2013 Cinemalaya unfolds

Indie fever has reached another high as the 2013 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival officially started last July 26 until Aug. 4 at different venues, namely the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Greenbelt 3, Trinoma, and Alabang Town Center theaters.

A number of films are being showcased under different categories, namely New Breed, Director’s Showcase, Short Features, and films that pay tribute to the greats – Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Eddie Romero, and Celso Ad Castillo.

This columnist would like to give particular attention to the film “Rekorder,” which stars Ronnie Quizon, Mike Lloren, Buboy Villar, Earl Ignacio, Suzette Ranillo, Belinda Mariano, Lowell Conales, Joe Gruta, Archie Adamos, and Abe Pagtama.

The film, written and directed by fast-rising indie film director Mikhail Red and produced by Pamela Reyes, tells the story of a former 1980s film cameraman who currently works as a movie pirate operating in present day Manila. He routinely smuggles a digital camcorder into movie theaters to illegally record films. Yes, film piracy. One night, he records something else, and the footage goes viral.

It will be shown today at the CCP Main Theater at 3:30 pm, and 9 pm at Trinoma and Alabang Town Center (ATC); July 29, 4 pm at Trinoma , 630 pm at ATC and 9 pm at CCP Little Theater; July, 30, 4 pm at Greenbelt 3; July 31, 130 pm and 9 pm at Greenbelt 3, 615 pm at CCP; August 1, 130 pm at GB3and 615 pm at CCP MT; August 2, 1245 pm at CCP; August 3, 11 am and 9 pm at GB3 and at 330 pm at CCP; and August 4, 130 pm at Trinoma.

Red, at 21 years of age, is the youngest filmmaker in Cinemalaya history. His very first short film got him into an international film festival at the age of 15. Through the years he has made six short films, all of which have competed or have screened in film festivals locally and abroad, earning him multiple awards and recognitions as an up-and-coming filmmaker. His short film “Harang” won the Best Screenplay award in the 6th Cinemalaya Film Festival.

“Rekorder” is a digital film that incorporates different forms of the digital medium, and “found footage”, using shifting perspectives from the handheld video camera of the main character to cell phone video from bystanders, to laptop webcam shots, to the various internet viral videos that will be shown as part of the film’s story, and even shots from security surveillance. However the majority of the narrative was shot with the Blackmagic Cinema camera using the Canon Cinema lenses.

It used several digital cameras and formats including the Digital Harinezumi, iPhone, iPad, CCTV footage and more.

Here is what he has to say about his newest film.

“A flicker fools the eye. Twenty-four still frames per second projected on screen create the illusion of motion. We do not see the reality in front of us; instead we fall for the illusion. Maven, the main character of the film, is a metaphor for that. He refuses to face the realities in front of him. He refuses to be a part of the world and instead he sees the world around him through his lens, hiding and cowering behind his camera. He lives in the past, refusing to face the realities of the present. He is trapped within his own memories, memories of his previous glorified career, of his wife, and his beloved daughter, all trapped within old tapes he repeatedly watches every night in isolation. One fateful night he is pulled into the chaos of the world around him and he is forced to face reality. He is forced to deal with society. Rekorder is the story of his quest for self-redemption. It is a story inspired by an actual viral video of the lynching of a young boy that happened on New Year’s Eve of 2012. A story that touches on the evolution and bastardization of cinema as it transitions into the digital realm; A story of viral media, movie piracy, and closed circuit television, a story of a world-weary man struggling to exist in modern society, with nothing but a device – a recorder.”

The film is supported by San Miguel Corporation, Canon, Filmex, and filmmaker and producer par excellence Butch Jimenez who is executive producer of “Rekorder”, among others.

New growth areas

A recent study by global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle has noted that new business districts continue to grow across Greater Manila.

Among the 26 districts spanning Greater Manila from Fairview Terraces in the north up to Sta. Rosa in the south, newcomers in recent years like those in the Manila Bay area are experiencing increasing rents and land prices. The Manila Bay area which includes Aseana City and offices near Mall of Asia has emerged as the sixth most popular location for business process outsourcing firms (BPOs).

Aseana Holdings managing director Delfin Wenceslao notes that the growth of new subcenters between Makati and other thickly populated areas is to be expected, with property values rising to its top levels in central business districts like Makati and Bonifacio Global City.

In 2010, land prices in Aseana registered at P60,000 per square meter. Today, average prices are at P100,000 per sqm, according to the JLL study. In contrast, Makati prices range from P150,000 to P500,000 per sqm and BGC from P200,000 to P480,000.

Available office space in the area is also being taken up quickly. The Aseana One office complex, an anchor development of Aseana City, was fully leased out, prompting a sequel, Aseana Two, to be completed next year.

Wenceslao believes that as more visitors flock to the hotels and BPOs in the area, a fresh stream of offices, residential buildings, and other institutions will follow suit, even as he added that there is a strong unmet demand for higher-end residential units in the area.

Among the locators at Aseana City are King’s International School Manila operated by the British School Group, warehouse giant S&R, Blue Leaf events center, Ford, and Tune Hotels. There is also high interest from shipping and logistics companies in Aseana City.

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