We had high hopes for the beleaguered local film industry after the Metro Manila Film Festival’s (MMFF) sumptuous cinematic buffet last December and the CinePanalo competition in March. But in the five months that followed the MMFF, big-screen duds (like “Ex Ex Lovers,” “Everything About My Wife”) quickly outnumbered small cinematic gems like Derick Cabrido’s “Untold” and Shugo Praico’s “The Caretakers.”

Then came Irene Villamor’s “Only We Know” in June, with Charo Santos-Concio and Dingdong Dantes turning in indelible portrayals that should serve them well in next year’s acting derby. The release of that poignant Star Cinema production was followed in rapid succession by a lineup of acclaimed titles that could end up vying for more awards here and abroad. 

They included Antoinette Jadaone’s provocative abortion drama “Sunshine,” Catherine Camarillo’s affecting romantic comedy “Meg & Ryan,” and Baby Ruth Villarama’s gutsy documentary, “Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea.” The four productions’ common denominator? They were all helmed by female directors. 

So, what better way to celebrate the Philippine Film Industry Month (PFIM) this September than to pay tribute to the women currently ruling the roost as well as those who helped pave the way for the gifted women of the industry? 

For director Jose Javier Reyes, chair and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), a retrospective glance at the past would also enable the entertainment sector to chart a more informed course beyond the present.

In an exclusive interview with CoverStory last week, Direk Joey, best remembered for helming “Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo” and writing the screenplays for “Oro, Plata, Mata” and “Live Show,” explained why the monthlong merrymaking is important. 

“Every year, we make it a point to celebrate the Philippine Film Industry Month (PFIM) with its own level of significance and with specific themes,” he said. “For instance, last year, we gave honor to the National Artists for Film by highlighting the achievements of Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal and Eddie Romero. PFIM goes hand in hand with the Philippine Creative Month, which is also being commemorated this month.”

He explained further: “I personally have come to realize the importance of women in Philippine cinema. I’ve always seen it as a matriarchy. Come to think of it, all the major studios would have a woman running them, starting all the way from Doña Sisang (de Leon) of LVN, Marichu Maceda of Sampaguita, Emilia Blas of Lea Productions, and Mother Lily Monteverde of Regal Films. 

“At Viva Films at the start, there was Mina Aragon del Rosario playing a vital role in the selection of its films and giving Viva its trademark gloss. Then, there’s Santos-Concio and Malou Santos of Star Cinema. In the present generation, Roselle Monteverde is overseeing Regal, while Annette Gozon-Valdes is running GMA Pictures.” 

That pivotal female influence doesn’t stop there, Direk Joey noted: “Let’s look at it in terms of the history of Philippine cinema with women directors. Before the first female National Artist for Film Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Laurice Guillen and Joyce Bernal rose to prominence, there was Lupita Kashiwahara (‘Minsa’y Isang Gamu-gamo’) and action director Maria Saret (‘Reyna ng Pitong Gatang’). That’s why it’s crucial to pay tribute to the Filipina and her role in the development of Philippine cinema, not only in front of the camera but also behind it. That is why PFIM’s theme this year is ‘Pelikula at Pilipina.’” 

Did he want the theme to also reflect the success of female directors this year? 

“Actually,” he said, “that was just a happy coincidence because we determined the theme long before the success and popularity of Antoinette Jadaone’s ‘Sunshine’ and Baby Ruth Villarama’s ‘Food Delivery.’ What’s more interesting about these two filmmakers is that they’re from two diverse fields—one makes feature films; the other, documentaries. The focus is not only on the Filipina as portrayed in films but rather as a driving force in the evolution of Philippine cinema.”

This year, PFIM is also celebrating ace cinematographers like Lee Briones-Meily (“Santa Santita”), Tey Clamor (“Babae at Baril”), and the country’s first underwater female cinematographer Marissa Floirendo (“Muro-Ami”), as well as screenwriters like Raquel Villavicencio (“Batch ’81,” “Kakabakaba Ka Ba?”), Michiko Yamamoto (“Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros,” “On the Job”) and Baby Nebrida (“Langis at Tubig”). 

