Tomes have been written about the necessity of art, each and every splinter of argument exhausted and charred to a bloody heap, but when it comes down to it, the artist is, really, an artisan of self-actualization. That may sound terribly cynical but it’s true: the first and final arbiter of a piece is, ultimately, its maker.

As it did when it was shown to media guys at a recent merienda presscon, Diane Ventura’s 15-minute short film The Rapist is bound to make many people think…hard! Is the movie pro-rape or is it anti-rape?

BUZZBLAST! Scheduled from May 15 to 26 this year, the Cannes Films Festival is waiting for the submission of Ekstra/The Bit Player to the in Competition section. It is even willing to receive the incomplete full-length feature. But it is earmarked as an official entry to the Directors Showcase of the 2013 Cinemalaya Film Festival from July 23 to Aug. 4. The Vilma Santos starrer had its first-day shoot on Jan. 25 in front of Jollibee Monumento.