Genetic Pool

UPDATE for this blog entry. Aug 27

Young bro Ricky's Nineball wins Grand Jury Prize of Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on July 31, 2007

Major awardees with Laurice Guillen

Ricky (right) with Robbie Tan

Barkada Production team Jonet, Ricky, Gio and Bodyi


The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival awards show was held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City

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Above are posters for movie created by younger brother Ricky. He's also an artist and a clever sausage of a filmmaker. The first one is really funny, looking like the film has already won awards even before the premier showing. Check it out, e.g. that Los Angeles is of Pampanga. LOL!

Nineball is his film entry in this year's Cinemalaya's Film Festival. Obviously it's about billiards or pool; and also stars World Pool Champion Efren "Bata" Reyes.


Writer friend Krip Yuson mentioned Ricky's film in his Kriptokin column published in the Philippine Star:

.."our friend Edd Aragon, an excellent artist, gardener, and
premier editorial cartoonist in Sydney, Australia, alerts us on
another indie screening. At this month's Cinemalaya Independent Film
Festival at the CCP, among the official entries is his younger brother
Ricky's video, Nineball — written and directed by Enrico Aragon, and
starring Jonathan Borjal, Jonet Carpio, Joel Cruz, and billiards champ
Efren "Bata" Reyes.

Edd sent us a YouTube link that allowed us to preview the trailer,
which is more than enough to raise our interest. We've always thought
it was a matter of time before our cineastes and indie video artists
would come up with something on a national passion. So, thanks to
Enrico for making the "sargo."

He's just the right guy for it, too. Like Kuya Edd, Ricky grew up with
a billiard parlor as a family room in Pasay City, with a couple of
imported tables where he and Edd served as spotters in their boyhood.
Edd recalls that they'd get into wrangles with players who insisted on
trying out "mase" shots that could damage the felt. One other task was
to change the "cue tips cut out of carabao leather."

Before migrating to Australia, Edd bequeathed his special "de roscas"
cue stick to Ricky, who then went on to amaze the family with his
increasing prowess. He can actually join the international pool
circuit, Edd says of his kid bro. But what really turns on the young
man is filmmaking. If it's any indication of his other talent, Ricky
is said to have beaten Bata Reyes in a few games. And those weren't
for the Nineball video film, either.

We believe Edd's claim. In fact there's video documentation of an
upset win over Efren Reyes, except that Ricky had to take it down from
cyberspace for fear that his friend Bata might get annoyed, maybe over
the possibility that it was just being used as a promotional tool for
the indie film. Or because it happened in real life, and in real time,
too?"

Here's that short teaser of Ricky's film in YouTube. Watch video

So glad my brother survived a triple-by pass operation two years ago. Oh he's brimming
with creativity and should not leave the planet yet. The heavens must have confirmed this
by gifting them a new baby, born on the lucky day of 070707, weighing 7.7 lbs! (7.6 actually, before Marge, the mum, breastfed him;-)

Congrats guys! Take care of the new "Bata":-) Here's a blues song (below) which I wrote and sung for baby Brandon and his fortunate parents.