place

Manila Film Center

Brutalist architecture in the PhilippinesBuildings and structures in PasayImelda MarcosLandmarks in the PhilippinesReportedly haunted locations in the Philippines
Theaters and concert halls in Metro ManilaUse Philippine English from January 2023Use mdy dates from January 2023
Manila Film Center (Pasay; 12 13 2020)
Manila Film Center (Pasay; 12 13 2020)

The Manila Film Center is a national building located at the southwest end of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay, Philippines. The structure was designed by architect Froilan Hong where its edifice is supported on more than nine hundred piles which reaches to the bed-rock about 120 feet below. The Manila Film Center served as the main theater for the First Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) January 18–29, 1982. The building has also been the subject of controversies due to a fatal accident that happened on November 17, 1981. At least 169 workers fell and were buried under quick-drying cement.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Manila Film Center (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Manila Film Center
Film Center Driveway 3, Pasay Zone 10 (District 1)

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Manila Film CenterContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 14.550556 ° E 120.981944 °
placeShow on map

Address

Lee's Korean Restaurant

Film Center Driveway 3
0921 Pasay, Zone 10 (District 1)
Philippines
mapOpen on Google Maps

Manila Film Center (Pasay; 12 13 2020)
Manila Film Center (Pasay; 12 13 2020)
Share experience

Nearby Places

Coconut Palace
Coconut Palace

Coconut Palace, also known as Tahanang Pilipino (lit. 'Filipino Home'), is a government building located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Manila, Philippines. It was the official residence and the principal workplace of the vice president of the Philippines during the term of Jejomar Binay. It was commissioned in 1978 by First Lady Imelda Marcos as a government guest house and offered to Pope John Paul II during his papal visit to the Philippines in 1981, but the Pope refused to stay there because it was too opulent given the level of poverty in the Philippines.Coconut Palace cost ₱37 million to build and was partly financed by the coconut levy fund, which was set up to be used for the welfare of coconut farmers. Its construction is sometimes associated with Mrs. Marcos' edifice complex, a term popularized by an architectural historian as the "obsession and compulsion to build edifices as a hallmark of greatness or as a signifier of national prosperity." It is owned by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).Coconut Palace is made of several types of Philippine hardwood, coconut shells, and a specially engineered coconut lumber apparently known as Imelda Madera. Each of the suites on the second floor is named after a specific region of the Philippines and displays some of the handicrafts these regions produce. The palace is located on F. Ma. Guerrero Street at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex between the Folk Arts Theatre and the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel. Before becoming the official residence of the vice president, the palace was used for wedding receptions.The palace is shaped like an octagon (the shape given to a coconut before being served), while the roof is shaped like a traditional Filipino salakot or hat. Some of its highlights are the 101 coconut-shell chandelier, and the dining table made of 40,000 tiny pieces of inlaid coconut shells. Highlighted as one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' most striking structures for its architecture and interiors, the palace celebrates the coconut as the ultimate "tree of life". From the coconut's roots to its trunk, bark, fruit, flower and shell, the palace's design, form and ornamentation echo these elements.Coconut Palace has been a guesthouse for many prominent visitors, including the late Libyan strongman Muammar al-Gaddafi, Brooke Shields and George Hamilton.Coconut Palace has been featured in various television programs. On the fifth season of the reality series The Amazing Race, the Coconut Palace served as the "Pit Stop" when the competing teams went to Manila. The contestants were welcomed by Luli Arroyo, daughter of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The palace was made a primary filming location for the ABS-CBN television series Princess Sarah as a boarding school, where Sara Crewe lives with Amelia, Miss Minchin and her student girls and Tanging Yaman, standing in for Malacañang Palace as the residence of the First Family. Coconut Palace underwent major renovations as it was being eyed as the official office and residence of the vice president of the Philippines. On February 11, 2011, it was officially turned over to Vice President Jejomar Binay upon the signing of a lease contract with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) with a monthly rental fee of ₱400,000. Coconut Palace eyes Vice President Sara Duterte as the permanent residence and official Office of the Vice President of the Philippines for the future Philippine vice presidents.

Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas
Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas

The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (English: Francisco Balagtas Theater), formerly known as the Folk Arts Theater, was a theater located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Manila, Philippines. It is a covered proscenium amphitheater owned by the Cultural Center of the Philippines that was a popular venue for concerts during the 1980s and 1990s. The theater, named after Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas, has a seating capacity of 8,458 in 10 sections and features a broad fascia with a single column-to-column span of 80 meters (260 ft). It is the largest single-span structure in the country, with a 100-by-100-meter (330 ft × 330 ft) roof resting on eight monumental columns. In her book "Cultural Center of the Philippines: Crystal Years," Visitacion de la Torre described it as a sheltered plaza with a roof that "appears to float, creating the impression that the building is a dream on one's tender hands."The Tanghalan was commissioned by then First Lady Imelda Marcos for the Miss Universe 1974 Pageant, which was to be held in Manila for the first time. It was designed by Leandro V. Locsin and built in a record 77 days in time for the pageant. It was originally built to seat an audience of 10,000. It was not air-conditioned and was designed to allow a natural breeze to flow through.The theater was inaugurated on July 7, 1974, with an extravagant cultural showcase dubbed "Kasaysayan ng Lahi", which featured a military parade by personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It hosted the international pageant in the same month where Amparo Muñoz of Spain won the title. In 1978, the theater was the venue of the first Philippine Folk Festival, and the first Metropop Song Festival. It was also one of the venues of the Manila International Film Festival, annual Lenten folk presentations, misas de gallo, and an Alamat series depicting Filipino legends or epics through dance and drama.The theater has hosted many popular musical acts of the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, including Janet Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Paula Abdul, Puerto Rican group Menudo, British pop group 5ive, Pearl Jam, Mr. Big, James Ingram, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, and Regine Velasquez, and magician David Copperfield. The Folk Arts Theater is also used by different religious groups. Day by Day Christian Ministries, a large international religious organization, leased the area from 2005 to 2020. They have dedicated the Theatre as Bulwagan ng Panginoón (English: Hall of the Lord).The building also housed the main office of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists Foundation and the Printmakers Association of the Philippines. The building eventually closed in March 2020 amidst the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Even before the pandemic, there were already structural damages around the building and the CCP was undergoing a redevelopment process.