Focus on the Philippines: Dubai’s Michael Cinco dresses Aishwarya Rai

Plus: Brillante Mendoza mentors rising talents at Cannes; Kriesha Tiu releases single and music video in South Korea; and cast of the Heneral Luna sequel revealed.

Aishwarya-Rai-Bachchan at the Cannes-Film-Festival
Powered by automated translation

Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan caught the attention of several international fashion and entertainment magazines after appearing on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival this week, wearing a gown that Vogue India called “one of the biggest, most dramatic looks we saw on the red carpet this year”.

The gown, a blue off-the-shoulder dress featuring detailed beading, embroidery and a voluminous skirt, was designed by no less than Dubai-based Filipino couturier Michael Cinco.

On his social media accounts, Cinco shared behind-the-scenes images of Rai Bachchan wearing his creation. "The stunning Aishwarya Rai is ready to slay the red carpet … wearing a fabulous couture ball gown from my Impalpable Dream of Versailles collection," read one post on Instagram featuring the Bollywood actress photographed inside a hotel corridor.

In another post that showed Rai Bachchan posing on the red carpet at Cannes, Cinco wrote: “She looks like a real princess.”

In an interview with Vogue India, Rai Bachchan's stylist Aastha Sharma revealed how the actress ended up wearing Cinco's creation. "When I saw Michael Cinco's collection in March, I knew I wanted to pick this look for her. Michael was really helpful in keeping the look exclusive, we didn't want it to be released before she wore it to Cannes," said Sharma.

“When Aishwarya tried it on, it was a perfect match. … It’s a big outfit but only she could carry it off with such poise and elegance. It could have gone very wrong, but she pulled it off.”

Rai Bachchan, 43, was attending the red-carpet premiere of Bong Joon-ho's action-adventure movie Okja, starring Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano. She is a regular at Cannes, travelling to the French Riviera annually to represent the cosmetics label L'Oreal as a global ambassador.

The Cannes Film Festival opened on May 17 and runs until May 28.

Brillante Mendoza mentors rising talents at Cannes

Speaking of the Cannes Film Festival, Filipino filmmaker Brilliant Mendoza is back in the south of France after winning the festival's Best Director prize in 2009 for his crime drama Kinatay (Butchered).

Mendoza is mentoring rising talents from around the world at the Fabrique des Cinemas du Monde, a programme for up-and-coming directors developing their first and second feature films. During a masterclass held earlier this week in Cannes, Mendoza mentored 10 filmmakers from Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mali, Myanmar, Peru and South Africa.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mendoza said: "I feel honoured and privileged to be a part of this programme. I am looking forward to collaborate with the filmmakers and, at the same time, learn from them."

After spending the week at Cannes, Mendoza is set to fly to Switzerland to attend a screening of his recent film Ma’ Rosa at the Arthouse Cinema Alba in Zurich.

Kriesha Tiu releases single and music video in South Korea

Merely weeks after her stint on the South Korean reality talent programme K-Pop Star, 18-year-old Filipino singer Kriesha Tiu has released her debut single under the Korean production company Urban Works Entertainment.

Tiu recorded the song, titled Trouble, entirely in Korean. A music video for the debut track has also been released.

Born and raised in the central Philippine province of Cebu, Tiu was scouted for K-Pop Star while she was in San Francisco, where she was recently based with her family. She finished second in the K-Pop Star competition, losing to the Korean duo Boyfriend.

On the show, she said she learned the Korean language in preparation for her appearance on the talent programme. Since the show wrapped last month, Tiu has temporarily moved to South Korea after signing with Urban Works Entertainment.

Cast of Heneral Luna sequel revealed

The 2015 hit movie Heneral Luna, the highest-grossing historical film in the Philippines's box-office history, is getting a sequel.

Titled Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (The Young General), the follow-up feature will chronicle the life of Gregorio del Pilar, the country's youngest general during the Philippine-American war of 1899.

Heneral Luna focused on General Antonio Luna, a Filipino commander during the same war. Aside from breaking box-office records, the film won numerous awards and was the Philippine entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2016 Academy Awards, though it failed to make the shortlist.

The film’s success encouraged writer and director Jerrold Tarog and his team of producers to plan the sequel, which will feature actor Paulo Avelino in the title role. He will be joined by an ensemble that includes Mon Confiado, Ronnie Lazaro, Epy Quizon, Empress Schuck, Gwen Zamora, Jojit Lorenzo and Bret Jackson.

artslife@thenational.ae