PFIM kicked off the festivities last Sept. 1 with the screening of Bernal’s “Ikaw ay Akin,” starring movie queens Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor, at Shangri-La Mall. Various venues nationwide will also show the film classics of Gerardo de Leon (“Sisa”), Lamberto Avellana (“Anak Dalita”) and Diaz-Abaya (“Karnal”), and acclaimed indies like Sheron Dayoc’s “Halaw,” Giancarlo Abrahan’s “Dagitab,” Dwein Baltazar’s “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus” and Mario Cornejo’s “Apocalypse Child.”

On Sept. 11, actress Gina Alajar (“Salome,” “Brutal”), director of photography Lee Meily, production designer/screenwriter Raquel Villavicencio, producer Malou Santos and filmmaker Olivia Lamasan (“Sana Maulit Muli,” “Madrasta”) will be feted in a special ceremony at Seda Vertis North.

Meanwhile, the Sine Kabataan Film Festival and the Films for Peace competition will unreel on Sept. 5 and 11, respectively. On Sept. 27, FDCP will launch the JuanFlix mobile app. (Visit fdcp.ph for the complete lineup of films, screening schedule and other details.)

Another cause for celebration, according to Direk Joey, is the launch of the first Philippine industry roadmap on Sept. 26 during the Film Industry Conference at Mall of Asia. “We’re trying to lay the groundwork that will make it easier for our successors at FDCP to see the direction they’re going,” he said. “We have already finalized the 5- and 10-year plan that we were required to submit to the government, and we’re starting to implement that right now. One [plan] is to add more cinematheques and microcinemas so we can further promote the appreciation for Filipino cinema all over the archipelago.”

We also talked about the country’s prospective entries in the Best International Feature Film category of the Oscars in 2026. 

In the course of this interview, Direk Joey also weighed in on the systemic corruption in government and discussed the urgent need to restore our screen classics and what the FDCP can do to help the Oscar campaign for Filipino auteur Lav Diaz’s “Magellan.” (The film opens in Philippine cinemas on Sept. 10.)

In separate email exchanges, “Food Delivery” director Baby Ruth Villarama and producer-editor Chuck Gutierrez assured us that its Oscar bid is still alive, this time for the Best Documentary Feature category. 

Said Chuck: “While the government may not have chosen us as the country’s official Oscar representative, our aspiration for best documentary remains strong… This October, we will have our North American premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival, followed by our commercial run in Los Angeles on Oct. 24–30. More screenings across the US are being planned as part of our Oscar campaign.”

He pointed out that its theme and the stories within are key: “Beyond the race itself, what truly matters to us is sharing the stories of the West Philippine Sea with the world, the courage of our fishermen, the sacrifices of our Coast Guard, and the resilience of our people. With the spirit of bayanihan, we believe we can carry these stories across oceans and inspire audiences everywhere. ‘Food Delivery’ is our story for the world.”

Baby Ruth admitted: “It will be harder, but we trust that the universe will bring in the right people to push the film through [its hurdles].

Here’s the rest of CoverStory’s no-holds-barred Q&A with FDCP’s eloquent head honcho:

I’ve been noticing the ebb and flow of viewers’ moviegoing patterns since last year. There was a time early last year when Viva was releasing a movie almost every week but nobody was watching them. Wasn’t this because moviegoing, once the “cheapest form of entertainment,” has become an increasingly pricey endeavor? A regular movie ticket now ranges between ₱400 and ₱450. Your thoughts?

I have an explanation for that. Those releases were never meant to make money in cinemas. It was a prerequisite before they could migrate to Netflix—that was part of the deal. [They had to be shown first in cinemas.] 

And so, even if they were losing money, they’d still earn from the Netflix deal. Also, those films had a budget of ₱3 million, ₱4 million—which had a downside because people thought it reflected the level of filmmaking. They didn’t know it was merely in compliance with a streaming requirement. 

