.

The forthcoming film shall trace Pilita’s rise as a singer, who first found stardom in Australia, where she got stranded in the 1960s following a shipwreck. Her singing so mesmerized a local journalist who tagged her, Asia’s Queen of Songs. The title has stuck since.

Ms Villarama is the director of the internationally awarded reality film, Sunday Beauty Queen.

Janine’s efforts to preserve the legacy of her now-inactive Mamita so warms the hearts of Pilita’s fans and admirers. I wish I could say the same of the heirs of other Filipino movie and music icons.

Janine’s magnanimous act reminds me of a recent encounter with an heir of a famous movie queen. I once suggested to the heir that a book project on the life of the deceased actress-producer, the biggest name in Philippine movies in the 1960s and 70s, would be the one best way to keep her legacy alive.

Sadly, the heir didn’t see my point and chose to turn a deaf ear.

Aside from Pilita Corrales, a number of local entertainment icons deserve to be remembered either through a docu film or a book as a form of tribute to their contributions to society. Off-hand, I could think of Amalia Fuentes, Susan Roces, Gloria Romero, Nida Blanca, Fernando Poe, Jr., Joseph Estrada, Vilma Santos, and of course, Nora Aunor, who’s already a National Artist.

PASSERBY:

The reunion film between Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards following smash hit Hello Love Goodbye will be co-produced by ABS-CBN and GMA. It will be shot in Canada.  

Clint Eastwood returned all 6  Oscar trophies he won through the years. “I don’t want to be associated with any of the woke nonsense in Hollywood,” he said, adding that Hollywood is morally bankrupt.

Meryl Streep personally received an honorary Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes International Film Festival.