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| Collage from wowbatangas.com |
One of
Filipinos’ ways of expressing art is by creativity not only in writing and
painting, but also by the use of multimedia platform, putting it on big screens
and claiming it as a masterpiece without the help of mainstream commercialism.
Some call it alternative cinema, but it is most commonly known as independent
filming.
Shunning away from the stories of love and comedy offered by mainstream cinema, independent films in the Philippines focus more on the societal issues and the harsh extremity of life.“We show films that are based on real stories that break new ground and done with a human heart,” Laurice Guillen, Cinemalaya Foundation vice president and competition director said, in her interview with Tribune last July.
Since the
start of cinema in the Philippines in 1897, independent films also emerged with
it, and they continued to grace novelty throughout the industry until today.
Several award-giving bodies for film such as Luna, Gawad Urian, MMFF, PMPC Star
Awards, Golden Screen Awards, and the prestigious FAMAS Awards also offered
categories for independent films. These also paved way for award-giving bodies
and film festivals for independent cinema such as Cinemalaya and CineFilipino, encouraging
artists to create one or more of their own.
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| Poster from Cinemalaya press release on CCP website |
Independent
filmmaking has brought the Philippines pride with the novel work of these
artists. Recently, the annual Cinemalaya,
a prestigious award-giving body for independent films in the Philippines held
its event, introducing once again new pieces of art thought film showing and
exhibition.
Also, a
number of Indie films from the Philippines are and were recognized internationally.
Last September, the Film Academy of the
Philippines selected and sent Cinemalaya “Best Picture” awardee for the year
2013 Hannah Espia’s Transit, among
Erik Matti’s OTJ and Brillante
Mendoza’s Thy Womb, as the official
entry of the Philippines to the Oscars in the USA.
Official Trailer of Hannah Espia's Transit
Creating
independent films is open not only for 20s people and above who finished
college. It is also not only for professional filmmakers whose names we always
see on projects’ credits. Indie filmmaking is for everybody. As long as one has
a camera and a creative talent then he’s good to go.In fact, commercialized
companies and university organizations open competitions for filmmaking, in
which amateurs like students could participate in.
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| Screencap from MMFF CinePhone competition winner, Monthsary by Roni Benaid |
Roni writes
for TV, radio, theatre, and film as well—further developed greatly on the latter.
However, doing short films during college is perhaps not an easy task. College
schoolwork and creative undertakings might be difficult to do in the same
light. So when asked where he gets his inspiration from, he answered, “Ang mga
inspirations ko: Mga bagay na nangyari sa akin, at mga bagay na hindi nangyari sa
akin. Dun ako humuhugot ng mga konsepto. [My inspirations are the things that happened to me, and those that did not. That is where I craft my concepts.]”
In the
course of filming a movie, especially in major motion productions, several
production companies is needed and a huge sum of money is necessary for it to
capture the intensifying moments and to wow the audience with its clear and
clean sequences. However,indie filmmakers beg to differ.
It is quite
a given thing to know that when people speak of indies, that meant “no major mainstream production”,
“low-budgeted”, and “low quality technical”. But filmmakers get through without
all of these. “A small budget (compared to mainstream) has never been a problem
for me. There's more freedom working indie-style and obviously, more creative
challenges,” Director Mel Chionglo, famous for directing landmark Filipino
films like Dyesebel, Sibak, and Lagarista said in his interview with Juice last September. But how do they deal with it? Roni explained their
case for the short film “Monthsary”.
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| Screencap from Monthsary |
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| Screencap from Monthsary |
This just goes to show how passion and the love of art and own craft could help cultivate the growing world of independent filmmaking, amidst the several setbacks.
However,
many critics emphasized how the Philippine industry today is declining. In an
article from Yahoo last 2012, the report
from the National Statistical Coordination Board stated that from 2000 to 2009,
local film output fell to an average of 73 annually with only 11 percent of the
market. This statistical data proved how the Philippine film industry fell in
2012.
Personal
insights from students—and film enthusiasts at heart—were gathered by the
writer regarding this matter. “Yung estado ng industriya ng pelikula sa Pilipinas
medyo ano eh, para sakin ah, in my own perspective, medyo tagilid, kung
ikukumpara natin sa Western na film [The status of the Philippine film industry is, for me, quite careen in comparison to the Western films.],” Karen Libao, a student and a creative
media organization member said.
In relation
to that, Eileen Patal, a student and also a member of the same creative media
organization as Karen, talked about film quality in the Philippines. “Siguro
kung sa quality ng film, for me, hindi na maganda yung estado ng film dito sa Pilipinas. Pero in terms of gross, tingin ko naman okay ang benta ng film
industry [Perhaps film industry in the Philippines does not look good in terms of quality. But in terns of gross, I think it's okay],” she said as she was asked about her insights on the current status
of the film industry in the Philippines.
In spite of
this, their insights on independent films begged to differ. Gerlie Benesio, a
student and PUP Teatro Komunikado’s current chairman said that “Sa independent
film kasi, mas naipapahayag ng maayos ang iba’t ibang storya, kung ano talagang
nangyayari sa bansa natin [In indiependent films, we can clearly express different kinds of stories, what truly happens in the country].”
For them, promoting
awareness on the current happenings in the country and in all over the world is
the root impression of independent films. In a way, indies play a role in our
society not only for the purpose of entertainment and originality, but also for
informing people about the realities of life. That, perhaps, is one of the
reasons why independent films in the Philippines boomed—and are starting to blossom
within the hearts of Filipinos
Patronizing these
independent films also help in cultivating one’s own culture and promoting the
country’s art forms, because of the originality and conventionalism the writer
and directors portray in each piece of work.
Below are the recorder interviews with Gerlie Benesio, Karen Libao, and Eileen Patal:
