Who says Philippine cinema is dying, or in fact has died? On the contrary, many films were produced in 2023 and more are being made this year.
In my Philippine cinema report of 2023 for the 2024 “Made in Asia” book of the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in Bucheon City, South Korea, it is stated that 143 films were produced and exhibited last year in cinemas and other screening platforms.
The figure was provided by Wikipedia.com although there were other low-profile, less-publicized, small-budget movies (or series) not monitored from social media platforms, traditional screening means, and livestreaming apps—such as director-actor Vic Tiro’s “Ransom” (shown on YouTube and in community film showings at Trece Martires, Cavite); Gerry Jumawan’s “Da’Un ka Kayu (Leaf of Tree)” (screened at Cinematheque Davao); and Noriel Jarito’s revised “Huramentado” (shown in Noriel’s town in Pambujan, Northern Samar, before it was livestreamed at Prime and Tubi); and a lot more.
Not bad even if, comparatively, hundreds of local movies were made in the past, notably during the so-called golden age of Philippine cinema.
Sadly, the industry was in the doldrums in the millennium, especially towards the advent of the next decade. Worse, it slid down to the pit and went to the dogs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has bounced back in quantity in these post-pandemic days. Still, both observers and insiders say that it is in bad shape.
Revival of film festivals
But why then do film festivals abound and are being revived?
The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival (a joint project of the Cinemalaya Foundation and the Cultural Center of the Philippines), the Quezon City International Film Festival, Cinemarehiyon, etc. have persisted, the pandemic notwithstanding.
The films shown in limited theaters in these festivals may not earn as well as those on the regular run of major outfits like Star Cinema, Viva Films, Regal Entertainment, etc., but they are palpable signs that Philippine cinema is alive and kicking.
Ronnie Lazaro, back onscreen after a five-year hiatus, is the 2024 Sinag Maynila Film Festival’s Best Actor for “The Gospel of the Beast.” Minutes before he went up the stage to receive his award, he said moviegoers should be brought back to the cinemas: “Kailangang ibalik sa mga sinehan ang mga manonood ng pelikula sa Pilipinas.”
According to Lazaro, he was echoing the statement of filmmaker Jose “Joey” Javier Reyes, the chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
Reyes himself said that in his capacity as a leader, he is bent on ensuring the return of the film industry to its former supremacy in the country and in the region.
He said he has not been participating in international film festivals—“gastos lang” (just more expenses)—and will just channel the funds to travel grants for filmmakers. “There are still many things that can be done for the local movie industry,” he said over cocktails during Sinag Manila’s awards night.
Reyes is pleased at Philippine cinema’s current progress. “At least, ‘Un Happy for You’ made money,” he happily announced. “Un Happy for You” is a Star Cinema production starring Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto, aka “Joshlia.”
Why the flops?
What really ails the local film industry and why the flops despite the big number of homegrown releases?
Seven full-length features were entered in the 2024 Sinag Maynila Film Festival. Noticeably, there was no fixed schedule of all the films, long or short, but just a daily matrix in designated theaters in SM malls, Gateway, etc.—a supposed tactic to break the “first day-last day” syndrome, and to allow cinema exhibitors to know if a film was a moneymaker or a flop.
I asked Solar Entertainment general manager Butch Ybanez about the box-office figures of “Talahib,” one of the entries that won the Audience Choice Award. Has the film already earned millions? His answer was safe: “It’s consistent in its showing.”
In the Philippines, there are no official till receipts provided by an agency, public or private, but elsewhere in the world, the earnings of movies are available to the consumers.
Be that as it may, films are being produced. Why is Vivamax content sustained, and why does Viva Entertainment persist, with millions of subscribers all over the world?
We ask: Are Filipinos so sex-starved that there is a huge patronage of skin flicks shown online? (Sex cinema is a genre, after all.)
Are piracy, censorship, uneven distribution of foreign films vis a vis local bookings, colonial mentality, inferior quality branding, rehashed storylines, etc. the only causes of the dismal performances of Pinoy movies?
I got to talk with Roger Garcia, international film producer, festival organizer and advisor, critic and supporter of Asian cinema, on his assessment of Philippine cinema. At one point, I asked him why he excluded the Philippines from those Asian countries that he thinks have a promising future in filmmaking. He cited Indonesia and, to a certain extent, Vietnam, as having the upper hand in the film business these days.
Here’s Roger’s verbatim reply to my question: “The Philippine movie industry is, of course, active. I have to say, though, in some of the Filipino films I’ve seen, there is a certain similarity, and I think what’s important in a country’s film culture is diversity and novelty. I think that the novelty or the diversity that I saw in the Filipino cinema in the early 2000s tended to, like, decline, to say it quite frankly. I’d like to see some more energy in the Filipino film industry. Because if you don’t have that energy and diversity, then all the films will be flat.”
Armchair view
But there are other ways to skin the cat. What are the other determinants of a film’s success or failure?
An armchair view of a moviegoer’s mindset is in order:
Movies as entertainment is a world phenomenon.
Like poetry, a film evokes emotions and feelings. I got this idea from the English poet William Wordsworth and from my late literature professor Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, the poetess of “Amarantha,” who said that a poem at first reading must impart music and rhythm.
The sound of the words and the images that are shaped by them constitute the melody or lyricism of a poem. But rereading provides other dimensions, like meanings, reflections, lessons in life, etc.
Viewing a film, depending on the genre (in this age of diverse styles and thoughts), is like reading or speaking verses. Initially, the enjoyment is achieved through the colorful—even if black and white or sepia—scenes onscreen.
A purging of emotions—joy, fear, hate, sexual desire, thrill, amusement, etc.—is basically a movie’s intention. This is what common education tells us: that a movie is an amusement piece only, sans explanation or footnote. We take it in hook, line, and sinker.
Or we are carried away by the gloss and magic onscreen. Anything foolish, or a shenanigan, we shrug off, primarily because it is just entertainment. Or the attraction of a fleeting relatability, a looking-glass self, even if the treatment is hollow.
Remember that the other general orientation of movie-watching is escape.
But what if the filmgoer has other expectations? Like the veracity of life in what is being watched.
Art movements teach, assert, or simply evoke the idea that movies are not only entertainment but a didactic or inspirational medium as well, whether explicitly or subliminally.
Take J.E. Tiglao’s “Her Locket,” the Best Film at the 2024 Sinag Maynila Film Festival. Can it be a veracious mirror of the Chinese ethos, or a cross-cultural treatise on the Filipino-Chinese relationship, or a multilayered tapestry?
I’ve also watched Sheron Dayoc’s “The Gospel of the Beast.” Hopefully, the other five entries will have an extended run: “Talahib” by Alvin Yapan, “Maple Leaf Dreams” by Benedict Mique, “Salome” by Gutierrez Mangansajan II, “What You Did” by Joan Lopez Flores, and “Banjo” by Bryan Wong.
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