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May 2, 2010I remembered Eggy today after looking through the archives of our Afterburner section for the magazine. Unlike most, I was introduced to Alexis outside his career in film, as we went to the same college, he being a batch lower. We were friends. Later on in the following semesters, we got involved in a point of conflict, details of which I would rather not talk about — but it is suffice to say that these were, in his words to Erwin Romulo, “a little bit of weirdness.” We parted ways. Many years later, we were in touch thanks to the wonders of Facebook, but never got to speak in person. I was excited to hear from Erwin that Alexis would be working with UNO. That we’d both be working together. But alas, fate had other plans. Today I still read his work. It’s the next best thing to talking to him again. — Jayvee
By Alexis Tioseco as compiled by Erwin Romulo
Audiences and industry folk alike have long been preaching the death of Philippine cinema. We gaze back fondly through sepia shades and smile at the glory of our past, shake and scratch our heads lamenting over our pathetic present, and blink and miss opportunities to improve our future.
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Would you laugh if I told you that there have been more articles written in local newspapers and magazines about Raya Martin and Lav Diaz, than there have been screenings of their recent films in the country?
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(Dear Film Development Council), you have the mandate to start the National Film Archive. I have heard that your first priority project in relation to archiving is the digitization of some 70 works into high quality digital copies. While this may be useful, perhaps inquiring into the state of and assisting the various archives in the country (UP Film Center, Mowelfund et al) whose current holdings (which include rare prints if not master negatives of some titles, let alone the entire history of alternative/experimental cinema in the country) are being stored in deplorable conditions, may be even more important. Have you thought about this? Saving the master negatives or prints and storing and caring for them properly will ensure their survival far longer than digital copies (of which we are still uncertain), and in their original state too. Steps need to be made NOW to ensure that we don’t lose more of these films.
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The Metro Manila Film Festival is a great idea to support the local film industry. Unfortunately, it is only an idea.
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Having a festival where a prime consideration for a film’s acceptance or rejection is its “commercial viability” is utterly ridiculous. Choosing the best possible films should be their main concern, as making the best possible films should be the concern of the filmmakers. The audience is there—the responsibility in a festival such as this does not lie in showing them what we believe they want to see, but simply showing the absolute best of what we have to offer.
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Public urinals are installed by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). They are the same body that currently handles the Metro Manila Film Festival. This is not a metaphor. This is a simile.
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Beyond boring its audiences, commercial cinema has now begun to bore itself.
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The greatest criticism shouldn’t be reserved for the fact that many sub-par gay films are getting made, getting screened, and filling up cinemas, it should be directed at a film culture that can barely offer enough support for anything else.
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Even in death Lino Brocka can get no rest, and his legacy is being tainted by his supporters more than his detractors ever could.
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I admire the cinema of Raya Martin for many, varying reasons. At the moment two stand out, and are interrelated: for his imagination—we’re faced with far too much reality in Philippine cinema today, much of it poorly depicted, however “well meaning”—and for the purity of his ambition; both of which have succeeded, despite attempts, locally and internationally, to suppress them.
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In the Philippines today we have a thousand filmmakers, some very, very interesting films, but only few people taking up the task of doing something to improve film culture.
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Much has been written in the press as of late about the failure of the film Ploning, the official Philippine entry into the Oscar’s Best Foreign Film category, to garner a nomination. One can’t fault the parties involved, least of all the producers of the film, for giving their all to this effort: surely the excitement of being selected as the Philippine submission provided a rush of adrenaline for the idea.
What is worth raising an eyebrow to is the amount of money spent, both private and government, to support a film’s attempt to simply win an award; firstly as if marketing and promotions were that crucial, secondly as if an award where marketing and promotions were that crucial is something worth vying for in the first place. Could this money and energy be better placed elsewhere?
One is reminded of Raymond Red, whose achievement of winning the Palme d’Or for best short film in the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 is often overlooked. Not only did Red win the award, he and his entourage attended the film without any support, financial or otherwise, from the government.
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When a Filipino director wins an award at a film festival abroad, we swell with a distinctly different kind of pride, because the recognition a film (or any other work of art) receives abroad doesn’t change the nature or quality of that work of art. The work remains the same; at most, it is our perception of it that changes. Art is not sport and neither is it competition, sport relies on competition to test ability; ability in art cannot be measured by competition and neither can it reasonably be validated by it: it is industries that organize competitions in the arts in order to put concrete value on what is otherwise intangible: beauty.
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Beware of video cameras. Of friends who shoot you for what appear to be the most innocent of reasons. You never know where that footage may end up.
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Brillante Mendoza’s victory in Cannes has been received, if not lauded, by the following local institutions: the City of Mandaluyong (where he resides), the Province of Pampanga (where he is from), University of Santo Tomas (his Alma Mater), the Director’s Guild of the Philippine Islands (of which he is a member), and the President of the Republic (who, with great craft and in a single sentence, turned her praise of Mendoza into praise of herself, and whose recognition comes with a One Million Peso ‘thank you for bringing the country pride’ check). A marching band, a grand dinner, a parade or even a million pesos are all appealing gestures, they are effused more with the pomp of celebration than any authentic attempt at appreciation: a facile way of saying we acknowledge the recognition you have received—sentiment giving greater premium to outsider recognition than to the work itself. A proposition for the future: perhaps a more generous way to show appreciation for the work of our artists, should we truly believe the work itself important and not just the recognition: show them.
Just imagine: how many free screenings could be sponsored for a million pesos?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by erwinromulo. erwinromulo said: Alexis, you are sorely missed. How to Make a Difference http://bit.ly/aznWAS [...]
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