But I agree with you, [there are fewer viewers now]. So, it’s a struggle for FDCP to convince producers to continue making films.

I did notice that when they began reducing the ticket prices for Filipino releases to ₱275, the theaters were no longer as empty. Are CEAP (Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines) and the movie producers willing to bring down ticket prices for good? 

There’s already a partial solution to that. The ticket price has gone down from ₱400 to ₱280, ₱270, even ₱230. That always depends on the agreement struck between a producer and the cinema operators. In other words, if a producer requests that the ticket price be lowered, [they will agree], although CEAP told me that tickets to Hollywood movies would remain at ₱400. Hopefully, we can get back the audiences we lost with cheaper tickets [for local releases].

But this hasn’t been the case with Star Cinema, right?

Star Cinema is a different animal because its movies are always more expensive. Even during the MMFF, their tickets are more expensive compared to the others.

I hope cinema owners will realize there’s more profit to be had with few viewers than when there’s literally none. 

I told that to CEAP. I said, “The ₱5 in your pocket is much better than the ₱50 in your dreams.” So, it’s best to be practical than insist on something beyond your audience’s buying power.

How is FDCP managing to continually engage the interest of Filipino viewers when streaming networks provide thousands of choices just waiting to be consumed? Is this the reason behind the launch of JuanFlix?

Firstly, how do we sustain the interest? There’s the interest in local films and the interest in films in general. Where local films are concerned, we try to let the younger generation be conscious of the tradition of Filipino filmmaking in terms of the classics and the works of our national artists. We do that through JuanFlix. 

Our restoration efforts are also part and parcel of that. We’re lucky that the government has given us money to buy a restoration machine. Instead of bringing our films to Europe or India for restoration, we’re going to train Filipinos in film restoration—along with an agreement with France—so we can restore our classics right here. That’s why we have the new building in Intramuros called the Philippine Film Heritage building, which houses the restoration machine. We’ll try to save as many films as we can immediately. 

I’ll give you an example: I’m pretty close to the Regal people because I used to work there. I was able to convince them to give us the films that need immediate restoration, like the films of Maryo J. de los Reyes and Ishmael Bernal. But I’m sad to say we can’t even restore Bernal’s “Relasyon” anymore! Not even Joey Gosiengfiao’s “Temptation Island.” [The reels are now incomplete, some parts are damaged.]  

So, before we lose more, let’s start the massive restoration of our films because there’s too much backlog. So many negatives and prints were given to CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines), which isn’t really equipped to preserve those reels! When they were turned over to us, they smelled like vinegar already.

We go around festivals for two reasons—to sell the Philippines and Filipino films, and to scout for films that we believe are important for Pinoys to see. And that’s why we have the World Cinema series—we’re bringing the cinematic experience through its series of screenings. 

We’re lucky because we got the Cannes Festival’s top four films, which we’re going to show later this year. We’re bringing Jafar Panahi’s French-Iranian production “It Was Just an Accident” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” (Norway), which was a big hit there. Then there’s Bi Gan’s beautiful film called “Resurrection” (China) and Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling” (Germany). If only for these productions, [our trip to Cannes was worth it]. And that takes care of the cineastes.

We’re opening the eyes of young people to the importance of Philippine cinema through the help of the Department of Education and the Academic Film Society, of which Rica Arevalo (head of FDCP’s education division) is a part.

Countries like Latvia (“Flow”), Tunisia (“The Man Who Sold His Skin”) and North Macedonia (“Honeyland”) have managed to make the cut at the Oscars. Early this year, war-torn Palestine won the documentary feature prize for “No Other Land,” and also made the shortlist for best international film (“From Ground Zero”), along with Thailand (“How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies”) and Senegal (“Dahomey”). What are we doing wrong? And now that Lav Diaz’s “Magellan” has been chosen to represent the country at the 2026 Academy Awards, what can FDCP or the Philippine government do to help boost its Oscar campaign?  

