Two events I attended the other week may seem to come from different ends of the Lifestyle spectrum, but they’re united via the serious business of making life and experiences more enjoyable, meaningful, and rewarding.

SM Supermalls, and its subsidiary SM Cinema, have always been pushing the envelope in terms of elevating the cinema experience in their malls. They have the most extensive network of IMAX cinemas; and just the other week, in time for the box office hit Wicked: For Good, they unveiled their latest version of cinema format “magic,” ScreenX.

ScreenX at the Mall of Asia is located on the second floor of the Entertainment Hall, and is a partnership with CJ 4DPLEX, an established global leader in premium film formats and innovative cinema technologies. ScreenX is a revolutionary, multi-projection, 270-degree panoramic theater format that expands the film beyond the main screen, and onto both side walls of the theater. This results in a more immersive experience, so the audience feels they’re ‘surrounded’ by the exciting visuals and heightened realism. To date, there are over 435 ScreenX auditoriums around the world in 40 countries – but the one that can be found at the Mall of Asia is the very first here in the Philippines.

The crazy thing is that I’m old enough to remember the original Roman Super Cinemara Theater on the corner of Recto Ave. and Quezon Ave. in Quiapo, Manila. It opened in 1964 and burned down in the late 1970’s. With a capacity of 1,500 seats, it housed the biggest wide-screen format of the time. It was three synchronized 35 mm projectors that operated onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146 degrees of arc.

With ScreenX, one has substantially enhanced and upped the technology, with the process to convert for ScreenX screening involving scene selecting, archiving, delivering assets, color grading and mastering, before distribution to the ScreenX theaters. It’s been around since 2012, and in 2019, won Technology of the Year at the Cinema Technology Community Awards.

After Wicked: For Good, we can expect Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash to be shown on the ScreenX theater. Immersive cinema just got its newest version in the Philippines, and don’t be surprised if eventually we get Ultra 4DX – which combines ScreenX tech with 4DX chair models, further improving the sensory experience of cinema.

The second event I’d like to talk about is spearheaded by two very young women, 26 and 24 years of age. Bella and Tasha M. Tanjutco can point to the M. in their names for the genetic material that has them striving for excellence in design, and in being socially responsible Filipinos. The two are granddaughters of Francisco ‘Bobby’ Mañosa, who was conferred National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture in 2018. A pioneer of Philippine neovernacular Philippine architecture, he passed away in 2019, but left a stirring legacy of works that celebrated his design philosophy of combining traditional forms such as the bahay kubo and bahay na bato, with modern building technology.

What’s extraordinary about these two girls is how they’ve been involved with social work and creating good for over a decade. It’s something they’ve been constant about; while growing up, heading to university, and embarking on their careers that have to do with design. In the case of one of the girls, it’s even more about Fashion Design than Architecture; but uniting the two is that desire to help those more unfortunate, and to do so in a manner that isn’t defined as mere charity.

They’ve now taken over Tukod: the Filipino Design Foundation; the Board of Directors composed of Bella Tanjutco, Nikki Huang, Bellee Huang, Trina Dacanay, Ishka Mejia, Adela Locsin and Ten Monteverde. Tukod is PCNC-accredited and plans to champion Archipelagic Creativity and Craftsmanship through placemaking, publishing, archiving, and celebrating culture and nature. It’s caring for the Filipino’s legacy through projects that design with and for, the climate, people, biodiversity and our archipelago.

Through Tanaw, a silent auction of larger than large-scale sculptures of the ‘bobitoys’ that the late Bobby Mañosa designed; they hope to raise the funds to create the Bayay Halian - a climate-resistant school, creative space, and community kitchen on Halian island - which is a remote island found between Dinagat and Siargao. Inhabited by 1,100 people, Halian is home to abundant marine life, sea turtles, and a richly creative community that the Tukod Foundation wishes to support.

For more information, head to tukod.org. Partners in this Tukod effort are TOYO Eatery for the supper club affair, and Leon Gallery, who will host the silent auction – open Nov. 22 to Dec. 13, 2025. Bayay Halian will serve as a model for climate-centric school design, proof of concept that it is possible to design ideal spaces for future generations of Filipinos. It’s a worthy cause that needs our support!