From left: Rod Nepomuceno of Crush Communications, Inc. (outsourced marketing communications agency of Jim Beam), Art Hyndman, Marketing Manager of Beam Global, Atom Henares and Joey Mendoza, President and General Manager of Beam Global with Jim Beam girl

It has barely ended but now the 2010 Cinemalaya competitions have started anew.

And the Cinemalaya Foundation has announced recently the five finalists in the Open Category of the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition 2010.

The finalists in the Open Category are: “Isang Pirasong Buhay” by Mark Meily, “Pink Halo-Halo” by Jay Altarejos, “Sigwa” by Joel Lamangan, “Ang Paglilitis ni Bonifacio” by Mario O’ Hara, and “Two Funerals” by Gil Portes.

The five finalists will be awarded a seed production grant of P500,000 each from The Grassroots Film Production and Distribution Inc. plus an additional P100,000 post production grant. These five final entries will be screened during the festival week on July 9-18, 2010. The winner will receive a prize of P300,000 and the Balanghai Trophy.

The Open Category is a new section being introduced in the 2010 Cinemalaya. It is open to Filipino filmmakers who have directed at least three full-length feature films which have been released commercially.

Cinemalaya has two major competition categories, namely the Full-Length Feature category and the Short Feature category. Awards for all categories will be given on July 18, 2010 at the CCP. The Best Full-Length Feature film will receive a prize of P200,000 and the Balanghai Trophy. The Best Short Feature film will receive a prize of P100,000 and the Balanghai Trophy.

Now on its sixth year, the Cinemalaya Competition and Festival is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). It is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity.

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Meet the new Jim Beam Frontman, Jeyvi Castillo

After weeks of searching in bars across the country, Jim Beam finally found the Ultimate Rockista at the Hard Rock Café – call center agent Jeyvi Castillo.

It was an exciting, rock ‘n roll sing-off. Finalists representing Subic, Cebu, Davao, Angeles and Metro Manila battled it out in the arena of rock music – and they didn’t disappoint. After all, what was at stake was P120,000 and the right to the title “Ultimate Rockista” and Jim Beam Frontman for 2009.

Ultimately, it was Jeyvi Castillo, who came out on top. The 26-year-old Bruce Springsteen sound-alike from San Pedro, Laguna took the plum title of the year after he proved his worth by belting out rock-charged versions of Dishwalla’s “Counting Blue Cars” for the rock ballad round, “Hard to Handle” from the Black Crowes for the hard rock portion and “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz for the final face-off against Davao chanteuse Malene Parreño.

Jim Beam Frontman, the search for the Ultimate Rockista, was spearheaded by Jim Beam, one of the leading brands of bourbon in the country. Frontman is part of Jim Beam’s global campaign called “BEAM” which stands for “Benefitting Emerging Artists in Music.” The program is to discover, nurture and expose budding talents in the music industry. Jim Beam Frontman: The Hunt for the Ultimate Rockista kicked off at Subic last Nov.  27, 2009 where Red Dela Peña won P10,000 and a customized Jim Beam guitar from RJ Guitars. Subsequently, Cristofer Mendrez from Cebu, Malene Parreño from Davao, Sonny Marquez from Angeles and Jeyvi Castillo from Manila won these special prizes in their respective legs, plus the chance to compete in the finals at Hard Rock Café. Marlon Victoriano from Davao was chosen as a wild card entry as well. Cebuano DJ Paulo Varela hosted the night’s events while house band Epic provided the musical backing. Pedicab, one of the hottest local acts in the country, performed at the event to inspire the aspiring Frontmen.

Jim Beam Frontman was conceptualized by Jim Beam, in partnership with total communications ad house Crush Philippines. The event was sponsored by Channel V, UR 105.9, inquirer.net, Jam 88.3, Philippine Star, Libre, Bandera, and NU 107, Killer Bee, RJ Guitars, and Pulp Magazine.

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Soriano’s truth blog wins in Open Web Awards ’09

Preacher-blogger Eliseo “Eli” Soriano’s truth blog esoriano.wordpress.com has been hailed as “The Most Educational to Follow” at the recent Mashable’s 3rd Annual Open Web Awards. No less than Mashable.com CEO Pete Cashmore informed Soriano of his award.

Cashmore said “having won the ‘Most Educational to Follow’ category, esoriano.wordpress.com is now among the Top 50 websites.” Mashable.com, host of the Open Web Awards 2009 which was in partnership with Motoblur, ranks as one of the largest blogs on the World Wide Web, with a reported seven million monthly page views. According to the website, the online international competition this year received over 440,000 nominations, with over 70,000 nominees and over 780,000 final votes. Readers voted in 50 categories to select the best in each field.

Cashmore added: “Web users cast thousands of votes for the site, selecting it as the very best in its field.”

Soriano, known as Bro. Eli by his followers, is presiding minister of the Members Church of God International (MCGI). He hosts the award-winning religious program “The Old Path (Ang Dating Daan)” which features Q&A portions of his live Bible Expositions.

Prior to blogging, Soriano has preached the gospel through radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, mp3, podcasting and video streaming websites, taking full advantage of technology to share his Bible-based education. He opened esoriano.wordpress.com in April 2007 to further extend his multi-media audience.

When informed about the prestigious award, Soriano wrote a new blog article entitled “The Best Educational Book of All Time,” referring to the Bible. “At times, I am hesitant to use some English words in my blog because of my limited knowledge of the English language, but what inspire me most in composing my blog is my intense desire to share the truth that I have learned from the ‘most’ educational book to follow – my Bible,” wrote the 62-year-old blogging-preacher.

Other Open Web Awards 2009 winners include The New York Times for “Best Online Newspaper” category, and Facebook for “Best Mobile Social Network App” category. All winners are welcome to use Mashable’s Winner’s Badge on their websites.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings on Jan. 6 go to megastar Sharon Cuneta, Marissa Delgado, Cesar Gaupo, Balthazar Valenzuela, Chito Puatu, Charlie Arcega, Zar Baisas, UK-based Emy Nerveza, Kristine Huang, Imelda Zantos, Melchor Bonoan Jr., Nanette de Rivera, Mrs. Vilma Abaya Dimacuha and Melchor Dee. Happy wedding anniversary to Jojo and Nina Baterna.