It’s more complex than that. Getting selected is only the start of an even more tedious and very expensive race. I think the Philippine government, for the first time, is giving ₱30 million for the promotion of our Oscar entry. It’ll get ₱15 million upon selection, then if you’re shortlisted, you’ll get the other ₱15 million. FDCP is giving ₱1 million for “Magellan’s” promo. So, yes, it’s getting the support it needs. 

What went wrong? We should really be fielding films that are dedicated to an international audience. And if you notice, most of those who reach the Oscars were already hits in various film festivals, like Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” (from Brazil), which won best international film this year…

Speaking of “I’m Still Here,” while it’s based on a true story about Brazil, it really reminded me of the Philippines’ brutal experience with martial law, the desaparecidos, and the rise of fascism in the late 1960s and ’70s.

I know! That’s why I told them, “Please, get it.” That’s why it got shown here. They said, “Isn’t that critical [to the administration] because of the parallelism [between the Philippines and Brazil]?” I said, “No, I think not.” I deal a lot with the first lady (Liza Araneta-Marcos), and I know for a fact that she has nothing against showing things about martial law because she’s very open-minded. 

I said, “Show it here because it’s a good film, and perhaps it’s good to show that parallelism and realize that this kind of militarization is a universal experience that has to be understood, not only within the context of the Philippines but in world politics as well. 

What was it like for you to take the helm at FDCP?

Others might look at this job as “going out there” and doing whatever it is that you do out there. But since the start of [previous FDCP chair] Tirso Cruz III’s administration, when Rica Arevalo and I came in, we discussed with Tirso the importance of first strengthening what we have inside. Because what’s the point of going out there if you have nothing to offer, right? So, we cut the number of trips. I mean, we can’t use taxpayer money just to make pasyal (travel)! That’s just unnecessary expense and irrelevant extravagance.

There’s a lot of talk on social media about corruption in government nowadays. What were your thoughts about this when you found yourself suddenly thrust into this high-profile post?

It’s different when you just hear about it than when you’re thrown right in the midst of all of this. I come from the private sector and the academe. When Tirso asked me to help him as a consultant at FDCP, I was willing to do so because I felt that certain things really required changes, not only in this agency but also in the general road map of Philippine cinema.

When I got into it, I realized the hows and whys. It is what it is, but it’s a long-ingrained system of corruption. And you know what? [If you have a weak] moral compass, it’s so easy to be corrupted.

For example, people think that each time we travel, it’s one big, extravagant vacation in which you get to go to Cannes and other places in Europe. People do not realize, [we spend our own money] because the amount that the government will legally give you isn’t enough. [That’s why others do] magic, because there are “other ways” to go about this. 

If you’re in collusion with others in this “system,” you’ll end up acting like a contractor in flood control projects. But it doesn’t work that way! I am a taxpayer, and the very thought of using taxpayer money for my personal interest makes me feel guilty.

This position is short-term, it isn’t forever. That’s why I don’t want to be called “Chair Joey.” Can you just call me “Direk Joey,” instead? Because after three years, I’m going to return to directing. I don’t want to get used to this because the perks of power can be so addicting.

But then I saw this beautiful clip on Facebook that says, “When you get the perks, it’s not because of you; it’s because of the position.” If they serve you coffee in a ceramic mug, it’s because you’re the chair, and not because you’re Joey Reyes. You better get used to the fact that you won’t be the chair forever. So people ask me, “Why did you accept that job? You won’t be able to direct or write. Do you know how much money you’re losing?” 

In terms of corruption, if there’s one thing that I’m very proud of the young people I work with [at FDCP], it’s that we are all determined to keep this agency very clean. We don’t like luho (luxury), because that’s not what we’re here for. 

So, when we talk about the excesses, the abuse, the corruption in government, it’s hard to believe that decent people can just let these things drop behind their backs. If you don’t do anything knowing that something’s wrong, then you’re just as guilty as they are because you allow it to happen. You’re helping normalize the practice.